Printer Friendly Version - Wirtz and Claude Make More Hornets’ History; Boys’ Hockey Beats Hand

Branford sophomore Liante Claude took second place in the 600 with time of 1:42.30 at the SCC Championship, breaking her own school record in the event by less than half a second. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Sound

One week after making history in the West Sectional meet, Bridget Wirtz and Liante Claude turned in some more big-time performances for Branford at the SCC Championship on Feb. 3. As a team, the Hornets scored 25 points and finished tied for 10th place.

Wirtz notched her second postseason victory in as many weeks by prevailing in the pole vault for Branford at SCCs. Wirtz, a junior, reached a height of 10 feet-6 inches to handily defeat runner-up Lauren Pawlowski of Shelton, whose best height was 9 feet. Her mark tied the SCC record of 10-6, which is also held by Branford track alum Valerie Milici. Wirtz, who made the All-SCC First Team, had previously won the pole vault with a school record height of 11-6 at the West Sectional Championship.

Sophomore Claude broke her own school record in the 600-meter run by finishing second at 1:42.30, only placing behind Leah Rivers from Wilbur Cross (1:40.87), en route to All-SCC Second Team honors. Claude had set the record at 1:42.61 while taking second at sectionals. Also at the SCC meet, Claude ran a time of 42.76 seconds in the 300-meter dash to finish in fourth place.

Additionally at SCCs, juniors Taylor Brown (8-6) and Leah Pendl-Robinson (8-0) placed fifth and sixth, respectively, in the pole vault; senior Courtney Cosgrove took ninth in the 3,200 with a personal-best time of 12:32.48; and Pendl-Robinson (10.45) and Wyntre Fries (10.58) finished 19th and 20th, respectively in the preliminaries of the 55-meter hurdles. Also, Branford’s 4x200 relay of Claude, Brown, freshman Rose Lockery, and Wirtz finished seventh with a season-best time of 1:55.16.

The 1,600 sprint medley relay of sophomores Matt Alexander, Carlos McCaay, Aidan Kropiwnicki, and Marzio Mastroianni led the Hornets by claiming third place with a time of 3:48.72 at last week’s SCC Championship. Branford scored six points and finished in 14th place at the meet, which was held on Feb. 3 at Floyd Little Athletic Center.

Also at SCCs, Kropiwnicki posted an eighth-place finish in the pole vault by clearing 10 feet, while sophomore Justin Dombrowski placed 11th with a height of 9 feet. Branford’s 4x800 relay of junior Matt Daley, senior Andrew Byrne, sophomore Glenn Iacovetti, and Mastroianni finished seventh at 9:00.55. The 4x400 relay featuring juniors Harrison Troidle, Christian Miller, Shane Dostie, and Ryan McCarthy placed 11th by running a time of 4:09.39.

The Hornets played a pair of SCC/SWC Division II contests in last week’s action, earning a 4-2 win versus Hand before losing 4-3 against Cheshire. Branford now stands with a record of 6-6.

Branford began the week by facing Hand in a road game at Northford Ice Pavilion and doubled up the Tigers by a 4-2 final. After a scoreless first period, Mitchell Petrillo scored two goals that were both assisted by Scott Klouda to give the Hornets a 2-1 lead through two. Early in the third, Spencer Engstrom scored from Zac Jones and Rob Lionetti to make it 3-1 in the Hornets’ favor. Hand scored with six minutes left to cut it to 3-2, but just 32 seconds later, Petrillo scored another one from Klouda to complete a hat trick and give Branford a 4-2 lead.

On Feb. 4, Branford faced Cheshire at Wesleyan University and lost 4-3. The Hornets were down 4-0 before scoring the next three goals in the one-goal loss. All three came in the second period as Klouda scored from Engstrom, Will Benni scored unassisted, and Petrillo scored from Klouda for the Hornets, who saw Justin Edwards make 38 saves in goals.

The Wings lost three games last week and are now 6-10-1 on the season. On Feb. 1, the Wings played East Catholic-Glastonbury-South Windsor at Newington Rink and dropped a 2-0 decision. Two days later, they hosted Hand at DiLungo Rink and took a 2-0 defeat. The Wings closed the week with a game at Hamden on Feb. 4 and lost 3-1.

The Branford cheerleading team competed in the Co-ed Division at last week’s SCC Championship. The Hornets scored 79.7 points to place second in the three-team field, finishing behind North Haven and ahead of defending champion Hand. The meet was held at Shelton High School on Feb. 4.

Branford was on the floor for a pair of games last week and took two defeats to move to 6-9 on the year.

On Feb. 1, Branford hosted Amity and dropped a 53-47 decision. The Hornets held a 19-13 advantage after the first quarter, but Amity controlled the game the rest of the way to get the win. Ryan Sember’s 11 points led Branford, which received eight points from Jake Sullivan, seven from Damien Maniscalco, and six from Jordan Donnelly.

Two days later, Branford faced Quinnipiac Division opponent Career in New Haven and lost 78-36. Sullivan scored 19 points to lead the Hornets.

Branford traveled to West Haven on Jan. 30 and lost by a 57-37 final. Adrienne DiGioia paced the Hornets by scoring 17 points, while Emma Pierson scored 12.

On Feb. 1, the Hornets hosted Mercy and took a 62-23 defeat. DiGioia scored eight points for Branford.

Two nights later, Branford had another Hammonasset Division game when came Guilford came to town. The visiting Indians defeated the Hornets 54-41. The game was tied late in the third quarter before Guilford went on a big run that proved the difference. DiGioia scored 11 points, Autumn McHenry had eight points with 12 rebonds, Sophia Araneo collected 10 rebounds, and Emma Pierson added six points.

Branford-Guilford hosted Cheshire at Walsh Intermediate School on Feb. 3 and came up on the short end of an 84-72 decision.

Corey Gambardella won the 200 individual medley in 2:03.72 and prevailed in the 500 freestyle with a 4:47.98 for Branford-Guilford. Paul Rosenberg won the diving competition by tallying 145.65 points. Alek Karosas took first in the 100 backstroke (1:01.09), Kyle Boucher won the 100 breaststroke (1:09.96), and the 400 freestyle relay of Aleandro Hanaj, Abdalla Syed, Aidan Henry, and Karosas finished first at 3:58.72.

The Hornets’ victories came from Noah Pantani in the 120-pound weight class with a pin at 1:25, as well as Willie Gambardella (126, pin at 1:06), Zach Cash (160, 14-0 major decision), and Jackson Seward (195, pin at 4:57).