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02/18/2017 11:00 PMBoys’ Ice Hockey
The Branford boys’ ice hockey squad qualified for the Division II State Tournament by winning both of its games last week while improving to 8-7.
First, the Hornets posted a 6-2 victory over Lyman Hall/Haddam-Killingworth/Coginchaug at Northford Ice Pavilion on Feb. 15. Max Bunton had two goals with one assist, while Scott Klouda dished out three assists. Rob Lionetti had a goal with an assist, Mitchell Petrillo had two assists, and Zac Jones scored a goal. Justin Edwards made 24 saves in net for Branford.
Two days later, Branford faced off against Masuk at The Rinks at Shelton and skated to a 4-0 victory to earn their spot in states. Petrillo netted a pair of goals and Klouda had a goal with more three assists. Spencer Engstrom scored the Hornets’ other goal; Lionetti, Jack Manware, and Samuel Roberts added assists; and Edwards recorded the shutout in net.
Girls’ Ice Hockey
The Wings played two games last week and split the pair to finish the year at 8-11-1. On Feb. 15, the Wings hosted Mercy-Northwest Catholic and recorded a 5-0 shutout at DiLungo Rink. The following night, Branford-East Haven-Sacred Heart Academy was home for West Haven-Sacred Heart Academy and took a 1-0 loss.
Wrestling
Zach Cash recorded a second-place finish, while Noah Pantani and Kyle Zalewski placed third and fifth, respectively, for the Hornets at the Class M State Championship. Branford scored 80 points to take 12th place at the meet, which was held at Guilford High School on Feb. 17 and 18.
Cash, a junior, took second place in the 152-pound weight class for Branford. The No. 3 seed, Cash defeated Ben Holden from Woodstock Academy by pin at the 3:35 mark, after which he gained decision victories versus Bethel’s Andrew Sayers (8-6) and Michael Angers of Tolland (9-7) to reach the final. Cash was pinned by top-seeded Michael Ross of Foran at 4:59 in the championship bout.
Pantani finished third as the No. 2 seed in the 120-pound division. The senior pinned East Haven’s Tanner DiVito in 1:48 and won an 8-3 decision over Jeremy Polanco-Castro of Platt. Pantani then lost a 3-1 contest versus Berlin’s Daniel Veleas to move to the consolation round. In that bracket, Pantani faced DiVito again and pinned him in 38 seconds. After that, Pantani wrestled Sebastian Soli of Plainville for third place and came away with a 15-6 decision.
Zalewski, a junior, took fifth place in the 285-pound weight class. As the No. 4 seed, Zalewski pinned Berlin’s Evan Graves in 55 seconds and lost a 10-5 contest to Gavin Thuotte from Ellis Tech. In the consolation round, Zalewski won a 14-2 decision versus Bunnell’s Danny Nguyen and pinned Cesar Flores of Platt in 1:22 before losing to Alex Brito from St. Bernard/Norwich Tech by a 6-1 score. Zalewski had a rematch with Thuotte in the battle for fifth place and avenged his earlier defeat by winning a 6-4 decision.
Additionally recording wins by pin were Cody McHenry in the 138-pound weight class, along with Jaden Wittingham (145), Camden Mascaro (160), Brandon Perez (182), and HyunJin Lim (195). Ayman Nasry earned a victory by decision in the 132 class. Also competing were Brendan Shamus (113), Stella Kelly (126), and Minsok Lee (170).
Girls’ Indoor Track
Junior Bridget Wirtz finished second in the pole vault for Branford in the Class M State Championship at Floyd Little Athletic Center on Feb. 13.
Wirtz reached a height of 10 feet-6 inches to take second, placing behind Tolland’s AmyErin Zadroga, who cleared 12 feet. Wirtz had won the pole vault with a school record 11-6 at the SCC West Sectional Championship, after which she prevailed at the SCC Championship by tying that meet’s record at 10-6. Wirtz’s showing at the Class M meet resulted in eight points for the Hornets.
Sophomore Liante Claude scored Branford’s four other points by placing fourth in the 300-meter dash at 43.16 seconds. She also finished seventh in the 600-meter run by clocking in at 1:43.26. Claude had set the school record when she ran 1:42.61 at sectionals and then broke her own record with a 1:42.30 at SCCs, placing second in both meets. The 12 points scored between Wirtz and Claude put Branford in 12th place at the State Championship.
Additionally, Taylor Brown finished seventh (9-0) in pole vault, while Leah Pendl-Robinson was ninth (8-0). Senior Courtney Cosgrove took 10th place in the 3,200 with a mark of 12:32.56. Fellow senior Keira Integlia launched a season-best toss of 30 feet-2 inches in the shot put to finish 12th. Branford’s 4x200 relay of Claude, Brown, freshman Rose Lockery, and Wirtz finished 13th at 1:56.26.
Boys’ Outdoor Track
The Hornets’ 1,600 sprint medley relay (SMR) finished in fourth place while breaking its own school record at last week’s Class M State Championship.
Branford’s sophomore quartet of Matt Alexander, Carlos MaCaay, Aidan Kropiwnicki, and Marzio Mastrioanni ran a time of 3:48.36 to take fourth at states. The group had broken the school record behind a time of 3:48.72 in their third-place finish at the SCC Championship. Their performance at the state meet scored four points that put the Hornets in 23rd place.
Also, the Hornets’ 4x800 relay of sophomore Matt Daley, senior Andrew Byrne, sophomore Glenn Iacovetti, and junior Kadir Sahin finished 12th at 9:17.55. Alexander also placed 24th in the preliminaries of the 55-meter dash with a time of 7.15 seconds.
Girls’ Basketball
The Hornets lost their last two games of the season and finished at 5-15. Branford took a 61-50 loss at East Haven on Feb. 13 and dropped a 59-53 overtime decision at Sacred Heart Academy the following night.
Against East Haven, Adrienne DiGioia scored 14 points, while Emma Pierson had 12 points and Sophie Araneo scored 11.
Branford trailed Sacred Heart Academy 26-18 at halftime, but won the third quarter 16-8 to draw even at 44. Following an even fourth quarter, Sacred Heart Academy outscored the Hornets 10-4 in overtime. DiGioia had an 18-point performance in her final game as a Hornet. Autumn McHenry scored 11 points, Karly King scored eight, Araneo had seven points, and Emma Pierson scored six points.