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05/20/2018 12:00 AMBoys' Outdoor Track
Marzio Mastroianni posted a pair of first-place finishes, while fellow junior Brandon Perez also won an event for the Branford boys' outdoor track team at the SCC West Sectional Championship on May 19. The Hornets scored 72.50 points and finished in fifth place at the meet.
"I really was hoping that we could score 50 points in the meet. We ended up scoring over 70 with the vast majority of the points coming from underclassmen," said Head Coach Rich Biondi. "The kids competed with great determination."
Mastroianni won the 800-meter run with a time of 1:59.15 and took first place in the 1,600 by running a time of 4:19.77 at the sectional meet. Perez cleared a height of 6 feet to come away with the victory in the high jump for the Hornets.
"I am really happy for Brandon Perez for winning the high jump. He has a great deal of talent and is a multi-event athlete," Biondi added. "Marzio Mastroianni continues to put together a historic season. Last week, he broke Matt Casey's school record in the mile, running 4:17.95. He is really in a grove and running with great confidence. Marzio's best races are ahead of him. He is just beginning to realize how special he is in this sport."
Junior Matt Alexander finished second in the long jump behind a distance of 21 feet-3.5 inches. Branford's 4x400 relay of Alexander, junior Aidan Kropiwnicki, junior Matt Daley, and Mastroianni finished third with a mark of 3:33.69. Kropiwnicki also finished third in the pole vault (11-6) and was seventh in the javelin (124-5).
Freshman Mekhi Barnette claimed sixth place in the high jump (5-2) and took seventh in the long jump (38-8.5) for the Hornets. Junior Justin Dombrowski and sophomore Sean Jansen finished sixth and seventh, respectively, in the pole vault with both athletes clearing 10-6. Matt Daley finished seventh for the 800 (2:05.08), while fellow junior Giancarlo Giannini placed seventh in the javelin with a toss of 102-11.
Girls' Outdoor Track
Senior Bridget Wirtz took first place in the pole vault for the Hornets at last week's SCC West Sectional Championship. Branford placed seventh as a squad by scoring 43 points.
Wirtz cleared a height of 10 feet-6 inches to win the pole vault at sectionals. Fellow senior Leah Pendl-Robinson finished third in the event with a height of 8-6.
Junior Liante Claude took fourth place in both the 200 (27.39) and the 400 (1:01.86) for Branford. The Hornets' 4x100 relay of sophomore Lily Milici, sophomore Kayla Pollard, junior Mary Nwagboli, and Claude came in third place by timing in at 52.34.
Sophomore Molly Zaffino finished fourth in the 300 hurdles (51.92), while Pollard took fourth place in the 400 (1:05.07) and seventh for the discus (68-6). Pendl-Robinson ran a time of 18.27 to take sixth in the preliminaries of the 100 hurdles and then finished seventh in the finals with an 18.70.
Baseball
Branford defeated East Haven and then lost to Guilford last week to stand at 12-7 with one game left in the regular season. The Hornets will open up postseason play this week.
On May 14, Branford posted a 6-4 home win against division rival East Haven to complete a season sweep of the Yellowjackets and finish play in the SCC Quinnipiac Division with a record of 4-2. The Hornets scored two runs in the first inning, tacked on two more in the second, and then added another in the fourth to take a 5-0 lead. Trailing 6-1 entering the fifth, the Yellowjackets rallied to scored three runs and cut the deficit to 6-4. However, Branford senior Zane Kmietek pitched two innings of scoreless relief to get the save and close out the victory. Fellow senior Carson Mendoza pitched five innings for the win, in addition to getting two hits and three RBI at the dish. Senior Alphonse Suppa also had two hits with three RBI.
Then on May 20, Branford faced Guilford at Hamden High School and dropped a 2-0 decision.
Softball
The Hornets took a loss a 10-1 loss at West Haven on May 14. Branford has a record of 5-13 two games remaining in the regular season.
Boys' Lacrosse
The Hornets played one game last week and took a 12-11 home loss versus Foran on May 14. Branford stands at 8-6 with one contest to go in the regular season, after which the team will compete in the Class M State Tournament.
In last week's game, Branford and Foran were all tied up at 11-11, when the Lions netted the game-winning goal with just five seconds left to play. Junior Rob Lionetti scored six goals and had an assist, while sophomore Jack Manware netted five goals for the Hornets. Seniors Mike White, Marc Funaro, and Pasquale Candela each had an assist in the game. Junior goalie Anders Brown made 12 saves in net for Branford.
Boys' Tennis
Branford split its last two matchups of the regular season to finish with a record of 12-6. The Hornets lost to Xavier and then defeated North Haven last week. They are competing in the SCC Tournament as the No. 7 seed this week and then have the Class M State Championship after that.
