This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
02/17/2018 11:00 PMWrestling
The Branford wrestling team saw four athletes earn medals at the Class M State Championship, which was held at Guilford High School on Feb. 16 and 17. Senior Zach Cash finished second in the 195-pound weight class, fellow senior Kyle Zalewski took second at 220, while sophomore Cody McHenry and freshman Justin Osler both posted fifth-place finishes for the Hornets. As a team, Branford totaled 92 points and finished in 12th place at the meet.
One week after taking the title at the SCC Championship, Cash was the No. 2 seed in the 160-pound bracket at the state meet and received a bye through the first round. In the second round, he pinned East Haven’s Danny Jarrin in just 43 seconds. Cash followed that up by winning a 14-3 decision over Avon’s Jack Coleman, after which he defeated Noah Silk from RHAM by a 10-7 decision in the semis. Cash then squared off against Tolland’s Michael Angers in the championship bout and lost by pin at the 3:55 mark.
Zalewski pinned his first opponent in 35 seconds and then prevailed by a 10-3 decision in the 220 division, before losing a 9-7 decision in the semifinals. That sent Zalewski to the consolation bracket, where he earned a pin-fall win at the 2:39 mark to advance to the bout that decided third place. Zalewski faced Christopher Gens of Avon for the bronze and won a 5-4 decision.
At 170, McHenry won just first match by pin in 1:19 and then lost a decision. In the consolation rounds, McHenry won an 8-4 decision and then picked up another win by a 4-2 decision. After dropping a decision, McHenry defeated Luis Rodriguez-Veras of New London via forfeit to take fifth place. Osler earned a win by pin and then took a loss in the 182 division, after which he prevailed by pin-fall in his first two matches of the consolation bracket. Osler then lost an 8-5 decision to go to the fifth-place bout, where he earned a 6-1 win via decision against RHAM’s Alex Otero.
Additionally at states, sophomore Minsok Lee recorded two victories, winning a 5-2 decision in his opening bout and a 9-2 decision in his first consolation bout in the 195-pound division. In the 120 weight class, freshman Peyton Tracy notched a win by pin in the championship rounds and another in consolation tournament with both coming under the two-minute mark. Freshman Luke Volpe won his first match by pin and later won a bout via pin-fall in just 25 seconds in the consolation bracket of the 113 division. At 126, junior Brendan Shamas earned a win by pin in his opening match. For the 152 division, freshman AJ Robinson picked up a pin-fall victory in the consolation rounds. Also competing for Branford in the Class M meet were senior Stella Kelly in the 132 division, along with senior Chris DeLise (138), and freshman Spencer Lyon (145).
Boys’ Ice Hockey
One week after clinching a spot in states, Branford improved its overall record to 10-4-1 by posting a pair of recent victories on the road. The Hornets edged New Milford and then shut out Trumbull in their last two contests and have now won four games in a row.
On Feb. 11, Branford faced SCC/SWC Division II opponent New Milford at the Canterbury School and came away with a 3-2 victory against the Green Wave. Robbie Lionetti scored from fellow junior Max Bunton to give the Hornets a 1-0 lead just 4:51 into the game. Less than a minute later, sophomore Blake Kustra found the back of the net for Branford to make it a 2-0 game. New Milford scored three minutes later and trailed 2-1 after one. Following a scoreless second period, Lionetti netted his second goal of the game two minutes into the third to extend the Hornets’ lead to 3-1. New Milford came back with a goal about two minutes later, but Branford staved off the Green Wave for the rest of the frame, and hung on for the one-goal win.
Then on Feb. 16, the Hornets played Trumbull and shut out the Golden Eagles by the final score of 2-0 in the first game of the President’s Cup Tournament at The Rinks at Shelton. Senior Liam Deane scored his first career high-school goal with sophomore Spencer Engstrom getting the assist to give Branford a 1-0 lead through one. The Hornets held their one-goal edge until there was 30 seconds left in the game, when sophomore Jack Manware scored an empty-net goal from Engstrom to put Branford up 2-0. Junior Greg Lucente made 17 saves in net, including several big ones when Branford was on the penalty-kill and clinging to its one-goal lead in the final minutes.
