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02/10/2015 11:00 PMIndoor Track
Both Tigers' squads took part in the SCC Championship on Feb. 6 at the Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven. The girls were seventh with 30 points while the boys earned 18 points to come in ninth.
Within the boys' results, Ian Bergere broke a SCC Championship record in the pole vault at 14-6 to take the crown. For the girls, Caroline O' Neil took the 300 title in a time of 40.76; the 4x200 relay of Molly Citrin, Sam Schaefer, Gabrielle Harmon, and O' Neil was also victorious (1:48.51); and so was the 1,600 sprint medley quartet of Schaefer, Harmon, Citrin, and Megan Phillips (4:30.23).
Additionally for the Tigers' boys, Devon McShane was third (11-6) for the vault Adam Taylor raced to sixth for the 1,000 (time of 2:42.81); plus the 4x400 relay of John Hartman, Chris Parker, Kyle Boling, and Taylor was also sixth (3:42.32).
Girls' Basketball
Hand is now 15-1 overall and 6-0 in SCC Hammonasset Division after completing a season sweep of rival Law on Feb. 4 with a 63-52 victory prior to a 68-43 decision over Hillhouse on Feb. 6.
Against Law, Gillian Kraemer led three Tigers in double figures with 12 points while adding six assists and four rebounds. Gabby Martin totaled 11 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, three steals, and two blocks. Cori Ouellette scored 10 points on a trio of three-pointers. Cassidy Wygonik and Gege Catalano combined for 16 points and 18 rebounds. Law blitzed the visiting Tigers right from the jump, starting the game on an 8-0 run. Hand settled down, countering with a 10-3 run that included threes from Kraemer and Paula Materin. But Law's attacking game kept Hand off-balance as they stretched the lead to 19-14 after one. Law began the second strong, as well, scoring the first four points of the quarter to take a 23-14 lead before Hand started to chip away. Another Materin three got the Tigers within two at 25-23 before Law concluded the half on a 5-0 run to take a 30-23 lead into the break. Hand rediscovered its shooting touch in the third when Ouellette's second trey of the quarter granted Hand its first lead of the ballgame at 33-32 halfway through the period. The two teams went back and forth to tie the game at 40 heading into the final frame. Law looked to pull away early in the fourth as they took a 49-45 lead with just under six minutes to play. But Hand grabbed control using a 14-0 over the next four minutes to take hold of the game.
Against Hillhouse, Martin led the Tigers with a game-high 15 points, adding seven assists and six rebounds. Kraemer chipped in 13 points and four rebounds. Catalano totaled 11 points, six rebounds, and two blocks. Ouellette hit a trio of three-pointers while Wygonik grabbed nine boards and blocked six shots. Hand jumped out to an early 9-4 lead behind a pair of triples from Ouellette, but Hillhouse closed the quarter strong with a 10-2 run to take a 14-11 lead after one. Hand started to open things up in the second quarter as the fast break, combined with a stingy zone defense, helped the host Tigers take a 27-21 lead into the half. The third quarter was all Hand as six different players put their name in the scorebook while Hillhouse struggled to find its shot. Taking a 49-29 lead into the final frame, Hand increased the lead to 58-29 early in the fourth before the Academics finally scored.
Boys' Basketball
Hand defeated North Haven 72-33 before a 60-55 loss to Hillhouse to sit with a mark of 7-8 (3-2 in SCC Hammonasset Division).
Versus North Haven, Justin Freund (21 points) led a 22-1 opening quarter run with
11 points on 5-of-5 shooting as Hand led by as many as 43 in the third. Nasir Williams added 15 points, Jack Driscoll dropped in 11 points and seven rebounds, plus Dante Egidio dished out eight assists.
Against the Academics, Hillhouse jumping out to an 8-0 lead, yet the Tigers responded and, led by Pat Kerins' nine points, Hand closed the gap to six (22-16) at the end of the quarter. Hand opened the second more aggressive on both ends of the floor, winning the quarter 12-11 behind 7-of-10 shooting from the free-throw line and holding Hillhouse to only three field goals. Starting the third down only five, the Tigers now became the aggressor behind the inside-outside play of Kerins (18 points on the night) and Driscoll (9 points, 13 boards), who combined for 10 points in the quarter, helping the Tigers close to within a point at the end of the quarter. After opening the fourth with a 7-0 run, Hillhouse looked like it would cruise to win No. 11 on the season, but Hand refused to go away by getting back to within three with less than three remaining, forcing Hillhouse hold the ball and kill the clock. With less than two minutes to play, Hand was now forced to foul. Despite scoring on three straight possessions down the stretch, Hand couldn't close the gap as Hillhouse players combined to go 6-for-6 from the line. Jeff Allen added a double-double on 10 points and 13 boards while Justin Freund scored a dozen.
Wrestling
The Tigers (19-8) traveled to rival Guilford and suffered a 37-34 loss on Feb. 3 before taking a 41-25 home defeat versus Branford two nights later. At the Ledyard Duals on Feb. 7, Hand defeated Waterford (42-33), Nonnewaug (58-17), and Southington (39-27), but fell to New Fairfield (44-30).
Against Guilford, Ben Onofrio (pin at 1:07), Ryan Niles (pin at 1:33), Christian Westphal (pin at 1:06), Mark Hartman (pin at 1:10), Liam Sullivan (technical decision, 15-0), and Ashton Gyenizs (technical decision, 18-3) were victorious for Hand.
Facing Branford, Eric Bloomfield (4-0 decision), Pardales (6-3 decision), Luke Bernardo (major decision, 10-2), Connor Sakmar (major decision, 10-2), Liam Sullivan (technical decision, 17-2), and Owen Gottlick (pin at 2:25) came out on top.
Skiing
Hand participated in its third race of the season on Jan. 15 against 13 schools, including Joel Barlow, Danbury, Fairfield Prep, Gilbert School, Greenwich, Guilford, New Fairfield, Pomperaug, Southington, Ridgefield, Westbrook, Westhill, and Weston. The girls placed fifth in the competition with Carly Fischer placing fourth out of 82 participants with a total time of 52.48, followed by Melanie Rennie (11th, time of 53.81) and Caitlyn Harvey (24th, 56.33). The boys' squad's top performers included Jared Newton (11th, 50.33); Jacob Nulsen (83rd, 67.54); and Colin Walker (90th, 70.98).