On May 14, the Hornets took a 5-2 home loss versus Xavier at Branford High School. Junior Praneeth Ganedi earned a 6-0, 6-0 victory in the No. 2 singles match for Branford. The Hornets' No. 3 doubles team of juniors Dan McGuire and Kurt Schapler captured a 6-4, 7-5 win.
Four days later, Branford hosted North Haven for its regular-season finale and notched a 7-0 victory. Ganedi won a 6-0, 6-0 decision at No. 1 singles, and senior Chris DeLise gutted out a 2-6, 6-2, 11-9 victory in the No. 2 singles match. Junior Paul Riccio prevailed 7-5, 6-3 in No. 3 singles, and sophomore Jaden Andresen earned a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 4. The No. 1 doubles team of senior Charles Hall and sophomore Eli Hanlon notched a 6-2, 6-1 win for the Hornets, who saw their No. 2 team of seniors Will Benni and Shane Dostie earn a win via forfeit, as did the No. 3 team of McGuire and Schalper.
Girls' Tennis
The Hornets lost two of their three matches last week to move to 7-10 with one match left in the regular season. Branford lost to Sacred Heart Academy, posted a win over Platt Tech, and then took a defeat versus Shelton.
Branford took a 4-3 home loss to Sacred Heart Academy at Veteran's Park on May 14. The following day, the Hornets hosted Platt Tech at Branford High School and prevailed 7-0. Senior Lauren Elmasry won an 8-3 decision at No. 1 singles for the Hornets, while sophomore Sara Girardi prevailed 9-7 in the No. 2 singles match. Freshman Alayna Boileau won by an 8-0 final at No. 3 singles, and sophomore Gianna Benni claimed an 8-1 win at No. 4 singles. On the doubles court, Branford's No. 1 team of seniors Tori Rudden and Keeley Lepre won an 8-0 decision, as did the No. 2 duo of sophomore Julianna Pegnataro and freshman Shae Lepre. In the No. 3 doubles match, the Hornets' team of sophomores Ellie Bartlett and Sarah Berdon earned an 8-1 victory.
Then on May 17, Branford dropped a 4-3 decision in Shelton.
Girls' Lacrosse
Branford concluded its regular season by losing to Hand and defeating Amity last week, after which the Hornets posted a convincing win versus North Haven in the SCC Tournament quarterfinals. Branford now has an overall record of 15-2.
On May 16, Branford went up against SCC rival Hand at the Surf Club in Madison and dropped a 13-12 decision to the Tigers. The game was tied 7-7 at halftime, and then Branford scored the first four goals of the second half to take an 11-7 advantage. However, the Tigers responded by scoring six consecutive goals to go up 13-11 and then hung on for the one-goal victory. Senior Sophie Spencer scored four goals, fellow seniors LanLe Crotty and Erin O'Brien netted two goals apiece, and senior Autumn McHenry had a goal with an assist for the Hornets. Seniors Sabrina Torcellini and Haley Maercklein each scored a goal for Branford, as did sophomore Brianna Shaw.
The following day, the Hornets were on the road again to face Amity in their regular-season finale and defeated the Spartans 19-4. Spencer had four goals and three assists, and McHenry had three goals with seven assists to lead Branford to victory. Crotty and Torcellini both scored three goals, Maercklein had a goal and an assist; O'Brien, fellow senior Hailey Manware, junior Carly Shea, and sophomore Gabby Gillis all scored a goal; and junior Grace Paleski and Shaw both had an assist for the Hornets, who saw senior goalie Daly Hynes make seven saves.
On May 20, Branford began play in the SCC Tournament as the No. 3 seed and defeated No. 6 North Haven by the score of 21-6. Crotty had five goals and two assists, Shaw and Spencer both scored five goals to go with an assist, Maercklein netted three goals, and McHenry had two goals with an assist. Hynes made four saves in goal for Branford.
The Hornets played at No. 2 seed Cheshire in the SCC Tournament semifinals at on May 22 (after press time). With a win, Branford would face either Hand or Guilford for the title at West Haven High School at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 24. After that, Branford opens play as the defending champions in the Class M State Tournament.
Golf
Branford hit the course for a quad-match at Clinton Club and then hosted Fairfield Prep in last week's contests. The Hornets came away with one victory between the two matches and now have a record of 7-9 this year.
On May 14, Branford scored a 183 to defeat host Morgan (197) at Clinton Club, while also taking defeats against Hand (159) and Guilford (182).
Three days later, the Hornets hosted Fairfield Prep at Pine Orchard Country Club and took a 156-170 defeat.