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02/10/2018 11:00 PMDance
The Branford High School dance team turned in an exceptional showing at the Universal Dance Association National Dance Team Championship at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida on the weekend of Feb. 3-4. The Hornets’ hip-hip routine finished in sixth place out of approximately 50 teams in the finals of the Small Varsity Hip-Hop Division, resulting in Branford’s all-time highest placement at nationals in program history.
Branford’s hip-hop performance featured 12 dancers at the national meet. The Hornets advanced through the semifinals on Feb. 3 and then competed in the finals the following day. Their routine consisted of a mix of five songs and styles that were performed at a fast pace, and Coach Jacqui Montano said that Branford showcased its strength and skill through a variety of tricks and dynamic movements for each style. Montano felt the change in dance styles throughout the routine provided a unique quality that allowed the Hornets to stand out amongst the other teams en route to their sixth-place finish. Branford had placed 10th and 12th, respectively, in the hip-hop competition at nationals during each of the past two seasons.
Also at the National Championship, Branford competed in the Small Varsity Jazz Division and finished in 22nd place among a field of around 80 teams. The Hornets advanced through the preliminaries and the semifinals on Feb. 3, before performing in the finals on Feb. 4. Branford’s nine dancers performed to “Let It Be” by The Beatles and wore yellow costumes that brought light to the stage during a feel-good routine. Montano said it was a huge accomplishment for Branford to place 22nd in what she called the “biggest and hardest division in the entire competition.” Last year, the Hornets finished 15th out of 70 teams for jazz at nationals.
The 2018 Branford dance team is led by senior captain Melissa Brennan and junior captain Lily Milici. The Hornets’ other athletes are juniors Casey Allen, Hannah Antonino, Rachel LaBonte, and Chloe Lourenco-Lang; sophomores Samantha Esposito, Johnna Palmese, Bella Petrosino, and Juliana Robinson; and freshmen Olivia Vitale and Layla Redente.
Last year, Branford finished first for both the Hip-Hop and Jazz divisions at the State Championship for the third straight season. Branford has won a hip-hop title at states in 10 of the last 11 years and in jazz five times in the past eight years. The Hornets also took first place in the Hip-Hop and Jazz divisions at last year’s New England Championship, marking the fourth time in five years they’ve won for hip-hop and the second time in the past two seasons they’ve won for jazz at the regional meet.
This year’s State Championship takes place at Hamden High School at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24, and the New England Championship is in Vermont on Saturday, March 10.
Wrestling
Branford seniors Zach Cash and Kyle Zalewski both finished in first place of their respective weight classes at last week’s Southern Connecticut Conference Wrestling Championship. Cash took first prize in the 160-pound weight class, while Zalewski grabbed the gold in the 220-pound division to help the Hornets score 73 points and come in sixth place at the SCC Championship, which was held at Fairfield Prep on Feb. 10.
Cash and Zalewski both won three bouts on their way to placing first at the SCC meet. In the 160 division, Cash won a 15-1 decision versus Matthew Peters of Notre Dame-West Haven and then pinned Amity’s Sam Keylock at the 1:43 mark to reach the championship bout. In the final, Cash won a 12-1 decision over Ron Gaul of Foran to take the SCC crown.
Zalewski’s road to the title began with a 24-second pin-fall win against Anissa Cruz from Law. Then in the semifinals, Zalewski won a 5-1 decision versus Justin Fonacier from East Haven. Zalewski followed that up by defeating Foran’s Qasim Khan by a 3-1 decision in the title bout.
Branford also saw freshman AJ Robinson and sophomore Cody McHenry wrestle their way to third-place finishes at the conference meet. In the 152-pound weight class, Robinson defeated Cheshire’s Patrick O’Donnell by pin at 1:37 and then took a loss. Robinson began the consolation bracket by pinning Hand’s Carter Ganino in 1:45, after which he pinned Luca Costantini from Guilford in just 47 seconds to finish third.
