Printer Friendly Version - North Branford Girls’ Lacrosse Advances to Shoreline Final; Softball Reaches Conference Semis

Adriana Ingarra cashed in for a team-best five goals, including the game-winner, as the North Branford girls’ lacrosse team advanced past Old Saybrook, 12-11, and into the Shoreline Conference Tournament championship game. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Sound

The Thunderbirds’ girls’ lacrosse team advanced to the championship game of the Shoreline Conference Tournament following a thrilling 12-11 win over Old Saybrook on May 23.

Adrianna Ingarra netted the game-winning goal for the T-Birds and scored a team-high five goals in the victory. Emmy Norton and Stephanie Seymour added two goals each, while Sydney Hogan, Emilie Wilkinson, and Tara Lauro finished with one goal apiece.

The win advanced the Thunderbirds to the Shoreline Conference final and a matchup against Old Lyme at 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 25 at Morgan.

After Shorelines, North Branford is competing in the Class S State Tournament that begins on Saturday, May 27 and goes until Saturday, June 10.

The North Branford softball team defeated Old Saybrook 16-0 in the quarterfinals of the Shoreline Conference Tournament on May 24.

Julia Haeckel owned the mound as she struck out eight batters in the shutout performance. Olivia Hemstock collected her 100th career hit as she went 2-for-2 with four runs scored and two RBI. Emily Muzyka had a hit and drove home two and to reach 100 RBI for her career with the T-Birds. Katy Pederson had a hit with an RBI, and Angelina Ramada had a double and two runs scored.

Next up, North Branford hosts Haddam-Killingworth in the conference semifinals on Friday, May 26 at 3:45 p.m. Should the T-Birds win that game, they’ll face the winner of Hale-Ray and Coginchaug for the Shoreline title at Old Lyme High School at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 27. North Branford has won the Shoreline Conference Tournament in each of the past two seasons.

The T-Birds also have the Class M State Tournament coming up. The state tourney opens play on Saturday, May 27, with the final on Saturday, June 10.

North Branford hit the links at Stanley Golf Course in New Britain for the Shoreline Conference Championship and finished in eighth place with 11 points on May 23. For the round, the T-Birds totaled a collective score of 350.

Jake Neubig had the best round for North Branford as he finished with an 82 for the 18-hole course. Paul Zumbo shot an 83, John Lovelace shot an 84, and Christian Defrancesco had a score of 101 for the Thunderbirds.

On May 24, the Thunderbirds took on Maloney on the road at Hunter Golf Course in Meriden and won 191-192. Zumbo earned medalist honors with a 41 for North Branford. Lovelace shot a 47, Zack Smola had a score of 50, and Defrancesco shot a 53.

North Branford scored 23 points and finished in 10th place at the Shoreline Conference Championship at Morgan on May 24.

The T-Birds’ relays accounted for seven of their points, while Sydney Franklin, Jacob Marshall, Michael Madoule, and Michael Rabuffo posted points individually for North Branford. Franklin took second place in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet-8 inches to score eight points. Marshall raced to a time of 11.71 seconds in the final heat of the 100-meter dash to finish in fourth and score five points. Madoule placed seventh in the 400 with a time of 54.14 to score two points. Rabuffo’s eighth-place finish resulted in one point as he reached 5 feet-6 inches.

In the relays, the 4x400 team of Marshall, Madoule, Rabuffo, and Austin Gibilisco finished in third with a time of 3:38.78 to score six points. The 4x800 of Jared Jamieson, Parker Nadeau, Zachary Jamieson, and Madoule earned a point with an eighth-place finish behind a time of 9:24.01.

Other competitors for the Thunderbirds included Gibilisco in the 400 (18th, 57.44), Jared Jamieson in the 800 (23rd, 2:19.18), Marshall in the 200 (9th, 24.34) and javelin (14th, 113-4), Rabuffo in the 200 (11th, 24.59), Franklin in the long jump (19th, 18-0) and triple jump (10th, 36-6.5), Alvin Chan in the discus (21st, 83-1), and the 4x100 relay of Aaron Biesaw, Tyler Capasso, Hunter Boni, and Freddie Little (10th, 53.67).

The Thunderbirds competed at the Shoreline Conference Championship on May 24 and finished in 10th place with a total of 13 points.

The Thunderbirds’ 4x100 relay of Erika Roof, Grace Little, Mackenzie Glenn, and Jenna Bryden sprinted to a third-place finish with a time of 52.54 seconds to score six points. Winnie Chan secured five points with a fourth-place finish in the triple jump at 33 feet-1.75 inches. Grace Little raced to a time of 30.0 seconds in the final heat of the 100-meter dash to place eighth, while Glenn’s leap of 15-2.25 in the long jump was good for eighth, earning each of them a point for North Branford.

The T-Birds’ other individual competitors included Lydia Mattson in the 300 hurdles (9th, 52.03), Jessica Tang in the 300 hurdles (22nd, 58.56), Bryden in the 200 (9th, 28.37), Little in the 200 (10th, 28.51), Roof in the 200 (15th, 28.90), Glenn in the 200 (30th, 30.03) and triple jump (13th, 30-5), Sarah Criscuolo in the 200 (45th, 30.97), Chan in the long jump (11th, 14-11), Joselyn Streeto in the long jump (27th, 13-2.75) and triple jump (18th, 29-3), along with Deanna Sgambato in the long jump (28th, 13-0.5), pole vault (11th, 7-0), and triple jump (24th, 28-6).

Olivia Hemstock joined the 100-hit club as the Thunderbirds’ softball squad beat Old Saybrook 16-0 in the quarterfinal round of the Shoreline Conference Tournament. Teammate Emily Muzyka picked up her 100th career RBI in the win. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Sound