In the previous week’s action, Branford earned a 6-3 victory over Lyman Hall/Haddam-Killingworth/Coginchaug at Northford Ice Pavilion on Feb. 10. The Hornets led 4-0 after the first period, the Trojans scored two in second and one early in the third to cut it 4-3, but Branford notched the last two goals of the game for the win. Manware netted a pair of goals, Engstrom handed out three assists, and sophomore Zach Jones had a goal with an assist. Kustra, Lionetti, and Bunton all scored a goal, while senior Will Benni had an assist in the win.
Girls’ Ice Hockey
The Branford-East Haven-North Branford girls’ ice hockey team saw its 10-game win streak get broken last week. The Wings hosted West Haven-Sacred Heart Academy at DiLungo Rink on Feb. 15 and took a 3-0 defeat for their first loss since Jan. 10 to move to 16-3 as the playoffs approach.
The No. 4 seed Wings are hosting No. 5 Notre Dame-Fairfield/Law/Foran/Weston in the first round of the SCC South Division Tournament at 5 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 19. With a win, the Wings would play at No. 1 seed West Haven-Sacred Heart Academy in the semifinals at Bennett Rink at 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 21. The final takes place at Bennett Rink in West Haven at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24. After SCCs, the Wings will compete in the State Tournament that begins on Monday, Feb. 26.
Girls’ Indoor Track
Senior Bridget Wirtz cleared a height of 10 feet-6 inches to finish in fifth place in the pole vault for Branford at the State Open Championship.
Wirtz scored two points with her fifth-place finish at the Open, which took place at Floyd Little Athletic Center on Feb. 17. Earlier in the postseason, Wirtz won the pole vault at the SCC West Sectional Championship and the SCC Championship, after which she placed second in the event at the Class M State Championship.
Boys’ Indoor Track
The Hornets’ 1,600 sprint medley relay team turned in another quality postseason performance by taking sixth place at the State Open Championship last week.
Branford’s quartet of senior CJ Miller and juniors Carlos McCaay, Aidan Kropiwnicki, and Marzio Mastroianni recorded a time of 3:44.53 to finish sixth and score a point for the Hornets at the Open. Earlier in the postseason, the relay team placed second at the SCC West Sectional Championship, first at the SCC Championship with a school-record time of 3:44.65, and then took second at the Class M State Championship at 3:44.01, which re-broke their school record.
Additionally at the Open, Mastroianni ran a time of 2:37.54 in the 1,000-meter run to finish in 10th place. Mastroianni had previously finish second at sectionals, first in SCCs, and fourth at states in the event.
Girls’ Basketball
Branford finished the year with a record of 7-13 after taking a 54-39 home loss against East Haven in its season finale on Feb. 12.
The Hornets were trying to secure a postseason berth with a win against the Yellowjackets. Despite taking a 16-11 after the first quarter, Branford was outscored 16-6 in the second quarter and 18-8 in the third in the defeat. Junior Sophia Araneo scored 18 points to lead the Hornets. Emma Pierson had eight points, and fellow senior Marisa Minore added six points for Branford.
Boys’ Basketball
The Hornets took a pair of defeats in its last week of the season. Branford lost at East Haven and then dropped a home contest to Lyman Hall in its finale later in the week.
On Feb. 12, Branford played East Haven on the road and took a 48-30 defeat versus the Yellowjackets. Senior Ethan Boileau scored eight points, and sophomore Kevin Baxter had six points for Branford.
Two days later, the Hornets hosted Lyman Hall for their last game of the year and were edged by the final score of 39-37. Sophomore Danny Thomas scored 13 points, Boileau had 11 points, and Baxter added nine points for Branford, which finished the year with a record of 2-18.