In what has fast became a rite of spring, regional high school track and field teams again dominated their annual Mayflower League meet on Tuesday at Sacred Heart in Kingston. The girls team broke three league records en route to their fourth conference title in a row and the boys staged a late rally to capture their ninth title in a row.
Kim Carlomagno broke her own record in the 400-metre with a time of 60.7, while Megan Dreyer broke a record in the mile run that has stood for 11 years with a time of 5:31. The girls 4-by-400-metre relay team of Carlomagno, Dreyer, Lauren Lucas and Marie Penicaud finished first with a time of 4:18.37, beating a record that has stood since 1982.
There were fewer first-place finishes on the boys’ side, and the team fell behind perennial power Sacred Heart after the field events.
But they found their spark in the track events, led by Mark Reppert, who won the 800-metre with a time of 2:05, and Doug Asselin, who took first in the 400-metre with a time of 60.3. The 400-by-100 relay team of Cody Brewer, Josh Baker, Ryan Dwane and Daryl Kaeka won with a time of 46.69.
It was fitting swan song for coach Joe Schroeder and his Vineyarders, who were competing in their final Mayflower League meet. Next year they move to the Eastern Athletic Conference.
The coach said the championships were the perfect ending to the Mayflower League era.
“The kids have thrived in this league. There is a level of expectation that carries over from year to year. They know they are the team to beat, and they like having that bull’s-eye on their backs,” he said.
And though the competition gets tougher next year in the new conference, Coach Schroeder welcomes the challenge. “I think in the long run it will help our program. The competition is better, the programs are better, and the team will be challenged every week. They like to be challenged . . . that is the culture of the team,” he said.
Although many individual girls dominated their events on Tuesday, the overall team title was not secured until the final event, the high jump, when Hilary Dreyer finished second with a jump of 4’10” and Marie Penicaud finished fifth with a jump of 4’6”. The Vineyard finished with 141.5 total points, just beating out Sacred Heart, which finished with 135.
Coach Schroeder said Sacred Heart was the team’s biggest rival. “I think our kids look forward to competing against them,” he said.
The boys’ team also had to rally to win the team event, but in the end tallied 119 points, comfortably ahead of Sacred Heart’s 92.
Next up for the Vineyarders are the state relays tomorrow in Milton followed by the state divisionals on May 29 in Ipswich.
Several individuals have already qualified for the state meet. Mark Reppert has qualified for the 800-metre, Doug Asselin is expected to qualify for the 400-metre hurdles and the 4-by-100 relay team has also qualified.
On the girls’ side, Emma Lee Iversen and Lauren Lucas have qualified for the 100-metre hurdles, Hilary Dreyer has qualified for the high jump and Kim Carlomagno has qualified for the 400-metre, 200-metre and 100 metre, but will have to choose one to compete in. The 4-by-400 relay team has also qualified for states.
Girls’ Lacrosse
The girls’ lacrosse team continued its streak this week, winning three games against tough opponents to remain undefeated on the season and run their record to 14-0. The girls won 19-7 over Barnstable on Saturday in the rain, 22-11 against Bourne on Tuesday on the road and 14-3 over inter-Island Nantucket on Wednesday.
Coach Betsy Dripps’s team has won all their games by an average margin victory of over 10 goals.
“We continue to roll, and I could not be prouder of these girls. I know they will keep playing hard right up until the state tournament,” the coach said.
The Vineyard team came out firing Saturday against Barnstable, building an 11-2 lead at the half behind goals from Sophie Lew, Brianna Davies and Hayley Pierce.
They were equally strong in the second half, as senior goaltender Zoe Fisher finished with 13 saves in the cage. A strong defense of Taylor Chisolm, Olivia Gross, Lonnie Phillips and Alexa Fisher stifled the Barnstable attack.
Laura Jernegan was again brilliant on offense, finishing with five goals and an assist. Lew also finished with five goals, while Pierce had three scores and two assists, Kate Cecilio had two goals and an assist, Molly Fischer had one goal and an assist, Anna Cristina Jurczyk had one goal and one assist and Cristina Wiley had one goal and an assist.
On Tuesday the team traveled to Bourne for a rematch some thought would be a close game. The girls scored three goals in the first 90 seconds of the game and Bourne came back with three unanswered goals to tie the game at 3-3.
But the rest of the first half belonged to the Vineyard as they scored 11 more goals to take a 14-5 half-time lead en route to an easy 22-11 win. Wiley had her best game of the season with six goals and two assists, while Pierce and Jernegan each had four goals and one assist.
The girls flew over to Nantucket for Wednesday’s match with the Whalers and continued to soar. Both Jernegan and Lew had two goals and an assist to help the team improve to 14-0 overall and 13-0 in the Maritime League, the best start in team history.
The girls play at home today at 5 p.m. against Falmouth.
Boys’ Lacrosse
The boys are also having a strong season with a record of 9-3.
At home on Tuesday, they outlasted Bourne in a physical game to win 8-6. Erik Dolliver had five goals in the win; Brooks Billingham, Antone Silvia and Matt Costello also scored.
Softball
The softball team had an up and down week, dropping a pair of games to two of the strongest teams in the state while also defeating Cape Tech at home. Their record now stands at an even 6-6.
The Vineyard girls went on the road last Friday to play Somerset, the number 10 ranked team in the state. To make matters worse they were missing two of their senior co-captains. Despite this, they lost by a respectable score of 7-1 behind strong pitching by Caroline Davey.
Coach Josh Burgoyne said it was his team’s best showing so far against an Eastern Athletic Conference opponent. The team moves next year into the EAC.
Back at home Monday, the girls defeated Cape Tech 8-4 behind strong pitching performances from Martha Scheffer, who settled down after falling behind three runs early to hurl a complete game victory.
Taylor Perrotta went two for three with two stolen bases and an RBI in the win from the leadoff position. Emma Frizzell had two triples and scored twice while Holly Robinson went two for three. Sophomore Alicia Oliveira continued her strong season, going three for three with a sacrifice fly and an RBI; she is batting .420 on the season.
Scheffer gave up only one earned run and struck out nine in the win.
The Vineyarders ran into a buzz saw at home Wednesday against Coyle Cassidy, another EAC powerhouse, losing 18-0.
Davey pitched well in the loss and stayed in the game even after being struck by a line drive in the leg in the third inning.
“It was a gritty performance. She got hit pretty hard but she wanted to stay in and compete,” Coach Burgoyne said.
The team has a chance of qualifying for the state tournament, if they can finish strong.
“It’s going to be a battle. We have some really tough games left on the schedule. But this is a cohesive bunch that never gets down on themselves. They have the right makeup,” the coach said.
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