It seems appropriate, somehow, that the first reward Bethany Pennington received upon hearing that she was the valedictorian of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School class of 2009 was extra homework.

“The principal called me into his office and said, ‘You’re the valedictorian. You have to make a speech at graduation and it’s due in three weeks,’” she said, laughing, in an interview at her father’s office yesterday.

The juggernaut Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School boys’ hockey team easily defeated two powerful opponents this week to advance to the quarterfinals of the division 2 south state tournament, setting up an epic showdown tonight against old rival Coyle-Cassidy, the team that has knocked the Vineyarders out of the playoffs for two out of the last three years.

Tonight’s game against Coyle-Cassidy faces-off at 5:15 p.m. at the Gallo Arena in Bourne.

There aren’t many opportunities in life to achieve the elusive standard of perfection. And some people spend their whole lives trying. But as a wise man once said, “When you aim for perfection, you discover it’s a moving target.”

The weekend before Thanksgiving will be noticeably less festive on the Vineyard this year as school officials this week confirmed that the storied Island Cup football game with inter-Island rival Nantucket has been cancelled for the first time in almost 50 years.

Sandy Mincone, the new athletic director for the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, told the Gazette this week that Nantucket pulled out of the long-standing tradition due to financial reasons.

Matt Mincone, coach of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School boys’ hockey team, wasn’t disappointed by his team’s crushing 3-2 loss last Friday against Coyle Cassidy in the Division 2 South Sectional semifinals, a game decided by the largely unfamiliar format of a shoot-out.

Nor was the coach sad, or enraged by the shoot-out loss. Instead it left him, as it did many players and parents, feeling simply numb.

Although persistent drizzle made the playing field slippery on Wednesday, the undefeated Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School girls’ lacrosse team had no problems finding their footing, easily defeating lower-seeded Oliver Ames in the Division II sectionals of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament to advance to the next round.

The weather may still be cold and grey, but spring was in full swing on the Vineyard’s athletic fields this week as the high school spring sports teams held practices and played in their first games of the season.

The boys’ tennis team split a pair of matches, while the softball team dropped their opener after a promising preseason. The boys’ lacrosse fell behind early in their opener but rallied late to make the game close, while the girls’ lacrosse team was dominant in its opener, winning easily by a 12-goal margin.

The Vineyard boys’ tennis team this week earned a number three seed and a bye in the first round of the MIAA tournament, and will play at home on Monday; meanwhile the boys’ lacrosse team lost to Sandwich in the first round of the state tournament on Tuesday.

The boys’ tennis team finished the season with a 14-4 record, and unofficially won the Eastern Athletic Conference with a league record of 7-1 — unofficial because the Vineyard does not become a full member of the conference until next year.

A little sun, a little rain, temperatures hovering in the upper 40s and the wind blowing hard — it was perfect weather for the opening weekend of Vineyard Youth Soccer’s little-heralded, largely-accomplished and newly expanded travel program on the fields at the West Tisbury School.

The Island’s travel soccer teams kicked off the first round of the season with home openers against several teams from the South Coast Soccer League on Saturday.

The dream season for girls' lacrosse came to an end Friday on a muddy, rain-soaked field at the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School against a
powerful team from Hingham. The Hingham girls prevailed 11-8 in the second
round of the state tournament. The Vineyard girls, who have been undefeated
all season and had advanced to the second round with a solid win on
Wednesday, could not get the job done before a cheering crowd on a soggy
day.

“I couldn't be prouder of the kids. They've been terrific all season
long.