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06/10/2016 12:00 AMGirls’ Lacrosse
After winning its first two games in the Class M State Tournament, the Branford girls’ lacrosse squad saw its season come to a close with a 15-6 loss to New Canaan in the semifinal round at Bunnell High School in Stratford on June 7.
The No. 2 seed Hornets were only down 5-3 at halftime, but were then outscored 10-3 in the second half in taking the 15-6 defeat against 6th-seeded New Canaan (18-4). Senior Sophie Spencer scored three goals and had an assist for Branford, which also received a goal and two assists from sophomore Autumn McHenry, plus a goal apiece by senior Carolyn Caminear and sophomore Sabrina Torcellini. Junior Sydnie Smith made six saves in net for Branfiord, which was outshot 27-19.
The Hornets, who were the No. 2 seed in the tournament, finished with the year with an excellent record of 16-4. Along the way, Head Coach Jackie Ceccolini’s club recorded a 12-game win streak, a berth in the SCC Tournament, and then two wins in the Class M bracket. Branford defeated Brookfield 18-8 in the first round and East Lyme by a 15-6 final for the second round.
“I am extremely proud of my team this season. As the State Tournament progressed, I felt our team got better and better. We enjoyed the strong competition and the smart officiating throughout the tournament,” Coach Ceccolini said. “The first half of the New Canaan game was evenly matched between the two teams. The second half, their girls dominated on the draws and we had a hard time getting possession back. It always hurts to end the season on a loss, but we know we lost to a great team and we left it all out on the field. This season made our team hungrier to come back and be better for next year. Once you get a taste of the playoff excitement, you can’t get enough of it.”
Golf
The Hornets qualified for the Division II State Championship as a team and finished in 12th place out of 20 clubs with a collective score of 357 at Timberlin Golf Club in Kensington on June 6.
Junior Ryan Sember turned in Branford’s best scorecard on the day by shooting a 79, which put him in ninth place among the 101 golfers who hit the course. Sophomore Liam Deane came in 48th place by posting a score of 89. Fellow sophomore Jason Brennan shot a 93 and took 64th place. Senior Mike Annunizata was next in line for the Hornets by scoring a 96 to finish 79th. Joe Reilly, also a senior, finished in 86th place by recording a score of 98.
For the campaign, Branford went 14-6 during the regular season in its first year with former longtime assistant Jen Kohut as its head coach. The Hornets then sent Sember and Deane to compete at the SCC Championship prior to concluding the season at the state meet.
Girls’ Outdoor Track
Branford had five athletes compete at the State Open Championship on June 6 at Willow Brook Park in New Britain.
The Hornets’ scored two points at the meet and those both came from senior Claira Janover, who finished in seventh place in the triple jump with a distance of 35 feet-2 inches. Janover also ran a time of 15.98 seconds in the preliminaries of the 100-meter hurdles to come in 13th place. Janover had previously won the triple jump at this spring’s SCC West Sectional Championship and the Class MM State Championship. She has four individual postseason victories for her Branford track career, having also won the 55-meter hurdles at sectionals during the indoor season last winter.
Additionally for Head Coach Kevin Connell’s squad at the State Open, sophomore Bridget Wirtz reached a height of 9 feet-6 inches in the pole vault to capture 12th place. Junior Keira Integlia launched a toss of 98-5 to come in 18th place for the javelin. Also posting an 18th-place finish was senior Cyrene Nicholas, who did so in the 1,600-meter run behind a mark of 5:29.18. Fellow senior Issy Bysiewicz took 19th place in the 300 hurdles at 49.81.
Branford posted 10-1 regular season record this season, after which the Hornets finished fourth at sectionals, seventh at SCCs, and fifth in Class MM. Branford’s postseason also featured senior Etta Hanlon winning the long jump at the West Sectional Championship.
Boys’ Outdoor Track
Senior Kory King competed for the Hornets at the State Open Championship at Willow Brook Park in New Britain on June 6. King posted a time of 16.60 seconds for the preliminaries of the 110-meter high hurdles to place 21st. A few weeks ago, King had notched the first postseason victory of his career when he won the 110 hurdles with a time of 16.01 seconds at the SCC West Sectional Championship. King will next compete at the CIAC Decathlon at Willow Brook on Monday, June 13 and Tuesday, June 14.
“Kory has had a great season. Unfortunately, he had a poor start and simply could not recover. However, Kory has been focusing on the Decathlon. He did well last year, but felt that he could score enough points to make All State,” Coach Rich Biondi said. “It is going to be a fun and exciting way for Kory to end his tremendous high school career.”
Coach Biondi’s squad was 4-7-1 for the regular season in 2016. After that, Branford finished sixth at sectionals, 17th in the SCC Championship, and 20th at the Class MM state meet.