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05/21/2016 12:00 AMGirls’ Outdoor Track
Claira Janover and fellow senior Etta Hanlon both posted the second postseason victories of their careers by winning the triple jump and long jump, respectively, to lead to lead the Hornets’ girls’ outdoor track team at the SCC West Sectional Championship at Amity on May 17. Branford scored 94 points as a squad and finished in fourth.
Janover hit a mark of 34 feet-11.5 inches in the triple jump to top runner-up Jessica Davis from Hamden, who went 34-3.5. Janover had previously won the 55-meter hurdles at indoor sectionals this past winter. Janover also ran the 100 hurdles at the recent sectional meet, placing fourth in the preliminaries with a time of 16.12 seconds before finding fourth in the finals at 16.43.
Hanlon won the long jump with a leap of 16-2 to slip past runner-up Erica Marriott of North Haven and her distance of 16-1.75. Hanlon won that same event at this year’s indoor sectional competition.
Branford also saw three athletes finish as runner’s-up at the West Sectional. Senior Cyrene Nicholas was second in the 800 (2:24.71), as was sophomore Bridget Wirtz in the pole vault (9-6) and junior Keira Integlia in the javelin (94-2). Placing third were freshman Liante Claude in the 400 (1:01.42) and sophomore Taylor Brown for the pole vault (9-0). Nicholas additionally ran to fourth place in the 1,600 (5:25.33), while senior Issy Bysiewicz took fourth in the 300 hurdles (49.31).
Elsewhere, senior Gerling Daniels placed seventh for the preliminaries of the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.05 seconds and posted that same mark in the finals to claim fifth. Junior Courtney Cosgrove finished sixth in the 3,200 (12:37.1), junior Kiersten Bjork was seventh with the javelin (80-6), senior Anneliese Troidle placed eighth in the 1,600 (5:39.50), junior Amanda Acquarulo took eighth in the high jump (4-6), and juniors Leah Pendl-Robinson and Wyntre Fries each cleared 7 feet in the pole vault to finish eighth and ninth, respectively.
The Hornets also took fifth place in a pair of relays as the 4x100 of Acquarulo, Claude, Hanlon, and Daniels ran a 52.16, while the 4x400 of Bysiewicz, Nicholas, Claude, and Janover crossed the finish line in 4:17.93.
"Great overall effort from the team in general. Excellent performances in the jumps. Cyrene had another good day in middle distance. Keira in the jav was important, the relays were super, and the hurdles continue to be a strong point. Pole vaulters were exceptional again. Once again, Liante Claude continues to amaze us all with her ability to close out races—a big third place in the 400 and an excellent anchor leg in the 4x4," Head Coach Kevin Connell said. "We scored about what I thought we could in this meet. [Team champion] Mercy has too much depth, but I was impressed by how this group goes out and competes in big meets. We will see more from them in the next couple of weeks. The SCC meet will be tough and the class meet will be interesting."
Boys’ Outdoor Track
Senior Kory King recorded his first postseason win when he won the 110-meter high hurdles with a time of 16.01 seconds at the SCC West Sectional Championship at Amity on May 17.
King posted the third-fastest time of 16.50 in the preliminaries with senior teammate Seraphin Tala going 16.27 for the top mark. In the finals, King won with his 16.01, while Tala was right behind in second at 16.13. King also finished second for the 300-intermediate hurdles (42.61) with Tala in third (43.54. King additionally placed third in the triple jump behind a distance of 39 feet-8.75 inches. Tala’s exceptional afternoon also featured a second-place showing in the high jump at 5-8. As a team, Branford scored 62 points and finished sixth.
Additionally, senior Jake Roberts finished fifth in the discus (117-3) and Matt Alexander took seventh in the long jump (18-4.75).
For relays, the 4x800 of junior Andrew Byrne, sophomores Derek Tratnyek and Kadir Sahin, and senior Matthew Solivan placed sixth (9:21.30), with the 4x400 of freshman Marzio Mastroianni, senior Joe Borst, junior Jayden Sullivan, and senior Marshall Borrus finishing seventh at 3:54.01.
“I am really proud of how hard the kids competed today. I thought that if we had a great day that we could score 50 points. To score over 60 was a thrill and a reflection on the type of athletes on the team,” Head Coach Rich Biondi said. “Kory King and Seraphin Tala were men among boys in the hurdling events. Both of these young men are gifted athletes and students. I consider both to be throwbacks and they are very coachable. Matt Alexander and Ricky Tratnyek, both freshman, also scored in the meet, which is encouraging for the future. The team is peaking at the right time and I am looking forward to watching the athletes compete in the championship meets.”
Boys’ Lacrosse
Branford punched its ticket into the Class M State Tournament by posting a 14-2 home blowout over Sheehan on May 17. The Hornets followed that up by topping West Haven 9-5 at home two days later to finish the regular season with a record of 8-8.
