The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) swim team capped off a dominant season on Saturday at the seventh annual Cape and Islands League Championships. The boys team won their third consecutive league title, and the girls earned a historic third-place finish.
The boys amassed 375 points, outpacing Nantucket at 288, Sandwich with 211, Nauset at 151, and Barnstable at 118, to secure their fourth championship in the past five years. The girls, in their strongest showing to date, gathered 169 points for a third-place finish behind Nantucket at 442 and Sandwich at 330, beating Nauset, who scored 121.
“This team has grown into quite the family this season,” said Head Coach Jen Passafiume in an email to The Times. “Walking into Sandwich Middle High School, the team spirit was high as ‘I am awesome, I am loved’ was being chanted by the team. We were ready to go.”
Aside from the Vineyard league win, highlights from the league championship meet included a new school record in the boys’ medley relay, as well as in the 100-yard breaststroke.
The girls’ team also made history, placing third in a Cape and Islands League meet for the first time. The girls had experienced roster shortages in the past, and this is the first season in Passafiume’s high school coaching career the girls roster has been filled out.
“The girls brought home a trophy for the first time in team history, placing third,” said Passafiume in her email. “Great job, everyone –– I am so proud of you.”
The meet kicked off with the boys’ 200-yard medley relay, where Grady Stalgren, Michael Calheta, Ronan Mullin, and Moses Thomson stormed to first place and set a new Vineyard high school school record with a time of 1:45.52, which also qualified them for the Division 2 state meets.
Claus Smith was also a standout in individual events, qualifying for South Sectional championships in the 50-yard freestyle with a new personal best of 24.23, placing third in the meet. Thomson followed closely in fourth at 24.94, also setting a new personal best.
Calheta etched his name in the Martha’s Vineyard record books again at Saturday’s league championship meet. Calheta broke his own school record in the 100-yard breaststroke with a new personal best time of 1:12.12, winning the event.
The boys’ 200-yard freestyle relay team, made up of Thomson, Calheta, Smith, and Mullin, also clinched Division 2 state qualification with a first-place finishing time of 1:37.91.
On the girls’ side, standout performances included Kyla Webster’s fourth-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle and Leah Thomson’s new personal best time of 1:05.01 in the 100-yard freestyle, where she placed fifth. The Vineyarders also had a strong performance in the girls’ 400-yard freestyle relay, placing third with a time of 4:38.54.
The MVRHS swim team’s Division 2 South Sectional championship qualifiers will travel to Boston University on Sunday, Feb. 8, to compete, and state qualifiers will travel to Massachusetts Institute of Technology to compete in the Division 2 state championships the following weekend on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Martha’s Vineyard swim team postseason qualifiers
South Sectionals:
50-yard freestyle: Ronan Mullin
200-yard freestyle: Ronan Mullin
500-yard freestyle: Ronan Mullin
100-yard butterfly: Ronan Mullin, Grady Stalgren
100-yard backstroke: Grady Stalgren
200-yard individual medley: Ronan Mullin
200-yard medley relay: Grady Stalgren, Michael Calheta, Ronan Mullin, Moses Thomson/Claus Smith
200-yard freestyle relay: Michael Calheta, Claus Smith, Moses Thomson, Ronan Mullin
400-yard freestyle relay: Grady Stalgren, Claus Smith, Moses Thomson, Ronan Mullin
D2 State Championships:
100-yard freestyle: Ronan Mullin
200-yard freestyle: Ronan Mullin
500-yard freestyle: Ronan Mullin
200-yard individual medley: Ronan Mullin
200-yard medley relay: Grady Stalgren, Michael Calheta, Ronan Mullin, Moses Thomson
200-yard freestyle relay: Moses Thomson, Michael Calheta, Claus Smith, Ronan Mullin
400-yard freestyle relay: Grady Stalgren, Claus Smith, Moses Thomson, Ronan Mullin
