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01/27/2018 11:00 PMGirls’ Indoor Track
Senior Bridget Wirtz cleared a height of 10 feet-6 inches to win the pole vault for the Branford girls’ indoor track team at the SCC West Sectional Championship, which was held at the Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven on Jan. 23. The Hornets scored 41 points and came in sixth place as a team at the meet.
Wirtz’s victory marked the second year in a row that she won the pole vault at the sectional meet. As a junior last year, she took first place in the event at the West Sectional Championship and the SCC Championship during both the indoor and outdoor track seasons, in each addition to setting the school record in each season. Wirtz also finished second in the pole vault at states for both the winter and spring campaigns last year.
Sophomore Diana Karosas cleared 8-6 to place second in the pole vault at the recent West Sectional meet. She additionally finished third (4-8) in the high jump for the Hornets. Junior Liante Claude had a big meet for Branford by taking third place in both the 300-meter dash (43.73 seconds) and the 600-meter run (1:45.70).
The Hornets’ 4x200 relay of sophomores Kayla Pollard, Rose Lockery, Molly Zaffino, and Claude finished fourth with a time of 1:56.77. Senior Wyntre Fries took sixth place (7-0) in the pole vault, while Lockery finished eighth in the 1,000-meter run at 3:32.57.
Boys’ Indoor Track
Led by a trio of runner-up finishes, the Hornets finished in seventh place with 34.33 points scored at last week’s SCC West Sectional Championship.
Junior Marzio Mastroianni took second place in the 1,000-meter run by posting a time of 2:39.81 for Branford. Fellow junior Aidan Kropiwnicki cleared 11 feet in the pole vault and also earned second place. In the 1,600-meter sprint medley relay, the Hornets’ quartet of senior CJ Miller, junior Carlos McCaay, Kropiwnicki, and Mastroianni claimed second place by recording a time of 3:47.92. Those same three athletes also joined forces in the 4x400 relay and took third place with a mark of 3:43.49.
Junior Brandon Perez finished fifth in the high jump (5-6) and seventh in the long jump (18-7) for the Hornets. In the pole vault, sophomore Sean Jansen finished fourth, junior Justin Dombrowski was seventh, and sophomore Andrew Wirtz placed ninth as all three athletes cleared 9-6.
Girls’ Ice Hockey
The Branford-East Haven-North Branford (Bfd-EH-NB) girls’ ice hockey team ran its win streak to six straight games by notching three victories on its home ice at DiLungo Rink last week. The Wings have now improved their overall record to 11-3 for the year.
Bfd-EH-NB opened up the week by posting a 6-2 win over Guilford on Jan. 25. East Haven freshman Julianna Constantinople scored three goals to pick up her second straight hat trick in the win. North Branford’s Melanie Norton scored her first varsity goal, while fellow North Branford student Emilie Wilkinson and Branford resident Sophia Caturano also had goals for the Wings. East Haven senior Julia SanGiovanni earned the win in net.
Two nights later, the Wings hosted Wilton-Norwalk-McMahon and skated to a 6-3 victory. Constantinople stayed on a tear by once again scoring three goals to post her third hat trick in a row for Bfd-EH-NB. North Branford senior Emmy Norton also lit the lamp three times to record a hat trick for the Wings.
The Wings closed out their week by facing off against Avon-Southington-East Granby-RHAM on Jan. 27 and prevailed 6-2. Constantinople scored three more goals for her fourth consecutive hat trick in the victory. Wilkinson scored a pair of goals, while Norton had a goal with three assists. East Haven’s Izabella Segui played a great game in goal to get the win.
Boys’ Ice Hockey
The Hornets’ boys’ ice hockey squad had a pair of matchups last week and came away with a split to stand at 6-3-1 for the year. Branford defeated Hand and then lost versus North Branford.
On Jan. 24, the Hornets were the visiting team when they faced off against Hand at Northford Ice Pavilion, and they defeated the Tigers by the final score of 6-2. Jack Manware had two goals with two assists, while fellow sophomore Spencer Engstrom had a goal and an assist for Branford.