Noah Patani led the offensive onslaught versus Sheehan by netting three goals, while teammates Ted Stamler and Harry Smith both scored twice. Don Ardito had a goal with two assists; Brian Nichols, Noah DeGoursey, Web Templetow, and Marc Funaro each scored a goal and had an assist; Emmon Duffy and Matt Potter added goals, and Brad Valalik and Will Riggs each had an assist. Zach DeGoursey made 13 saves in goal.
Branford held a 3-1 lead at halftime of the West Haven game before going off for five goals in the third period en route to the 9-5 win. Valalik had a huge game by scoring four goals and dishing out a pair of assists. Also scoring goals were Ardito, Nichols, Jay Dering, Stamler, and Potter. Pantani, Duffy, Smith, and Wooster had the club’s other assists. DeGoursey stood tall in net once again by swatting aside 15 offerings from the Blue Devils.
Girls’ Lacrosse
The Hornets saw their 12-game win streak snapped when they took a 10-9 loss at Hand on May 16, although Branford bounced back to win their final two regular season games for a record of 14-2. Branford beat Guilford 11-8 on May 18 and prevailed at Haddam-Killingworth 18-8 on May 21.
The Hornets enter the SCC Tournament at the No. 3 seed and will play at No. 2 Cheshire in the semifinals at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 24. With a victory, Branford would face the winner of Hand and Lauralton Hall for the conference title at West Haven at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 26. Following SCCs, Branford will compete in the Class M State Tournament.
Softball
The Hornets played five games last week and won three of them to improve to 5-14. Branford took a 4-3 home loss to Sacred Heart Academy on May 16 and lost 11-2 at home to Sheehan the next day, but then prevailed 23-0 at Valley Regional on May 18, posted a 6-4 victory in Sheehan on May 20, and won 13-4 at Career the day after that.
Facing Sacred Heart Academy, Marissa Minore went 1-for-3 with a home run and Katie Massey was 1-for-3 for the Hornets.
In the first Sheehan contest, Minore went 4-for-4 to lead Branford’s offense.
The Valley victory was called after five innings due to the mercy rule. Sophia Araneo tossed a three-hitter and went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI. Minore again went 4-for-4 and had a double, while Ariel Hanson was 3-for-5 with three ribbies.
Araneo then scattered eight hits for the win in the Sheehan rematch. Minore was 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, and four RBI and Massey also went 3-for-4.
Against Career, Araneo turned in another great showing on the mound with a three-hitter. Minore continued slugging away by going 5-for-5, including a double and a triple, plus four RBI, to go 17-for-20 on the week. Matilda Kreider was 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI to help the Hornets earn their third Oronoque victory.
Baseball
Branford dropped three games last week for a record of 9-10. The Hornets lost at Sheehan 7-5 on May 17, took a 10-0 defeat at Hand the following day, and then were defeated 5-0 at home by Fairfield Prep on May 20.
Branford outhit Sheehan 10-8 in its two-run defeat. Carson Mendoza had two singles with two RBI for the Hornets. Zane Kmietek took the loss on the mound by allowing seven runs in 4.1 innings, while walking three and striking out three.
Bryce Baker had two hits in the loss against Hand. Greg Bradshaw started on the hill for the Hornets and allowed seven runs in 2.1 innings, walking none and striking out one.
Mendoza pitched well for Branford in a losing effort against Fairfield Prep. The Hornets outhit the Jesuits 6-5, but were unable to string together anything. Mike Gogliettino had two hits for Branford.
The Hornets have one regular season game left and then they compete in the SCC Tournament as the No. 7. seed. Branford will play at No. 2 Hamden in the quarterfinals at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 24. With a win, the Hornets will play the winner of Notre Dame-West Haven and Sheehen in the semis at West Haven High School on Thursday, May 26. The final is also at West Haven and takes place on Saturday, May 28 at 3 p.m.
Golf
Branford ran its record to 13-5 by scoring three more victories last. On May 16, the Hornets shot a collective 165 to upend Hillhouse (198) and Cross (208) at Alling Memorial Golf Club. Then on May 19, Head Coach Jen Kohut and company welcomed Guilford to Pine Orchard Country Club and defeated the Indians 176-179.
Girls’ Tennis
Branford split three of its final four matchups and finished the season with a record of 8-9. The Hornets took a 6-1 loss in Cheshire on May 16, prevailed 4-3 in Sheehan on May 17, lost 6-1 at North Haven the following afternoon, and earned a 4-3 home win against Sheehan on May 20.
Boys’ Tennis
The Hornets concluded their regular season at 10-7 after losing three of their four matches. Branford started last week with a 5-2 home win versus Xavier, after which the Hornets lost 7-0 at Hand the next day, took a 4-3 home defeat to Guilford the day after that, and then dropped a 5-2 contest to Notre Dame-West Haven at home on May 20. Branford has qualified for the Class M State Championship.