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02/05/2017 11:00 PMBoys’ Indoor Track
The Hand boys’ indoor track team netted 59 points to finish second to Hamden (81) at the SCC Championship at Floyd Little Athletic Center on Feb. 3.
After winning both events at the West Sectional Championship, Troy Lefler prevailed in the 55-meter hurdles and the long jump at the SCC Championship. Lefler ran a time of 7.82 seconds in the hurdles to defeat runner-up Deshaune Pool of Hillhouse (8.20). Then in the long jump, Lefler reached 21 feet-7.25 inches and beat runner-up Jasyn Jones from Wilbur Cross, who went 21-0.5. Devon McShane took the pole vault crown for the second straight week by clearing 14-6.25, which was well ahead of Nicholas Petruzzelli from Notre Dame-West Haven (12-0).
Elsewhere, the Tigers had two relay teams finish second in the 4x400 of Matt Parker, John Lisi, John Hartman, and Max Veth (3:34.02, second to Hamden in 3:31.74), plus the 4x800 of Mark Lisi, Tyler Bernard, Owen McGeary, and Jaime Calderon (8:29.54, runner-up to Hillhouse at 8:17.80). The 1,600 sprint medley relay of Ethan McMahon, Jacob Brown, Parker, and McGeary was fifth (3:50.94), Veth finished fourth in the 300 (36.27) and third for the 600 (1:24.44), and McShane was sixth for the high jump (5-8).
Girls’ Indoor Track
The Tigers scored 26 points to finish eighth at the SCC Championship on Feb. 3.
Caroline O’Neil posted second-place finishes in the 55-meter dash and the 300-meter dash at the meet. O’Neil ran a time of 7.28 seconds to place behind Law’s Kiara Smith (7.25) in the 55. In the 300, O’Neil timed in at 40.29 and only placed behind Hamden’s Aisha Gay (40.23).
Additionally for the Tigers, Megan Phillips finished fifth in the 1,000-meter run (3:13.82), while the 4x400 relay of Phillips, Gabrielle Harmon, Abby Walton, and O’Neil was second (4:13.49) to Hillhouse (4:10.89).
Girls’ Basketball
Hand defeated North Haven 61-17 on Feb. 1 to clinch the SCC Oronoque Division title. This marks the fourth year in a row that the Tigers have won a division championship. Two days later, they secured another division win with a 60-38 decision versus Law. Hand has a divisional record of 7-0 with an overall mark of 14-3 for the season.
Against North Haven, Gabby Martin scored 20 points, made five steals, and dished out four assists for Hand. Gabby Egidio scored 12 points for Tigers. Hannah Martin and Halle Freund combined for 21 rebounds. Hand forced North Haven to shoot just 14 percent from the field and commit 26 turnovers.
Following a snow day, this game featured a sluggish start as both teams struggled to find their shooting touch. A pair of early buckets for Kaitlyn Martin put the visitors up 10-3 after the first quarter. The Tigers settled in after that as Gabby Martin scored nine of her game-high 20 in the second quarter, while Gabby Egidio added six as Hand established a 29-9 lead at the break. North Haven didn’t reach double figures until the end of the third quarter as the Tigers stretched their lead to 44-12 heading into the final frame. Hand got everyone in the scorebook as it coasted to a 61-17 win.
Boys’ Basketball
Hand took a 91-57 defeat to Hamden on Jan. 30. Graeme McGivern had 10 points for the Tigers. Brett Bilcheck scored nine, while Garrett Noonan added eight.
The Tigers then dropped a 46-43 decision to Cheshire two days later and a 76-41 final to Hillhouse on Feb. 3.
Gymnastics
Erin Naclerio tied the school record on the beam by scoring a 9.55 when the Tigers’ gymnastics team recorded a 134.25-130.4 decision over Glastonbury on Feb. 1.
Naclerio also netted a 9.1 and Schylar Saliba had an 8.5 on vault for the Tigers. Naclerio won the bars with a score of 8.2, while Olivia Finke followed at 7.9. Naclerio also won the floor with a score of 9.3. Noelle Bergere added an 8.8 and Finke had an 8.4. Bergere scored an 8.75 on the beam for Hand. For the all-around, Naclerio tallied a 36.15 and Finke had a 32.85 for the Tigers. Head Coach Kelly Smith also noted the performance of Kelley Levis, who scored an 8.0 on floor. Everyone who competed on floor scored an 8.0 or more for Hand.
Then on Feb. 2 against Law, Hand prevailed 130.8-124.3 to go to 13-0 for the season. On vault, Naclerio scored an 8.9, Mary Huminski an 8.1, and Carly Barba netted an 8.0 for Hand. On bars, Naclerio had an 8.9 and Bergere scored a 7.5. For the beam, Naclerio tallied an 8.7 and Huminski had an 8.5. For floor, Naclerio scored a 9.0 and Bergere had an 8.3. Naclerio finished with a score of 35.5 in the all-around for the Tigers.
