Updated Dec. 20
The Vineyarder swim team begins its 2019–20 season following a glittering 2018–19 campaign with a first-ever winning record, a bunch of Cape & Island League All-Star selections, and never-before-seen sectional and state individual and relay team success.
The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) team enters its 11th season with a host of young swimmers, though many are veterans of the YMCA Makos program, which swims competitively against Cape and South Shore youth swimming groups. Their talents were displayed at the season-opening C&I conference Relay Carnival at Sandwich last Saturday.
The Vineyarder swimmers jump-started their season with a fifth-place finish in the eight-team relay, posting several noteworthy team and individual performances.
Then, on Tuesday, the boys team beat Brockton High School, 91-62, while the girls came up short, 81-61.
The annual relay carnival is an opportunity for schools to test their relay team’s progress, and to allow individual swimmers to begin the competitive process. Co-captain Gabby Carr had no problem, qualifying for the postseason South Sectionals in two events with her relay leadoff legs (50 freestyle, 27.07) and the 100 backstroke (1:06.45), then qualified in 200 freestyle against Brockton on Tuesday. Co-captains Oliver Dorr and Ruairi Mullin each were in four scoring relays along with Carr at Sandwich.
The Vineyard had two second-place relays, the first time MVRHS has placed as high as second in a Relay Carnival event. The meet, won by Nantucket High School, offered 12 relay events, most of them mixed-gender (two girls and two boys on each relay). In each event, the top eight relays scored points.
The girls 200 freestyle relay (Gabby Carr, co-captain Eleanor Hyland, Lily Jones, and eighth-grader Olympia Hall) finished second, within one second of first-place Nantucket, with a time of 1:55.17. The mixed 500 freestyle relay (Eleanor Hyland swam 50, Oliver Dorr swam 100, Ruairi Mullin swam 150, and Gabby Carr anchored with a 200) finished in 5:08.09. The boys 200 freestyle relay (Nathan Cuthbert, Christian Flanders, Oliver Dorr, and Ruairi Mullin) added a third place with a time of 1:44.07.
The other scoring relays included boys 200 freestyle relay (all eighth graders, Emmett Silva, Simon Hammarlund, Andrue Carr, and Everett Dorr) with an eighth-place finish. The mixed 4×100 individual medley relay: Oliver Dorr, Olympia Hall, Christian Flanders, and Gabby Carr) finished fourth, as did the mixed 400 medley relay: Gabby Carr [back], co-captain Abigail Hammarlund [breaststroke], Oliver Dorr [fly], and Ruairi Mullin [free]). A mixed 500 freestyle relay:Nicholas Lytle-50, Simon Hammarlund-100, Lily Jones-150, and Olympia Hall-200 finished fifth, the first time the Vineyard took two of the top six finishes in one event at the Relay Carnival.
Coach Jon Chatinover said “It was a great first meet for the team with many best times and good early season swims. Seventeen different swimmers were on scoring relays including sixth, seventh and eighth-graders,” he said.
In the dual-meet season opener at Brockton on Tuesday, double winners Oliver Dorr, Ruairi Mullin and Christian Flanders led the boys, while Gabby Carr was a double winner for the girls, qualifying for the sectionals in the 200 freestyle.
Mullin doubled in the distance events, winning the boys 200 freestyle in 2:15.15 and 500 freestyle in 6:07.15. Dorr won the 200 individual medley (2:26.29) and the 100 butterfly (1:02.34), the closest race of the meet. Flanders won the sprints, finishing the 50 freestyle in 26.38 and the 100 freestyle in 1:00.31. Eighth-grader Simon Hammarlund was the other Vineyard winner with a 1:29.17 in the 100 backstroke and added a third in the 100 freestyle. Eighth-grader Everett Dorr was on two winning relays with Ruairi, Oliver and Christian. The 200 freestyle relay finished in 1:52.39 and the 400 freestyle relay in 4:12.93. Everett also had two seconds (200 freestyle and 100 breaststroke); Nicholas Lytle placed second (100 freestyle); eighth-grader Andrue Carr placed third (200 individual medley) and second (100 backstroke); and Noah Lawry took third in the 50 freestyle. Andrue, Simon, Nicholas and Noah were on two second place relays (200 Medley and 200 Freestyle).
For the girls, Gabby Carr won the 200 freestyle in 2:08.96 and the 100 butterfly in 1:07.29. Eleanor Hyland and Maddie Youmans were the other individual winners. Eleanor won the 100 freestyle in 1:08.58 and finished second in the 50 freestyle. Maddie won the 100 backstroke in 1:24.50. Eighth-grader Olympia Hall took two seconds (200 freestyle and 100 breaststroke), while Abigail Hammarlund had a second (100 freestyle). The Vineyard won the 200 Medley with Maddy [back], Olympia [breast], Gabby [fly] and Eleanor [free] in a time of 2:19.99. Olympia, Abigail, Kathryn Cuthbert and Gabby finished second in the 200 freestyle relay and Eleanor, Kathryn, Maddie and Olympia were second in the 400 freestyle relay.
The Vineyarders swim at Sandwich on Thursday, their last meet before the winter break.
Vineyard swim team did not win C&I championship. —Ed.