Printer Friendly Version - Mastroianni Runs to Two Victories at SCCs; Lionetti Nets School-Record 11 Goals as Branford Boys' Lacrosse Advances in Class M

Junior Marzio Mastroianni took first place in the 800 and the 1,600 for the Branford boys’ outdoor track team at the SCC Championship on May 23. Mastroianni had previously won both events at this year’s SCC West Sectional Championship, as well as the 1,600 at the SCC Championship last spring. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Sound

One week after winning the 800 and the 1,600 at the SCC West Sectional Championship, junior Marzio Mastroianni took first place in both events for the Hornets’ boys’ outdoor track squad at last week’s SCC Championship. Branford scored 33.5 points and finished in 10th place at Lyman Hall High School on May 23.

Mastroianni finished first in the 800 by the slimmest of margins, recording a time of 1:57.602 to edge out Hillhouse’s Manasseh Bekele, who timed in at 1:57.609. In the 1,600, Mastroianni ran a time of 4:19.04 to defeat Drew Thompson of Fairfield Prep (4:19.58) by less than a second and defend his SCC title.

Junior Matt Alexander finished third in the long jump with a distance of 20 feet-10 inches, while fellow junior Aidan Kropiwnicki took third in the pole vault by clearing 11-6 for Branford. Kropiwnicki also placed 14th in the javelin with a toss of 122-6. Junior Brandon Perez recorded a leap of 5-10 to take eighth place in the high jump after winning the event at sectionals.

Branford’s 4x800 relay of sophomore Andrew Betzig, junior Matt Daley, senior Ryan McCarthy, and senior Harry Troidle finished in eighth place (8:36.47); and the 4x100 relay of junior Carlos McCaay, senior Chico Greene, sophomore Scott Nolan, and Alexander finished ninth (46.02).

Sophomore Sean Jansen finished 10th in the pole vault (10-6), and junior Justin Dombrowski came in 14th place by clearing 10 feet. Freshman Mekhi Barnette placed 18th in the triple jump (35-7.5), while junior Giancarlo Giannini was 18th for the discus (97-5). Junior Matt Daley took 19th place in the 800 (2:07.98), and sophomore Scott Nolan finished 20th in the 300 intermediate hurdles at 45.69.

Senior Bridget Wirtz took second place in the pole vault for Branford at the recent SCC Championship. The Hornets finished in 15th place by posting 12 points.

Wirtz, who had recently won the pole vault at the West Sectional meet, cleared a height of 10 feet for runner-up honors at the SCC Championship. Branford’s 4x100 relay of sophomores Lily Milici and Kayla Pollard and juniors Mary Nwagboli and Liante Claude came in fifth place with a mark of 52.35 seconds.

Sophomore Molly Zaffino finished ninth in the 300 hurdles (50.71) for the Hornets. Nwagboli took 14th place (27.66) in the 200, while Pollard came in 15th place (27.73). Pollard also posted a 16th-place finish in the 400 at 1:05.43. Senior Kathryn Pollard finished 20th in the discus with a throw of 66-6. Also for Branford, Milici placed 20th for the preliminaries of the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.38.

The Branford boys' lacrosse team won its opening game in the Class M State Tournament on May 25. The Hornets hosted Law and earned an 18-13 victory in the qualifying round of the Class M tourney. No. 15 seed Branford improved to 10-7 and will play at 2nd-seeded Waterford (13-3) in the first round at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 30.

Junior Rob Lionetti had an epic game for the Hornets by setting a school record with 11 goals scored to go with three assists in the victory. Junior Will Riggs had two goals, sophomore Jack Manware had a goal and three assists, senior Mike White scored a goal to go with two assists, plus senior Matt Potter and junior Gunnar Hanson both had a goal and an assist in the win. Senior Nick Esposito added a goal, while senior Pat Candela and freshman Julio Tozetto had one assist apiece. Freshman goalie Connor Erickson made nine saves in net for Branford.