Girls’ Ice Hockey
Hand netted 3-1 win over Notre Dame-Fairfield/Foran on Feb. 1 and then blanked Branford-East Haven-North Branford (Bfd-EH-NB) 2-0 on Feb. 3. The Tigers are now 10-5-2 overall and 8-2 in SCC Division II play after taking a 1-0 loss to West Haven-Sacred Heart Academy (WH-SHA) on Feb. 4. Hand remains in contention to qualify for the State Tournament this year.
Against Notre Dame-Fairfield/Foran, Carinia Mancini made 13 saves, plus Sarah Conroy had a goal and two assists for the Tigers. After a scoreless first period, Hand scored at the 3:07 mark of the second off of a nice pass from Sarah Conroy to Jaqui Sandor in the slot. Braide Stryker notched the Tigers’ second goal on the power play at the 4:44 mark. On her second assist of the game, Conroy found Stryker open on the far post and Stryker finished the play with a goal on a quick wrist shot. The final Tigers’ goal came shorthanded as Conroy poached a pass at the blue line and scored with a rising wrist shot on the ensuing breakaway.
Later in the week, Hand outshot Bfd-EH-NB 36-20 in a 2-0 victory. Sydney Ogden and Libby Licari each had a goal for the Tigers. Hand came out with a lot of energy and outshot the Hornets 15-6 in the first period, but was unable to solve Wings’ goalie Julia SanGiovanni, who had shut out the Tigers the previous week. By the start of the second period, Hand continued gaining confidence in its fore-check and was able to keep the puck in the Wings’ zone for extended periods. At the 10:26 mark, Ogden chipped chip one over SanGiovanni’s shoulder in close off short pass from behind the net by Conroy. Hand kept the pressure up and was getting rebound opportunities, one of which was put home by Licari at 1:08 off of a shot from Bridgette Dwyer. Hand took an untimely penalty with 3:58 left in the game. In the man-down situation, Carina Mancini came up big with three pad saves from in close during the final two minutes to hold off the Wings and preserve the shutout. Jaqui Sandor had a great game, leading Hand with eight shots on net and three breakaways.
Against WH-SHA, the Blue Devils scored 47 seconds into the game and that was the lone tally for the day. Hand couldn’t solve WH-SHA’s fore-check in the first 10 minutes of the game. Once the Tigers adjusted to quick passes out of the defensive zone, they were able to get the puck deep and get their fore-check going. Hand outshot the Blue Devils 6-4 in the second period and had some strong scoring opportunities, but just couldn’t get a stick on the puck off a rebound. Hand also seemed to get the better of the play in the third period, but was unable to get one past netminder Tatum Cortmanche. Hand took back-to-back penalties at the 8:01 and 8:51 marks of the third. The Tigers killed off both penalties and built some momentum, although they were unable to score and took the 1-0 defeat.
Boys’ Ice Hockey
Hand took a 4-2 loss to Branford on Feb. 1, but then the Tigers improved to 6-7-1 for the year with a 3-2 victory over New Milford on Feb. 4.
The Tigers rallied from 2-0 down against New Milford as Matt Rice had a goal and two assists.
Cheerleading
Hand finished third in the Co-ed Division of the SCC Championship at Shelton High School on Feb. 4. The Tigers scored 75.3 points at the competition, which was won by North Haven.
Wrestling
Hand took a 51-9 loss to Xavier on Feb. 1. The Tigers then dropped two of three matches on Feb. 4, beating Bunnell (69-21), while losing to Windham (49-28) and Ledyard (46-31). Hand is now 15-5 on the season.
Boys’ Swimming and Diving
The Tigers defeated Shelton 94-74 to move to 5-3 on Feb. 1.
Hand had a strong showing in the relay events by taking first in the 200 freestyle relay (Will Porter, Dylan Merritt, Nate Imbergano, Tyler Merritt) with a time of 1:39.51 and second in the 200 medley relay (Chris Wu, Paul O’Connor, Michael Healey, Dylan Merritt) at 1:48:43. Wu had another banner day with first-place finishes in the 100 backstroke (55.85) and 200 IM (2:01.66). O’Connor prevailed in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.70) and was second in the 200 IM (2:06.58). The Tigers excelled in the 50 freestyle, collecting points for first (Tyler Merritt, 24.74), second (Mike Healey, 25.15), and fourth place (Griffin Mascia, 25.78). Tyler Merritt also took second in the 500 free (5:05.81), while Michael Mendonca finished third (5:35.72). Other notable performances included Beecher Porter, who finished first in the 100 butterfly (1:01.81) and was second in the 200 free (1:52.47). Nate Imbergamo took second in the 100 freestyle (54.04) and third in the 200 free (1:56.59).
The week prior, Hand took a 100-86 loss to Notre Dame-West Haven. Hand swept the diving competition with Teddy Zeng (343.70 points), Declan Maloney (188.30) and Cal Henry 166.80 finishing 1-2-3. Tyler Merritt took second place in both the 200 free (1:52.35) and the 100 free (51.97). Dan Chen took second in the 200 IM (2:12.41) and was third in the 100 backstroke (58.11). Other swimmers with strong performances included O’Connor, who finished first in the 100 breaststroke (106.27) and was second in the 500 free (5:03.12). Wu took first in the 100 butterfly (55.71) and Nate Imbergamo placed second in the 100 backstroke (57.54).