Swim team ends season on up note
BY STEVE SHEPPARD INDEPENDENT SPORTS EDITOR
      The NHS swimming and diving season is over, and coach Jim Pignato and his teams can look back on a year of record-breaking accomplishments. Two of those records fell during the Division II state finals, thanks to the efforts of Justine Paradis and Beau Garufi.
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It's on to the finals!
BY STEVE SHEPPARD INDEPENDENT SPORTS EDITOR
      Girls advance with romps over Bishop Connolly, Blue Hills and nail-biter with Hull The beat goes on for the Lady Whalers who advance to the Division 4 South Sectional finals - the farthest any basketball team from Nantucket has gone - on the strength of a gut-wrenching, 52-49, victory over Hu...
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TIGHT LINES
DEATH BEFORE DECAF
with Andrew Spencer
      I'm not entirely sure who came up with the idea of "theme months," but apparently some brainiac decided that March should be "Caffeine Awareness Month." This one is new to me, but being the dedicated coffee drinker that I am, I'm on board with it. According to at least one study, 90 percent of Ame...
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Boys fall out of tourney; season still a success
BY STEVE SHEPPARD INDEPENDENT WRITER
      The trip through the postseason ended abruptly for the boys' basketball team last Wednesday afternoon, as the visiting Westport Wildcats outperformed the Whalers, 64-37. For Nantucket, which hosted the first two games of the tournament, the loss meant there would be no road games again this year.
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BIRDS OF NANTUCKET
CHECKERBOARD BIRDS
by Kenneth Turner Blackshaw
      Ialways think 'checkerboard' when I see their black-and-white-checked appearance, but I suppose 'houndstooth' might also work okay. If you have a suet feeder you probably are hosting these little charmers in your yard. This week's bird is a woodpecker, actually the most common on Nantucket, but it...
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