Running on Empty

Attempts to fund an upgrade to the high school track have been a marathon, but (MVRHS) officials think they may see the finish line.

Greg Hines, high school facilities manager, this week received results of a study prepared by CHA Sports, a sports facility designer and builder based in Concord. “We're looking at it right now and we'll pass it onto the school board,” he said of the study, which is expected to recommend fixes costing between $80,000 and $500,000. If approved, repairs would take four to six weeks in cooperative weather, Hines estimated this week. 

CHA did a site review several months ago of the heavily used facility behind the high school. The track is 17 years old, several years beyond the usable life of most tracks. The track's condition has drawn the ire of Island track fans and a reluctance to compete on it by other schools, according to fans and Joe Schroeder, MVRHS track coach.  

Ironically, the track is home to the school's most successful sports program. Boys and girls teams have reeled off a series of consecutive league championships over the past 20 years, highlighted by a state championship boys team in 1998. 

MVRHS is still a track power. Last month at the Eastern Athletic Conference league championships, more than for state divisional, covering about 70 percent of track and field events. 

Last week, six MVRHS track and field athletes . Among them: UMass-bound Randall Jette, ranked second in the state for the men’s 100-meter event; Rafael Maciel, ranked third for the 400-meeter hurdle event; and shot putter Maggie Risebrough, undefeated this season, now ranked number one in the state. They, along with 4X100 relay team members Jacob Lawrence, Brian Montambault, and Anthony Piland will compete Saturday at the state championships at Bridgewater State University. 

Schroeder has been here for 24 years and the former Ohio Wesleyan runner knows it's a long race.

“High school tracks, certainly this one, get a lot of use. It's a community resource. I see people on it year-round, rain or shine. And it's a resource, as it should be, for events like the upcoming Relay for Life [to be held June 3 and 4].”

“I've been talking about it for years, now the right people are listening,” he said after the Purple polished of Blue Hills in the final season meet last month. “Look, I understand. Budgets are tight and it's difficult to fund everything you want to do,” he said. To make do, Schroeder practices his team on grass, saving wear and tear on the grainy composite surface, which has lost its bounce.

One of the right people is Athletic Director Mark McCarthy. “It's moving. We'll see what we get, but it's got to be durable, given the use it gets. Any solution, starting from scratch or resurfacing, is a six-figure fix.”

That fix can't happen fast enough for Richard Tarter, father of freshman phenom Jeremy Alley-Tarter, who's already succeeded at USA Track and Field middle-distance events. 

Looking down at the track surface last week, the former Iona College track star said, “This track is a liability. If runners fall on this stuff, they're in trouble. Other teams don't want to run here.” 

Schroeder agreed that schools shy away from running on the Vineyard track when they can.

Oak Bluffs resident Ocean Eversley noted a chicken-egg irony. “If we had a decent track, we could draw track competitions here and raise money for better facilities,” the amateur women's track champion said.