Printer Friendly Version - Guilford Girls’ Track Takes 2nd at SCC Sectionals, Boys 5th; Boys’ Lacrosse Makes States

Meredith Bloss took first place in the 3,200 at the SCC East Sectional Championship to help the Guilford girls’ outdoor track team finish in second place on the day. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier

The Guilford girls’ outdoor track squad finished in second place at the SCC East Sectional Championship with a score of 86 points on May 16 at Amity High School.

Jacqui Guerra took first place in the 1,600 with a time of 5:24.40, edging out teammate Meredith Bloss (5:24.59). Bloss then won the 3,200 in a mark of 11:45.27, defeating runner-up Natalie Iwaszkiewicz (11:49.51) from Amity. The Indians’ 4x800 relay team of Andrea Basilicato, Julia Esposito, Chloe Shaw, and Elissa Strand prevailed in 10:02.35 over second-place Shelton (10:07.50).

Also for the Indians, Guerra was runner-up in the 800 (2:23.88) to Abby Turco of Shelton (2:23.26), while Strand finished fourth (2:24.97); Kelsi Putnam placed third in the 1,600 (5:31.92); Guerra found fourth in the 3,200 (12:13.88); Rachel Lauzier was fifth for the 100 (13.18); Shaw finished fifth in the 400 (1:01.93) and Jess Bohan followed in sixth (1:03.11); plus the 4x400 relay of Sofia Migani, Strand, Bohan, and Shaw came in third (4:18.29).

Guilford came in fifth place with 71.5 points at the SCC East Sectional Championship by posting 86 points.

Jordan Lembo-Frey claimed first in the 200 with a time of 22.04, defeating Alex Pratcher III of Law, who placed second with a 22.19, as he set an event and school record with that time. Lembo-Frey finished second in the 100 (10.98, a new school record) to Pratcher III (10.89) and Corey Sondak followed in third (10.99). Also for Guilford, Corey Gambardella was runner-up in the 800 (2:04.87) to Hillhouse’s Manasseh Bekele (2:04.82), while Finn Davidson took sixth (2:06.23); Davidson finished third in the 1,600 (4:33.65); Clay Huffman tied for fourth with the pole vault (11-0); Connor Rose was fifth in the discus (106-6); and Sam Sessions finished sixth in the 400 (51.74).

Additionally, Guilford’s 4x400 relay pf Sessions, Caleb Benedict, Lembro-Frey, and Gambardella was runner-up (3:26.82) to Hand (3:25.99); the 4x800 relay of Will Smith, Davidson, Joe Walters, and Gambardella came in third (8:19.77); and the 4x100 relay of Jacob Sabol-Low, Sessions, Thomas Larkin-Wells, and Sondak finished fourth (45.17).

Guilford clinched a State Tournament berth and finished 8-8 on the regular season after recording two one-goal wins.

The Indians qualified for states with a 14-13 win over Xavier on May 15. Guilford’s goals came from John Delucia (4), Jack Dacey (3), Jack Ring (2), Shane Molloy (2), Ben Levy, and Sean Russell. Assists came by way of Molloy (4), Ring (2), Brandon Filey, Delucia, Russell, and Dacey.

“Xavier was a strong opponent that has a number of highly skilled players. We played as a team and did enough right to earn a spot in the playoffs this year,” said Head Coach Brian White. “I am impressed with the resolve of our players and their determination to get into postseason play.”

Guilford now focuses on the Class M State Tournament, which begins with qualifying round action on Saturday, May 27.

The Indians finished the regular season at 8-8 before competing in the SCC Tournament against Branford last week.

Guilford took a 14-7 loss to Cheshire on May 15. The Indians then defeated Mercy 18-11 on May 18 in their regular season finale. In the SCC Tournament first round on May 20, 5th-seeded Guilford traveled to No. 4 Branford and lost a 14-13 decision.

Next for the Indians, who are now 8-9 overall, is the Class M State Tournament, which begins with opening round play on Friday, May 26 and Saturday, May 27.

Guilford finished 13-7 on the regular season after recording a win over Lyman Hall. The Indians will next begin the postseason.

Guilford finished with a SCC Oronoque Division record of 5-3 after taking a 6-3 loss to Foran on May 15. The Indians next lost to Branford 5-4 on May 17 before grabbing a 13-3 victory over Lyman Hall on May 19.

Facing Foran, the Indians were down 4-2 with the bases loaded in the sixth inning, but were unable to tie the game, and took the 6-3 defeat.

Against Branford, Matt Donlan had a double and John Luke Cianciolo added a single, both which came in the final inning of the one-run loss.

Versus Lyman Hall, Cianciolo was 3-for-4 with two doubles and a triple, plus Donlan went 3-for-3 with a homer. Sean Kellaher and Chuck Danaher both had hits.

“In our final game of the season, we had an SCC Tournament bid on the line, and our seniors wanted to get back to this tournament all year. They accomplished their goals and we our offense was great today,” said Head Coach Brian Hayden. “Gray Stephens made some big pitches early to keep Lyman Hall to one run. In the third, Sean Kellaher got us on the board and, with two outs, Kam Miles had a great swing to give us a 2-1 lead. We had a few missed opportunities this week, having lost late-inning leads, and we talked about trying to add on each inning. Matt Donlan gave us a huge shot of energy with a lead-ff home run in the fourth. Then John Luke’s RBI triple two batters later was all the momentum we needed. Lyman Hall had bases loaded one out in the sixth, but John Luke made a big pitch, and we got the double play to end the inning. I’m extremely proud of these guys and what they have done so far this season, but as I told them today, we have a lot of baseball left.”

