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05/25/2017 12:00 AMGirls’ Outdoor Track
Bridget Wirtz put forth a historic performance at the Southern Connecticut Championship last week, as the Branford junior not only won the pole vault, but also broke both the SCC Championship record and the school record in the event.
Wirtz cleared a height of 11 feet-9 inches to handily defeat runner-up Stephanie Phoenix of Sheehan (10-0), while also eclipsing the previous meet record of 11-0 that was set by Cheshire’s Selina Sampieri in 2014. The week before, Wirtz had won the pole vault with a height of 11-0 at the SCC West Sectional Championship. As a team, Branford scored 22 points and finished in 14th place at the SCC Girls’ Outdoor Track Championship, which was held at Lyman Hall on May 23.
Liante Claude scored points for the Hornets by sprinting to third place in the 400-meter dash with a personal-record time of 59.42 seconds. The sophomore also came in ninth place for the 100-meter dash by running a 27.10. Claude and Wirtz additionally ran with senior Amanda Acquarulo and freshman Kayla Pollard on Branford’s 4x100 relay, which posted points with a fifth-place finish and a time of 52.13.
“Bridget finally had perfect weather to help her inch closer to 12 feet. This should provide her with a big boost in her confidence heading into states. It was good to see her get the SCC and school record,” Head Coach Kevin Connell said. “Liante Claude ran a fast race against two of the state’s best and finished with a [personal record]. We’re hoping for more at the [Class MM State Championship]. The 4x100 has struggled with different runners and mishaps, but finally put it together today. The talent has been there. Hopefully, we can fine tune it a little.”
Taylor Brown picked up a couple of points in the pole vault by taking seventh place with a height of 9 feet. Junior Leah-Pendl Robinson was ninth for the vault (8-6), freshman Diana Karosas took 10th (8-0), and junior Wyntre Fries finish in 19th place (7-0). Senior Hailey LaBonte and Acquarulo tied for 11th place in the high jump as both athletes cleared 4-6. Keira Integlia took 10th place in the javelin (91-9) and was 17th for the shot put (29-9). Fellow senior Kiersten Bjork placed 12th in the javelin (86-8) and came in 17th for the discus at 85-1. Also for the Hornets, Senior Courtney Cosgrove finished 17th in the 3,200 (12:37.06), Pendl-Robinson was 17th for the preliminaries of the 100 hurdles (18.69), and sophomore Mary Nwagboli finished 26th in the 100-meter dash at 28.02. Cosgrove bettered her time from sectionals by nearly 30 seconds to qualify for states in the 3,200.
“Courtney Cosgrove improved by almost 30 seconds over Sectionals. She was looking at her last chance to qualify and ran a determined race and exhibited the kind of effort she has given us over the past four years. Very proud of her effort,” said Coach Connell.
Boys’ Outdoor Track
Marzio Mastroianni recorded a first-place finish in the 1,600-meter run for the Hornets at last week’s SCC Championship meet.
Mastrioanni, a sophomore, ran a time of 4:21.20 to edge out Cheshire’s Brendan Murray for top honors in the event. Mastrioianni had taken second in the 1,600 with a time of 4:32.36 at the SCC West Sectional Championship the previous week. The Hornets’ other point scorer at the meet was sophomore Matt Alexander, who placed seventh in the long jump with a distance of 20 feet-1 inch. As a team, Branford scored 12 points and finished in 19th place.
Sophomore Derek Tratnyek finished 12th in the 1,600 (4:39.33) and came in 14th place for the 3,200 behind a time of 10:16.70 for Branford. Brandon Perez took 10th place in the high jump with a height of 5-6, fellow sophomore Justin Dombrowski finished 11th in pole vault at 9-6, while sophomore Giancarlo Giannini came in 13th place in the discus with a toss of 101-10.
