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02/18/2017 11:00 PMWrestling
The Indians’ wrestling squad came in third place with 170 points at the Class M State Championship, which took place at Guilford High School on Feb. 17-18. Ellis Tech was the champion at the meet with 213.5 points.
Guilford crowned two state champions in McKayd LaRose, who prevailed in the 160-pound weight class by defeating Ben Stratton of Platt by 1-0 decision; along with Jack Six, who took the 220 title after upending Nicholas Cote of Bethel by a 7-4 score.
Also reaching the top six of their respective weight classes were Vinny Mascola (3rd, 132), AJ Moscato (3rd, 170), George Sanderlin (5th, 126), Carter Cox (5th, 145), and Charlie Andrus (5th, 182).
Girls’ Basketball
Guilford finished the regular season at 14-6 with a 62-38 loss to Hand on Feb. 13, after which the Indians opened play in the SCC Tournament. Guilford beat Amity 60-53 in the first round on Feb. 16 before prevailing 58-40 against No. 3 seed Career two days later to seal its first trip to the SCC semis in a decade. The Indians will face No. 2 seed Mercy in a semifinal at Law High School on Monday, Feb. 20. A win there would put them in the final versus either Hand or Hamden at East Haven High School on Wednesday, Feb. 22.
In the first round of the SCC Tournament, No. 6 Guilford seed beat No. 11 Amity by a 60-53 final. Camryn Craig led all scorers with 19 points, while also snaring 13 rebounds with three blocked shots for the Indians. Janie Danaher had 12 points and grabbed five rebounds, plus Amanda King chipped in with 11 points. Guilford raced out to an early lead, grabbing an 18-9 advantage after the first frame en route to a 35-21 advantage at the half. Amity refused to fold in the second half and the Indians went cold from the field, allowing the Spartans to close the gap to four points. Guilford held a modest lead late in the fourth quarter and, after an Indians’ time out, Izzy Nerney scored on a set play to increase the lead to six with just more than a minute remaining. Craig came up big from the free throw line in the fourth quarter and shot 11-of-13 from the stripe in the game to help the Indians come away with the victory.
In the quarterfinals, Career got out of the blocks quickly and raced to an early 14-4 lead. Guilford clawed back and tied the score at 22 at intermission.
“I called a timeout and I tried to settle the kids and reminded them it was a marathon, not a sprint, and that we needed to chip away one basket at a time,” said Head Coach Bob Welsh. “I also told them we were getting beat on the boards, but I think they knew it, and responded in a big way.”
The second half belonged to Guilford as it employed a stifling zone defense and held high-scoring Career to six points in the third frame. The Indians scored 20 points in the quarter, sparked by eight points from King and four points each from Craig, Julia Hyman, and Molly Linell. Guilford played a strong fourth quarter with great ball control while attacking the basket and outscored Career 16-12 on its way to the signature win. Craig and Izzy Nerney led the way with 19 and 16 points, respectively, for the Indians, who improved to 16-6 overall. Craig also hauled down a dozen rebounds.
“They are both so deserving and have taken their game to a new level as they have demonstrated outstanding improvement, as well as leadership throughput the year,” said Welsh of Craig and Nerney.
Boys’ Basketball
The Indians’ boys’ basketball squad won its last three regular season games to go 15-5. Guilford defeated Hand 66-57 on Feb. 13, bested Platt Tech 50-44 the next night, and finished the regular season with a 71-44 victory versus Amistad on Feb. 17.
Jordan Krause had 21 points versus Hand, Ian Slattery scored a dozen against Platt Tech, and Matt Donlan had 24 points in the finale. Guilford next sets its sights on the SCC Tournament, which begins with first round action on Thursday, Feb. 23.
Girls’ Ice Hockey
Guilford played three games in its last week of the year and came away with its first victory of the campaign in its season finale.
The Indians lost a 12-6 decision to Amity-North Haven-Cheshire on Feb. 14 and then dropped an 8-2 contest to Wilton-Norwalk-McMahon on Feb. 16. Two days later, Guilford skated to a 3-2 victory versus Lauralton Hall to get itself in the win column this winter. The Indians finished the season with a record of 1-17.