McHenry won a 10-7 decision over Umer Khan of Foran and then lost his next match in the 170-pound division. In the consolation rounds, McHenry pinned Ryan Gorman of Law in 43 seconds and then claimed third place by pinning Khan at the 3:40 mark of their rematch.
Branford also saw a few other athletes pick up a win at the SCC meet. Additionally earning victories were junior Brendan Shamas in the 126-pound weight class, as well as senior Chris DeLise (138), freshman Spencer Lyon (145), and senior Jake McPartland (195). Freshman Luke Volpe (113), senior Stella Kelly (132), and sophomore Minsok Lee (182) also competed for the Hornets.
Two days before the SCC Championship, Branford concluded the regular season by posting a 33-28 victory at Notre Dame-West Haven to finish with at 16-13, marking the Hornets’ fifth winning record in program history. Branford won a 48-22 decision at Shelton on Feb. 1 and then defeated Farmington 45-27 the next day to secure its winning record for the year.
Gymnastics
On Feb. 9, Branford freshman Brooke Kustra competed as a team-of-one at the SCC Gymnastics Championship at Jonathan Law High School. Kustra finished in sixth place on bars with a score of 8.3 to make the All-SCC Team for the event. She also placed eighth in the all-around with a score of 31.2.
Throughout the season, Kustra has trained with the team at Daniel Hand High School in Madison and represented the Hornets while competing at the Tigers’ meets. Hand took first place at the SCC Championship to win the conference title for the 10th straight year.
Boys’ Ice Hockey
The Branford boys’ ice hockey squad picked up a 3-0 win versus Masuk, before doubling up Lyman Hall/Haddam-Killingworth/Coginchaug by a 6-3 final later in the week. With these two victories, the Hornets improved their record to 8-4-1 and qualified for the Division II State Tournament.
Branford hosted SCC/SWC Division III opponent Masuk on Feb. 5 and posted a 3-0 shutout at Northford Ice Pavilion. Junior Robbie Lionetti scored from sophomores Blake Kustra and Spencer Engstrom in the first period. Kustra netted an unassisted goal in the second period, and Engstrom put bow on the victory by scoring from junior Max Bunton in the third period.
On Feb. 10, Branford was the designated road team when it faced off against SCC/SWC Division III squad Lyman Hall/Haddam-Killingworth Coginchaug at Northford Ice Pavilion. The Hornets defeated the Trojans by the final score of 6-3 to punch their State Tournament ticket.
In the previous week’s action, the Hornets lost a 4-1 home game against Cheshire on Feb. 3. Sophomore Zach Jones scored from senior Liam Deane to account for Branford’s goal.
Girls’ Ice Hockey
The Branford-East Haven-North Branford girls’ ice hockey team has now claimed 10 consecutive victories after putting two more in the win column last week. The Wings have an overall record of 15-3 with two games remaining in the regular season.
On Feb. 9, the Wings posted a 4-0 road victory over Masuk-Barlow-Newtown-Oxford-Bethel at The Rinks at Shelton to improve to 7-2 in SCC South Division play. East Haven student Julianna Constantinople scored two goals in the win, while North Branford’s Emmy Norton and Branford’s Alycia Ferretti added one goal apiece. East Haven’s Isabella Segui played goal and recorded the shutout.
Also last week, the Wings were awarded a 1-0 win via forfeit against Lauralton Hall for a game that was scheduled to play be played on Feb. 10.
Boys’ Indoor Track
The Hornets’ 1,600 sprint medley relay (SMR) team broke the school record at another postseason meet, while posting a second-place finish at last week’s Class M State Championship. Branford scored 12 points and came in 11th place at the meet, which took place on Feb. 9 at Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven.
Branford’s SMR of senior CJ Miller and juniors Carlos McCaay, Aidan Kropiwnicki, and Marzio Mastroianni posted a time of 3:44.01 to take second place, break the school record, and score eight points for the Hornets. Branford only placed behind Weston, which won the event with a Class M record time of 3:38.99. In the previous week, Branford’s SMR won the event with a school-record time of 3:44.65 at the SCC Championship.
