Revere track star Stamatopoulos shines at state level

By Dom Nicastro

Ashley Cabrera Rodriguez and Gemma Stamatopoulos represented the Revere High School girls track team at the MSTCA Pentathlon. The highlight of the meet came when junior Stamatopoulos, in her fifth and final event of the day, broke the school record in the 800-meter race with a time of 2:28.29. This broke the old record – previously set in 2018 by Hannah Fitzpatrick – by .21 seconds.

“This incredible race happened after Gemma had already completed four other events (55-meter hurdles, high jump, long jump and shotput) and had been competing for a total of four and a half hours,” Revere coach Racquel MacDonald-Ciambelli said. “Even after this long day, Gemma was determined to break this school record, knowing that she would have to lead the race from the start. The closest competitor in Gemma’s 800-meter heat only ran a 2:40 which put Gemma a full 10 seconds ahead of the pack. I cannot express how difficult it is to lead an 800 for the full four laps and only rely on your own pacing. It calls for not only incredible fitness but also a really tough mentality.”

This second-place finish in the 800-meter added 714 points to Stamatopoulos’ total pentathlon score, which was 2,131. This was good for 62nd place overall out of 150 competitors. Not bad for her first time, according to her coach.

Senior captain Cabrera Rodriguez also competed in the MSTCA pentathlon and scored 1,325 points overall for a 133rd finish. Her best event of the day was the 55-meter hurdles, where she ran a 10.4.

The Patriots, who won their second straight Greater Boston League title this season, finished off the year with some great news. Stamatopoulos was voted GBL Track Athlete of the Year. “An extremely well-deserved honor considering all of her amazing feats this indoor season,” MacDonald-Ciambelli said.

Stamatopoulos’ resume for this winter season:

• Undefeated GBL champion in the 600-meter
• GBL champion in the 2-mile
• Third-place finish at GBL championships in the high jump
• School record in the 600-meter (1:42.08)
• School record in the 800-meter (2:28.29)
• School record in the sprint medley relay (4:35.23)
• School record in the distance medley relay (14:10.67)
• School record in the high jump relay
• 3:10.49 in the 1,000-meter: less than one second off the school record
• Ninth-place finisher in the MIAA Division 1 Meet in the 600-meter

“Gemma is one of the most versatile athletes I have ever had the pleasure of coaching,” MacDonald-Ciambelli said. “Every single coach in the GBL knows that Gemma is a threat in every single event she competes in. She is fiercely competitive and is admired by every single one of her teammates. She approaches every practice and meet with a goal to not only better herself but everyone around her. We are so happy to see that all of her hard work and dedication is being recognized within the league.”

Revere’s other GBL All-Stars:

• Liv Yuong
• Olivia Rupp
• Gigi Zierten
• Zizi Kalliavas
• Gianna Chiodi
• Danni Hope Randall
• Ashley Cabrera Rodriguez
• Rania Hamdani
• Francoise Kodjo