Vineyarders swim against Sacred Heart, Pope JP II

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Justin Smith propelled himself to a second place finish in the 100m butterfly. — Photo by Ralph Stewart

The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School swim club hit the pool at the YMCA in Oak Bluffs for a pair of meets last week as the regular season got underway.

Tuesday, the Island girls raced against the Lionesses of Pope John Paul II High School from Hyannis.

After a tough start, the Vineyarders rallied to win the final three events and took four of ten events entered. The final score was PJPII 93, MV 63.

Paige Nitardy won the 50m freestyle in 24.03″, six seconds faster than anyone else. She also outstroked the field in the 100m backstroke, finishing four laps in 1:11.85. Charlotte Hammond was third in the 50m and Katherine Donegan took third in the backstroke.

Mariah Campbell was first in the 100m breaststroke with time of 1:34.14. Lilly Lubin was third.

The hosts closed out the meet with a solid win in the 400m relay. Mariah Campbell swam the first leg and set a winning pace. Alex Mazza swam leg two, followed by Jessica Campbell, and Paige Nitardy, who wrapped up the win by two-and-a-half laps. The Vineyard’s overall time for the 16 laps was 5:09.

The Vineyarders got yeoman assistance from boys swimmers Alex Guest, who handled the starts, and Kyle Joba-Woodruff and Will Jurczyk, who were stroke and turn judges. Jeanette Breath ran the marshalling area and YMCA volunteer Garrett Rice was the official scorer. Community volunteer Lee Magnarelli also provided much-needed help.

The Islanders, girls and boys both, first competed last Thursday against Sacred Heart of Kingston. The girls won four of 11 events, finishing with 55 points to the Saints’ 75. The boys won two events and posted 54 points to 81 for the Saints.

For the girls, Paige Nitardy swept the 50m and 100m freestyle races. Alex Mazza was first in the 200m freestyle. The quartet of Paige Nitardy, Dylan Brockmeyer, Lucy Norris, and Alex Mazza was tops in the 400m freestyle relay.

On the boys side, Liam Cosgrove swam best in the 200m freestyle and Tyler Shapiro was first in the 100m breaststroke.