Additionally at the state meet, Mastrioanni followed up his victory in the 1,000-meter run from SCCs by placing fourth in the event with a time of 2:35.92, scoring four points for the Hornets. Kropiwnicki finished 11th in the pole vault by clearing 11 feet, while McCaay placed 17th for the preliminaries of the 55-meter dash with a time of 7.0 seconds.
Branford’s 4x800 relay of senior Kadir Sahin, McCarthy, sophomore Andrew Betzig, and junior Glenn Iacovetti came in 15th place with a time of 9:09.55. Senior Harrison Troidle finished 21st in the 1,600 (4:56.14), junior Brandon Perez placed 23rd in the long jump (16-2.5), and Iacovetti was 25th in the 600 (1:32.73).
Girls’ Indoor Track
Senior Bridget Wirtz took second place in the pole vault for Branford at the Class M State Championship last week.
Wirtz cleared a height of 10 feet to place second behind Sheehan’s Stephanie Phoenix (10-6) in the state meet. Wirtz had previously won the event at the SCC West Sectional Championship and the SCC Championship. She scored eight points in the event to help the Hornets finish in 13th place with 12 team points at states.
Junior Liante Claude scored two points by placing fifth in the 300-meter dash at 43.30 seconds, and she also picked up a point by finishing sixth in the 600-meter run with a time of 1:43.85. Sophomore Diana Karosas scored the Hornets’ other point by taking sixth place in the pole vault with a height of 8 feet-6 inches.
Karosas also came in 11th place in the high jump by clearing 4-8 one week after winning the event at the SCC Championship. Branford’s 4x200 relay of sophomores Kayla Pollard, Rose Lockery, Molly Zaffino, and Claude finished 12th at states by posting a time of 1:54.36. Pollard also finished 35th in the 300-meter dash (47.12) and was 56th in the preliminaries of the 55-meter dash at 8.37 seconds. Lockery placed 53rd in the 55 prelims with an 8.27.
Boys’ Swimming and Diving
The Branford-Guilford boys’ swimming and diving team completed its regular season by hosting North Haven at Walsh Intermediate School last week. The Hornets took a 96-82 loss against the Indians on Feb. 9.
Boys’ Basketball
The Hornets recorded their second victory of the season when they prevailed 53-46 at Law in a SCC Quinnipiac Division contest on Feb. 9. The win marked a big-time turnaround for Branford, which had taken a 72-42 home loss to Law on Jan. 19. The Hornets also lost to Foran in another divisional contest last week.
Branford faced Foran in Milford on Feb. 6 and dropped a 54-46 decision against the Lions. Senior Danny Thomas scored 15 points for Branford on the night. Senior Harrison Stratton had 11 points, fellow senior Mike White scored nine, and senior Ethan Boileau had eight points.
Then on Feb. 9, the Hornets were back on the road to face Law and prevailed 53-46. Boileau scored 16 points, Thomas had nine points, and Stratton added eight points for the Hornets (2-16).
Girls’ Basketball
Branford picked up a win in a recent SCC Hammonasset Division game to move to 7-12 with one contest remaining in the regular season. The Hornets lost to Amity and Guilford and then defeated Sacred Heart Academy in last week’s matchups.
On Feb. 6, Branford hosted Amity and dropped a 53-35 decision. Junior Sophia Araneo scored 17 points to lead the Hornets, while sophomore Karly King added seven points.
Two nights later, the Hornets had a game at Guilford, where they lost by the final score of 47-35. Senior Emma Pierson scored 14 points, Araneo had 12 points, and King scored six points for Branford.
Branford closed out its week by hosting Sacred Heart Academy on Feb. 9 and claimed a 49-14 victory against a team that to lost to earlier in the year. Pierson hit four 3-pointers and scored 20 points for the Hornets, who also received eight points from Araneo and five points by King.