MVRHS swimmers race against Nantucket, Nauset

Vineyarders set slew of personal bests as season hits homestretch.

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The MVRHS swim team had a busy week at the YMCA of Martha’s Vineyard, competing in back-to-back virtual meets against Nantucket and Nauset, plus the Vineyard half of a virtual meet with Barnstable on Monday.

First up, on Feb. 3, the Vineyarders swam against Nantucket. The Whalers defeated the girls, 118-26, and the boys, 93-46, but MV piled up an impressive 14 personal best times.

In the boys’ meet, Ruairi Mullin qualified for states with a first-place swim in the 200 freestyle, clocking in at 1:55.17, and Christian Flanders swam a personal best 2:13.35 to place third. Flanders and Mullin joined Emmett Silva and Nathan Cuthbert to win the 200 free relay in 1:46.24. Andy Carr shaved nearly five seconds off his time in the 100 butterfly to grab fourth place in 1:21.81. Simon Hammarlund (6:50.53) and Carr (6:53.04) swam the 500 free for the first time in competition, placing second and third. Finally, in the 100 breaststroke, both Flanders (second, 1:21.31) and Hammarlund (fourth, 1:34.22) earned PB’s.

For the girls, Gabby Carr (5:51.61) placed second and qualified for sectionals in the 500 free. She also won the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:07.05. Delilah Hammarlund bested her time in the 100 free by more than three seconds, finishing third in 1:08.07. In the 100 breaststroke, Olympia Hall (1:20.29) took third, Lily Jones (1:27.32) was fifth in her first competitive swim in the event, and Delilah Hammarlund (1:28.60, PB) was sixth.

The Vineyarders were back in the YMCA pool the following evening, and earned a split with Nauset. The girls lost, 114-44, while the boys edged the Warriors, 57-56, to earn their third win.

Overall, MV set 10 new personal best times. The team also recognized its three graduating senior girls, co-captains Gabby Carr and Eleanor Hyland, along with Lily Jones.

Carr added to her impressive results by winning the 200 free (a sectional-qualifying 2:07.94) and the 50 free (27.65), with Jones (1:03.93, PB) taking first in the 100 free. Olympia Hall won the 100 breaststroke in 1:21.35, and set a new personal best (2:39.59) by nearly two seconds with a second place in the 200 individual medley. Delilah Hammarlund swam third (1:28.00, PB) in the 100 breaststroke, and Eleanor Hyland had a pair of fifth-place swims in the 100 free (1:20.36) and 200 free (2:57.55).

On the boys’ side, Ruairi Mullin was in top form, qualifying for sectionals in the 100 free (first, 52.24, PB), winning the 200 free (2:01.26), and swimming with Nathan Cuthbert, Emmett Silva, and Christian Flanders to first place in the 200 free relay (1:45.12). Flanders (25.55), Andy Carr (29.80, PB), and Simon Hammarlund (30.17, PB) finished 1-2-3 in the 50 free, and Christian crushed his old mark in the 100 backstroke by more than nine seconds to place second in 1:06.68). Cuthbert (59.22) took second in the 100 free, and Silva (2:45.87) swam second in his first 200 individual medley.

Monday evening, the Vineyarders swam their half of a virtual meet against Barnstable High School. BHS will swim their portion of the meet in Hyannis on Feb. 11. The swimming virtual championship is also set for Feb. 11, starting at 5:20 pm. The event will be livestreamed on the team’s Facebook page. The results of both meets will be in the Times, both online and in the next issue.