Girls top Falmouth, boys just short in MVRHS indoor track opener

Burke, Cherry continue their distance dominance.

0
Zach Utz gets first place in the 1000 meter race. — Charlie Utz

The Vineyarder girls indoor track team edged Falmouth High School 48-46 in a balanced performance in both track and field events in a dual-meet season opener at Wheaton College in Norton on Tuesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the Clippers edged the Vineyarder boys, 54-46, in a tight match that went down to the finish. 

Despite missing 15 of the 55 track and field athletes due to other school events, the undermanned squads featured great individual performances to compete. Peter Burke led Vineyard scoring with first-place finishes in the one-mile and two-mile races in the Cape and Islands League event.

Senior captain Catherine Cherry won the one-mile and finished fourth in the two-mile run, and Zach Utz won the 1,000-meter run by 15 yards.

Coach Joe Schroeder was buoyed by the results and range of contributions from his charges. ‘It’s a great first meet,” he said while packing up to catch the 8:30 boat back to the Island on a weather-weary night.

“It’s early in the season, and Peter Burke was only four seconds off his outdoor mile record. And how about Ashlei Clarke [second] and Micah Vogt [third] in the high jump?” he said, noting that Clarke also finished fifth in the JV 55-meter dash, a combination of events rarely seen.

Veterans Dash Christy and JoJo Bonneau went one, two, in the 55-meter hurdles, Borja Tolay finished second in the mile, and the Vineyarders got scoring from new veterans Amber Cuthbert, the Christy sisters (Wren and Eloise), Nick Pecararo, and Jonathan Norton, along with new names, including the Mentons (Nicole and Molly) and Braden Sayles.

A remarkable performance by five JV runners warrants mention and a place in your memory file. Shantavia Whyily (first), Hannah Tate-Arena (second), Molly Menton (third), Ashlei Clarke (fifth) and Sophie Nevin (sixth) took five of the first six spots in the 55-meter dash. All were under nine seconds, and ran varsity-quality times.

The Vineyarders compete next at Wheaton College on Jan. 2, versus Nauset High School at 3:30 pm.