Manware scored from sophomore Zach Jones to give Branford a 1-0 lead just 2:20 into the game. Hand scored the next two goals and took a 2-1 lead into the second period. Seven minutes into the second, Manware scored on assists from Engstrom and junior Max Bunton to make it a 2-2 game entering the third period. Branford then unleashed a four-goal blitz in the final frame to come away with the win. Bunton scored the go-ahead goal from Engstrom just 12 seconds in. After that, Engstrom scored from Bunton and sophomore Blake Kustra, Jones scored from Manware and junior Theo Kirby, and junior Robbie Lionetti scored on an assist by Manware—all within a 42-second span—to make it 6-2 in favor of the Hornets.
Three nights later, Branford was the road team for a game versus North Branford at Northford Ice Pavilion and took a 6-3 defeat. The Hornets trailed 4-3 midway through the third period, before North Branford scored the last two goals of the game. Kirby scored a goal from Jones, Engstrom scored from Kustra and Bunton, and Kustra netted a goal from sophomore Max Manware to account for Branford’s scoring.
Wrestling
The Hornets’ wrestling team welcomed several wrestling squads from around to state to compete at its annual Shoreline Scuffle meet at Branford High School on Jan. 27. Branford finished in fourth place as a team and saw several of its wrestlers earn medals at the meet. Senior captains Zach Cash and Kyle Zalewski both won their third straight Shoreline Scuffle championships in the 160-pound and 220-pound weight classes, respectively, for the Hornets. Cash pinned his opponent in the final, and Zalewski won a 3-1 decision.
Freshman Peyton Tracy took second place in the 120-pound division, while sophomore Minsok Lee finished second at 182 for Branford at the Scuffle. Freshman AJ Robinson placed third in the 152 class, earning a win by pin against a wrestler from rival East Haven. Sophomore Cody McHenry finished third in the 170 class by defeating an opponent from Shelton to round out Branford’s medalists for the day.
“It was a good showing for us at a tough tournament,” Head Coach Jesse Hurlburt said. “We stay aggressive on the mat regardless of the score. We’ve been working on our mindset all year and it is paying off.”
Hurlburt went on to thank the team’s parents for running the concession stands at the Shoreline Scuffle, saying that they “do an amazing job and are the backbone of our program.” Hurlburt also thanked Bob Swan and former Hornets’ head coach Chris Bonagiuso for serving as the tournament’s directors.
Earlier in the week, Branford hosted Amity and lost to the Spartans by a 58-15 score on Jan. 23. Three Hornets won their bouts on the evening. Cash prevailed by pin at the 2:40 mark in the 160-pound weight class, McHenry won by a 9-4 decision in the 170 weight class, and Zalewski prevailed by pin at the 1:32 mark in the 220 division.
Gymnastics
Branford freshman Brooke Kustra finished in third place for the all-around with a score of 31.4 when Hand gymnastics team posted a 121.5-113.6 home win over Hamden on Jan. 23.
Kustra, who trains with Hand and competes for Branford as a team-of-one, finished in third place on the bars (7.7) and the floor (8.05), in addition to tying for third on the vault (8.15) and the beam (7.5) en route to her overall third-place performance at the meet.
Girls’ Basketball
The Branford girls’ basketball squad had one game last week and lost a 61-36 contest at Wilbur Cross on Feb. 26.
Emma Pierson scored 10 points, and fellow senior Tori Raffone had eight points for Branford in the loss. The Hornets’ record now stands at 5-9 on the season.
Boys’ Basketball
The Hornets’ boys’ basketball team took a pair of defeats last week.
On Jan. 22, Branford lost at Hand by the final score of 68-27. Senior Harrison Stratton scored eight points for Branford in the loss.
Then on Jan. 26, the Hornets hosted Cheshire and dropped a 51-39 decision. Sophomore Kevin Baxter scored 11 points, senior Ethan Boileau had nine points, and fellow senior Mike White added seven points for Branford, which is now 1-12 on the season.