Against Sandwich, boys hockey goalie Graham Stearns was lights out in the net. The sophomore stopped 28 shots en route to his first shutout of the year.

Skates are sharpened, the court is waxed, the wait is over and winter sports are back. The traditional meet the coaches night was held last week; play begins Thursday for ice hockey, basketball, swimming and indoor track and field.

Facing competition in the form of familiar and new foes from towns all over Massachusetts, the Vineyard runners torched their way through the 3.1 mile course at the Gardner Municipal Golf Course.

For the second year in a row the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School cross country team has produced a banner season. Saturday the boys squad won the division five South Sectional championship.

On a bitterly cold and windy Friday night at Dan McCarthy Field, a motivated Mashpee team out-muscled a banged-up Vineyard squad 20-6.

After defeating Seekonk 2-1 in the preliminary playoff round Sunday afternoon in Seekonk, the boys soccer team was tested Tuesday against undefeated Norwell.

While the Whalers and Vineyarders slugged it out on the gridiron Saturday, over on the Cape, cross country’s senior captain Peter Burke was leaving runners in his wake.

In the 40th Island Cup matchup, a tough Nantucket team proved too much for the Vineyarders. The Whalers wasted no time in jumping out to a 28-0 lead.

This year’s Island Cup features a young crop of vigorous Vineyarders eager to recapture the cup versus a Nantucket team riding high off back-to-back lopsided wins.

First up for the off-season is the golf team, which heads to Dennis Highland on Monday, Oct. 21 to play in the Cape and Islands League playoffs.