For relays, Branford’s 4x400 team of Alexander, sophomores Ben DeMaio and Carlos McCaay, and Mastroianni finished 11th (3:37.63); the 4x100 of senior Daniel Palencia, freshman Scott Nolan, sophomore Kostas Gionteris, and McCaay placed 13th (47.29); and the 4x800 relay featuring juniors Kadir Sahin, Ryan McCarthy, and Harry Troidle, as well as senior Andrew Byrne finished in 14th place with a mark of 8:53.47.
Baseball
Branford notched its 12 consecutive victory by posting a 12-1 home blowout over Hand in the SCC Tournament quarterfinals, after which the Hornets took a 2-1 loss to Fairfield Prep in the semifinal round.
Entering SCCs at the No. 3 seed, Branford hosted Hand for a quarterfinal clash on May 23 and cruised to a 12-1 win. The Hornets scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning, Hand came back with one on the third, but it was all Branford after that as Head Coach Stephen Malafronte’s squad plated a run in fourth, four runs in the fifth, and tacked on four more in the fifth. The Hornets pounded out 15 hits in the victory.
Zane Kmietek pitched six innings for his fourth win of the season, allowing just three hits and striking out five. Devon Lawson pitched a scoreless seventh to close it out. Trevor Brown went 2-for-3 with a double and five RBI for Branford. Zach Withington was 4-for-5, including a double, to go with two RBI. Jordan Botte was 3-for-4 and drove in a run for the Hornets, who also received one RBI apiece from Nikko Liguori and DJ Caron.
The following afternoon, Branford faced No. 2 seed Fairfield Prep in the SCC semis at Piurek Field at West Haven High School and lost 2-1. Branford led 1-0 before Fairfield Prep tied the game with a run in the fifth. Then in the bottom of the seventh, the Jesuits won it on a two-out, walk-off single. Alphonse Suppa started on the mound and pitched into the seventh inning for the Hornets, whose RBI came off the bat of Kmietek.
Branford, which is now 16-6 overall, will next compete in the Class L State Tournament. The tourney begins on Saturday, May 27 and wraps up with the final on Saturday, June 10.
Softball
The Hornets finished the year with a record of 4-16 after splitting their final two games of the season. Branford dropped a 6-3 decision in North Haven on May 23, but came back to notch a 17-5 victory at Hillhouse the following afternoon.
Girls’ Lacrosse
Branford had an SCC Tournament semifinal contest at Cheshire on May 23 and dropped a 13-12 decision against the top-seeded Rams. The Hornets, who were the No. 4 seed, moved to 13-5 overall with the loss.
Branford and Cheshire were tied 9-9 at halftime before the Rams outscored the Hornets 4-3 in the second half to get the one-goal win. Sophie Spencer had a big game by scoring six goals to go with an assist for the Hornets. Autumn McHenry netted three goals and had two assists on the night. Ashlee Smestad had a goal and two assists, while LanLe Crotty added a goal for Head Coach Jackie Ceccolini’s squad.
Next up, Branford has the Class M State Tournament that takes place from Saturday, May 27 through Saturday, June 10.
Boys’ Lacrosse
On the heels of an 11-5 regular season, the Hornets will compete in the Class M State Tournament this coming week. The tournament begins on Saturday, May 27 and culminates with the championship game on Saturday, June 10.
Golf
The Hornets closed out their regular season with a record of 15-4-1 after picking up three more victories last week.
On May 23, Branford faced North Haven and Law at Wallingford Country Club and shot a 168 to defeat both Law (170) and the host Indians (190). Liam Deane led Branford by shooting a 38 and Ryan Sember was right behind with a score of 40. Jason Brennan and Max Bunton both scored a 45 for the Hornets.
The following afternoon, Head Coach Jen Kohut’s squad competed against Guilford and Hand at Madison Country Club. Branford turned in a score of 166 to lose to Hand (158) and defeat Guilford (170).
Boys’ Tennis
After going 11-7 for the regular season, the Hornets played at Hand in an SCC Tournament quarterfinal contest on May 23. Branford, which was seeded No. 8, took a 7-0 defeat against the top-seeded Tigers.
Next up for Branford is the Class M State Championship that takes place from Saturday, May 27 through Thursday, June 1.