With two top performances, the regional high school indoor track and field teams made their mark at the MIAA Division Five Championship meet Friday night.

At the meet, Zach Utz won the boys mile, and the Martha’s Vineyard boys 4x800 meter relay landed a first place finish. Nearly all the athletes from both the boys and girls teams reached new personal bests at the meet, assistant coach Donald Brown told the Gazette.

“I’m really happy with how it went,” he said.

Qualifying for the state tournament were Zach Utz (mile), Jonathan Norton (1000 meter), and the 4X800 relay team of Utz, Norton, Duncan Brown and Daniel da Silva.

Overall, the boys team scored 32 points to tie with Dover-Sherbon for fifth place at the meet, a feat Mr. Brown said was impressive considering the team’s small size.

“It was basically four guys scoring,” he said.

Where most teams at championship meets are diversified by athletes of all disciplines from running to jumping to throwing, the regional high school relies heavily on its small group of distance runners.

“[It’s] unbelievable... we just did it with that distance crew,” Mr. Brown said.

Much of that fifth place performance is thanks to Utz’s win in the mile, and the championship 4x800 meter relay. In both races the Vineyard runners led wire to wire.

“Nobody had an answer to Zach,” Mr. Brown said. “He fought off three or four comebacks in the middle of the race.”

In addition to the state tournament, Utz has already qualified for the New Balance Nationals in the emerging elite mile category. However his winning time of 4:23 on Friday puts him within striking distance of qualifying for nationals in the elite mile (a step above the emerging elite mile category). The elite mile race comprises the best high school milers in the country.

Mr. Brown said if Utz can run a 4:19 mile at all-state next week, he will qualify for the elite mile.

“The outright best in the nation,” he said.

Also on the precipice of a nationals bid is the 4x800 meter relay. Mr. Brown said the relay’s winning time of 8:19 Sunday brings them within two seconds of qualifying for nationals. While he hopes the team can pick up those couple seconds at all-state Saturday, he said the team is approaching the season meet-by-meet.

“Until we’re qualified and driving to New York, we’re not talking about it,” he said.

Also qualifying individually for all-state from the high school was Norton with a third place finish in the 1000 meter run with a time of 2:38.

Mr. Brown said a highlight from the girls team Saturday was Alexa Schroder’s personal best time of 5:29 in the mile to cap off her season. The girls finished in a tie for 26th at the divisional championships with a score of 3.5 points, all coming from Eloise Christy’s fifth place performance in the high jump with a leap of four feet, 10 inches.

Mr. Brown said that on both the boys and girls team, everyone who competed showed some of their best stuff this season.

“Everybody who ran, ran well,” he said.

He credited much of the team’s success to the support system and culture the Vineyarders have created for themselves.

“You can’t get there alone,” he said. “It takes a strong group with a strong culture.”

The team next competes on Saturday in the all-state meet, where runners will try to qualify in their respective events for the New England championships on March 5. New Balance Nationals follows in New York city the next week on March 12 for those who qualify.