The 7th-seeded Indians next travel to No. 2 Fairfield Prep for a SCC Tournament quarterfinal at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, May 22. The winner advances to the semifinals at West Haven on Wednesday, May 24 against either No. 3 Branford or No. 6 Hand. The final will also be at West Haven on Thursday, May 25.

Guilford notched three wins in its final four regular season games to own a mark of 15-5 entering the postseason.

The Indians defeated Law 6-4 on May 15 to finish at 5-3 in the SCC Hammonasset Division. Guilford jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. Emily Torre singled in Ava Gladwin with the first run and Leah Kornguth added a three-run home run to left field. After Law cut the lead to 4-1, Guilford made it 5-1 in the third when Jordyn Goldstein singled in Torre, who had doubled off the fence. Amanda King upped the lead to 6-1 with a long home run to left field in the fifth. Torre went 4-for-4 on the day, and Charlotte Young had two hits for Guilford. King struck out 11 to earn the win.

Guilford outslugged Shelton 19-8 on May 17. On Senior Night, the Indians honored their lone senior Megan Zampano by jumping out to a 11-0 lead in the first inning and cruising to an 11-run victory. King went 3-for-3 with two doubles and five RBI to lead Guilford. Goldstein had four hits and Torre went 2-for-4 with an RBI triple.

The Indians took a 7-3 loss to rival Hand on May 19. Torre went 1-for-3 with an RBI double, plus King struck out 10 batters for Guilford.

Guilford finished the regular season with a 7-2 win over East Lyme on May 20. East Lyme took a 1-0 lead in the third inning. After tying the game in the fourth, Guilford took the lead for good with an RBI single by Kornguth and a three-run homer to left field by King. Guilford capped the scoring with a two-run hit by Zampano in the seventh inning. King struck out 13 and scattered four hits for the win. Zampano and Sara Barreira each had two hits for the Indians.

“It took us a while to get going, but after giving up a leadoff homer in the third inning, Amanda settled down and gave up only two hits and walked none over the last five innings. The bats also got going. Amanda’s home run got the team’s energy up and the two-run single by Megan extended the lead to make things comfortable in the seventh,” said Head Coach Steve Zajac. “We have had a great regular season with 15 wins. I am very proud of each of the 13 girls on the team. They have worked hard to earn those wins. We are looking forward to the challenge of the SCC and Class L tournaments.”

The Indians earned the No. 3 seed in the SCC Tournament and will host No. 6 East Haven for a quarterfinal on Wednesday, May 24 at 3:45 p.m. The winner faces either No. 4 Amity or No. 5 Hand in a semifinal on Thursday, May 25 at West Haven. The final is also at West Haven at noon on Saturday, May 27.

The Indians took three of their four matches last week to finish the regular season at 13-6 with the postseason on the horizon.

Guilford defeated Mercy 6-1 on May 15. Wins for the Indians came from Claire Dinauer (6-0, 6-2), Faren Roth (6-0, 6-1), and Allie Stankewich (6-4, 0-6, 6-4), plus the doubles teams of sisters Charlotte and Molly Babbin (6-3, 6-0), Sam Stofflet and Emily Dietzko (6-0, 6-1), and Elaina Griffiths and Annabelle Wang (6-4, 6-4).

The Indians then beat Nonnewaug 4-3 on May 15. Dinauer (6-0, 6-0), Roth (6-0, 6-1), the Babbin sisters (6-1, 6-0), and Stofflet and Dietzko (6-1, 6-1) were victorious for Guilford.

Guilford next bested Hamden 6-1 on May 18. Roth (6-1, 6-0), Charlotte Babbin (6-0, 6-1), Emma Rand (6-2, 4-6, 7-5), plus the duos of Molly Babbin and Stofflet (6-1, 6-3), Griffiths and Wang (6-2, 6-1), and Dietzko and Stankewich (6-0, 6-0) garnered wins.

The Indians closed out the regular season with a 4-3 loss to Amity on May 19. Acadia Hall (6-2, 6-1), Dietzko (6-0, 6-1), and the Babbin sisters (6-2, 6-1) won their matches.

The Indians earned the No. 3 seed for the SCC Tournament and host No. 6 Sacred Heart Academy in a quarterfinal at Guilford Racquet Club at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, May 22. The winner advances to the semifinal on Wednesday, May 24 at Yale University against either No. 2 Amity or No. 7 Mercy. The final is on Thursday, May 25 at Yale.

The Indians scored a victory last week to up their mark to 4-9 heading into the final week of regular season play.

On May 15, Guilford took a 163-192 loss to Fairfield Prep. The Indians then lost a 147-185 final against Xavier the next day. However, Guilford finished its week with a 181-190 win over Law on May 18.

Jordan Lembo-Frey finished first in the 200-meter dash at the SCC East Sectional Championship, which was held at Amity High School on May 16. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier