Printer Friendly Version - 2017 North Branford Thunderbirds Spring Year in Review

The North Branford softball team made the spring of 2017 a special one by claiming its third straight Shoreline Conference title with a 10-5 victory over Hale-Ray in the league championship game. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Sound

The spring of 2017 saw the North Branford softball team put together another excellent season by earning the Shoreline Conference three-peat and advancing to the Class M state final. However, the season also brought sad news to town when North Branford High School track and cross country coach Floyd Parness passed away on May 18 at the age of 66. The athletes on the T-Birds' boys' and girls' outdoor track teams competed in honor of Parness throughout the rest of the season.

The T-Birds' softball squad finished with a 22-6 record after capturing its third straight Shoreline Conference Tournament championship and reaching the Class M State Tournament final.

In the Shoreline Tournament, North Branford topped Old Saybrook 16-0 and edged Haddam-Killingworth 2-1 before defeating Hale-Ray 10-5 to solidify the three-peat. Then in states, North Branford beat Montville (9-1), Haddam-Killingworth (11-0), Griswold (6-4), and Northwestern (7-1) to reach the title game, where the Thunderbirds took a 4-3 defeat to Seymour.

Senior Emily Muzyka was a New Haven Register All-Area pick as she led the team in batting average (.467), hits (43), home runs (4), RBI (37), and triples (4). Juniors Olivia Hemstock and Sydney Senerchia also made solid contributions at the plate, while Senerchia and senior Julia Haeckel split the pitching duties for Head Coach Nick DeLizio's club. Senerchia went 11-4 with a 1.60 earned-run average and 134 strikeouts, while Haeckel finished 10-2 with a 1.19 ERA and 122 punchouts.

North Branford won four games on the year. The T-Birds came away with victories against Creed-Hillhouse, Westbrook, Old Saybrook, and Haddam-Killingworth.

The North Branford sports landscape was forever changed when longtime high school cross country and track coach Floyd Parness suddenly passed away at age 66 on May 18.

Parness, who was the head coach of the Thunderbirds' boys' outdoor track team at the time of his passing, was the only three-sport coach at North Branford High School. He started coaching outdoor track in the spring of 2005, cross country in the fall of 2006, and had been the head coach of the indoor track program since its inception. Parness, who lived in Northford, coached both the boys and girls with all three programs. The race that Parness coordinated at the North Branford Potato and Corn Festival was renamed Floyd's 5K in his honor.

After Parness passed away, North Branford's athletes competed with heavy hearts at their two subsequent postseason meets. The T-Birds finished in 10th place at the Shoreline Conference Championship and then finished 32nd in the Class S State Championship.

At the Shoreline meet, Sydney Franklin took second place in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet-8 inches, while Jacob Marshall finished fourth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.71 seconds. The 4x400 relay team of Marshall, Michael Madoule, Michael Rabuffo, and Austin Gibilisco placed third at 3:38.78. In the state meet, the T-Birds' 4x400 relay posted a sixth-place performance with a time of 3:36.04.

The athletes on the Thunderbirds' girls' outdoor track team were also shocked and saddened by the passing of coach Floyd Parness, who worked alongside girls' Head Coach Brent Ramsey. North Branford finished in 10th place at the Shoreline Conference Championship and then placed 27th at the Class S State Championship meet.

In the Shoreline Championship, The Thunderbirds' 4x100 relay of Erika Roof, Grace Little, Mackenzie Glenn, and Jenna Bryden finished in third place with a time of 52.54 seconds. Winnie Chan finished fourth in the triple jump at 33 feet-1.75 inches. Then at states, Chan posted a fifth-place finish in the high jump with a height of 4 feet-10 inches.

North Branford finished with a 15-5 record that included a trip to the Shoreline Conference Tournament final.

The Thunderbirds advanced to the Shoreline final with a thrilling 12-11 victory over Old Saybrook before taking an 11-9 defeat against Old Lyme. In the Class S State Tournament, North Branford cruised to a 20-8 win versus Montville and then dropped a 16-13 decision versus Canton.

Senior attacker Sydney Hogan was a New Haven Register All-Area selection as she amassed 113 points (56 goals, 57 assists) for the season.

The Thunderbirds won six games in 2017 and came up just shy of berths in the postseason tournaments. Senior Nico Sommo was named to the Connecticut High School Coaches Association All-State Class M First Team for his work in the faceoff circle as he won more than 100 draws on the season.

North Branford welcomed Andrew DaCorte as its new head coach in 2017. The T-Birds put forth an eighth-place effort in the Shoreline Conference Championship, led by junior Jake Neubig with a round of 82, along with junior Paul Zumbo (83), junior John Lovelace (84), and senior Christian Defrancesco (101).

First-year Head Coach Matt Tortora's team finished the year with a 6-14 record. The Thunderbirds claimed two wins versus East Hampton and Portland, as well as one victory against Morgan and Coginchaug.

Senior Tony Pavic and junior Chris Candelora represented North Branford boys' tennis this spring. Pavic qualified for the singles bracket at the Shoreline Conference Tournament.

Floyd Parness always brought smiles to the faces of people he knew in North Branford. Parness, who was a three-sport coach for the Thunderbirds, passed away at age 66 on May 18 and is sorely missed by the members of the North Branford community. Photo courtesy of Dave Parness