Two of Martha’s Vineyard’s Regional High School varsity swim relay teams have qualified for south sectionals this season, and to prepare for the competitive showdown this Sunday at MIT in Boston, the two teams, freestyle and medley, faced off against some of the Island’s fastest master swimmers.
The 200-yard medley relay team, Grady Stalgren, Michael Calheta, Ronan Mullin, and Kaua De Assis, as well as the 200-yard freestyle relay team, Anthony Pruciano, Moses Thomson, Mullin, and De Assis, went head-to-head with a formidable lineup of Vineyard swimmers: assistant swim coach and former UNC swimmer Josh Thomson, former Harvard swimmer Greg Mone, former Redford University swimmer Greg Mason, and master swimmer Noah Froh.
In the medley relay, Assistant Coach Thomson took an early lead in the backstroke, setting the pace for the men. When Mone touched the water, he widened the gap even more with his famous breaststroke. On the boys side, Mullin’s butterfly leg — with his personal best nearing a school record — kept the race close.
But despite a strong finish from De Assis, the younger squad fell just short, by less than a body length.
The freestyle relay was a similar story, but even closer. After a brief rest, the high schoolers returned and fell short by only a sliver.
Coach Jen Passafiume said it was a fun event, and a good way to get the swimmers in shape for their big meet, and she was grateful to the older swimmers helping the next generation.
“It takes a village,” said Passafiume. “Having these guys come in and give them pointers inspires the kids, and it gives them something to shoot for, which is awesome.”
“The fact the older guys were just as fast as the kids was awesome too; they were looking forward to this,” she added. “I know I was.”
Passafiume said was proud of how the students performed as well, but emphasized the need for some improvement.
“The medley relay needs to drop three seconds, and the freestyle relay needs to shave off one second to qualify,” Passafiume said. “And Mullin is getting close to that school record in the fly.”
To reach their goals, the team will wear high-performance tech suits at their upcoming meet — specialized gear made from hydrophobic material to help reduce drag in the water.
“You only get about six good swims out of them, so we save them for the big races,” Passafiume said.
She also noted that the conditions at MIT’s pool, where they’ll be competing, could work in their favor.
“The water will be a little colder, which helps with times, and the pool is deeper than ours, so there’ll be less pushback and splash when they push off the walls,” she said.
Overall, she said, they are all excited for the big event, with hopes of placing in the state championships.
