Track and field
The MVRHS track and field teams ran three meets in a span of eight days, starting with a sweep over Sturgis on May 19. The girls improved to 3-0 with an 80-44 win, and the boys earned their first win, 67-60.
Saturday, the Vineyarders hosted the powerful Nauset Warriors. Although the MV girls and boys both lost, by 73-53 and 75-41 respectively, the Vineyarders had a host of outstanding performances, and broke two school records.
Zach Utz broke the school outdoor record in the mile with a time of 4:28.8, surpassing Peter Burke’s previous mark of 4:30.69, set in 2019, and Wren Christy broke Pearl Vercruysse’s 2017 outdoor record in the two-mile by six seconds, clocking in at 11:26, which placed her second to Nauset’s Isabelle Nobili (11:23). “Wren has had an outstanding season. She’s really been the soldier in the one-mile and two-mile,” Vineyard Coach Joe Schroeder said.
Ashlei Clarke had a pair of highlights for the girls, winning both the discus (88 feet, 5 inches) and the shot put (30 feet, 5 inches). Maia Donnelly won the 800 meters (2:32) and placed third in the 200m, triple jump, and long jump.
For the boys, Daniel da Silva ran a personal best 2:03.8 to win the 800, and Owen Atkins took second with a pb 2:06.8. “Those are smoking times for kids who haven’t run outdoor track for a while,” Coach Schroeder said. Borja Tolay earned a personal best (10:10) with a second-place run in the two-mile, and joined Kenny Cook, Atkins, and da Silva to win the 4 x 400 relay in 3:51.
MV traveled to Dennis-Yarmouth on Tuesday. The Dolphins edged the Vineyard girls, 70-66, and the boys, 65-56.
On Saturday, the Vineyard girls and boys head to Gordon College in Wenham for the Eastern Massachusetts Division 4 Relays.
Zach Utz will compete at Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro on Saturday in a showcase event, the Platinum PT Qualifier, featuring the top 12 boy and girl milers in the state.
Girls tennis
The Vineyarders made it 6-for-6 this season with a 5-0 win over Barnstable on Friday afternoon in Oak Bluffs.
No. 1 singles Hunter Tomkins topped Josie Ackell 6-2, 6-1; Cali Giglio edged Ana Bullock in a tough second singles match, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2); and Karrine Nivala defeated Penny Baron at third singles, 6-2, 6-3.
In the doubles matches, Tessa Hammond and Andrea Morse bested Mya Berler and Teagan Geraghly 6-1, 6-1, with Paige Anderson and Catherine Langley rolling past Maddie Devoe and Dana Edwards 6-0, 6-0.
Boys tennis
The Vineyarders improved to 5-0 on the season after downing host Barnstable, 4-1, in a battle of unbeatens on Friday afternoon.
MV grabbed a quick 2-0 lead after first singles Max Potter defeated Jeremy Bullock 6-2, 6-0, and Eric Reubens beat Eric Arabadzhiev 6-1, 6-1, at second singles.
From there, the final three matches were long struggles. The Vineyard No. 1 doubles tandem of Clyde Smith and Teagan Myers topped Alex Arabadzhiev and Brennan Riley 6-0, 4-6, 6-0, with Ben Belisle and Jack Marshard outlasting Mike Radalakis and Stefan Mee at second doubles 7-5, 6-4.
In third singles, Jonny Finch won the first set from Vineyarder Jacob Riis, 7-6, in a tiebreaker. Riis led 5-4 in the second, serving to even the match, but due to time constraints, the match was awarded to Barnstable.
The Vineyarders visit Falmouth on May 26, and host Nauset on Friday at 3 pm, and Nantucket on Saturday at 12:30 pm.
“It was great,” Vineyard Coach Kev Lewis said of the win. “They have some young talent, and they pushed us harder than we’ve been pushed yet. They’re coming on June 9 on Senior Day, and we’re expecting the same kind of battle.”
Sailing
The Vineyard sailors traveled to Dartmouth on Monday, and posted wins over Bishop Stang (3-0) and Dartmouth High School (3-2).
MV (5-1-1) won the first two races against Dartmouth, and then had to grind out the win in the best-of-five series. The crucial moment came when the Vineyarders “peeled the banana,” the most difficult maneuver in team racing. The second-place Vineyard boat with skipper Zach Ward and crew Jocelyn Baliunas aboard combined with the third-place boat (Miles Wolfe and Yossi Monahan) to clamp down on Dartmouth’s fourth- and fifth-place boats to free their Vineyard teammates from last place on the last leg, just before the finish line. Thus, MV took the win with a 2-3-4 finish (nine points) beating 1-5-6 (12 points).
MV heads to Falmouth on May 27, and competes in the Figawi fleet racing event at the Hyannis Yacht Club on Saturday.