It was also recently announced that Branford Head Coach Jim May has been named the SCC Division II Coach of the Year in a vote by the league's coaches. Lionetti, an attacker, was selected as the SCC Division II Player of the Year and made the All-SCC DII First Team for the Hornets. Junior long stick midfielder Mike Parker was an All-SCC DII Second Team honoree.

Previously, the Hornets hosted West Haven in their regular-season finale on May 21 and claimed a 14-9 victory to finish with a record of 9-7.

Junior Rob Lionetti continued his exceptional season by scoring six goals in the West Haven victory. Senior Matt Potter scored three goals to go with an assist, sophomore Jack Manware had two goals with an assist, and senior Mike White had a goal with three assists. Seniors Pasquale Candela and Nick Esposito added goals, and junior Gunnar Hanson had an assist for the Hornets, who saw junior goalie Anders Brown make nine saves.

Branford played at Cheshire in the semifinals of the SCC Tournament on May 22. The 3rd-seeded Hornets took a 10-7 loss against the No. 2 seed Rams to move to 15-3 as they get ready to defend their state title in the Class M State Tournament.

Branford held a 4-3 lead in the first half, but Cheshire responded by scoring five consecutive goals to take a 7-4 lead into halftime on their way to the win. Senior Sophie Spencer had five goals and an assist, senior Sabrina Torcellini scored a goal, sophomore Brianna Shaw also had a goal, and senior Autumn McHenry added an assist for the Hornets.

Branford enters the Class M State Tournament as the No. 2 seed and is hosting No. 2 Fitch (10-7) in the first round at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 29. If the Hornets win, they will host the winner of No. 7 Law and No. 10 Masuk for a quarterfinal matchup on Thursday, May 31.

Branford finished the regular season with a record of 13-7 by earning a win versus Cross, after which the Hornets claimed an 8-5 victory against Cheshire in the SCC Tournament quarterfinals. No. 6 seed Branford played at No. 2 seed Hand in the SCC Tournament semifinals on May 24 and took a 6-3 defeat to move to 14-8 overall.

Also last week, Branford secured a share of the SCC Quinnipiac Division championship when North Haven lost to Xavier in a divisional game on May 21. Branford and North Haven both went 4-2 in the division this year and also split the regular-season series against each other.

On May 21, Branford hit the road to face Cross and came away with a 4-0 victory. Seniors Henry Watson, Matt Judd, and Noah Jerolman shared the pitching duties for the Hornets, with Judd picking up the win in relief. Senior Damien Maniscalco had two hits and scored three runs.

Two days later, Branford entered the SCC Tournament as the No. 6 seed and notched an 8-5 victory at No. 3 seed Cheshire. Senior Alphonse Suppa cranked a solo homer, Carson Mendoza singled and a double with an RBI, and fellow senior CJ Miller had a hit with a pair of RBI for Branford.

Branford is the No. 12 seed in the Class L State Tournament and will host No. 21 seed Masuk (11-9) in the first round at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 29. With a win, the Hornets would face the winner of No. 5 seed Cheney Tech and No. 28 E.O. Smith in the second round on Wednesday, May 30.

Branford hosted Lyman Hall and dropped a 5-1 decision on May 21. The loss put the Hornets’ record at 5-14 with one remaining in the season.

Branford entered the SCC Tournament as the No. 7 seed and played at No. 2 Amity in a quarterfinal contest on May 21. The Hornets took a 7-0 loss to drop to 12-7 with the Class M State Championship on tap this week.

Branford concluded its campaign by notching a 6-1 road win against rival East Haven for a record of 8-10.

Senior Lauren Elmasry earned a 7-5, 2-6, 6-0 victory in the No. 1 singles match for the Hornets. Gianna Benni won a 6-4, 6-1 decision at No. 2 singles, and fellow sophomore Samantha Veleradi prevailed 6-1, 6-0 at No. 4 singles. Branford’s No. 1 doubles team of seniors Keeley Lepre and Tori Rudden won 6-1, 6-0; the No. 2 team of freshmen Hannah Bloomquist and Shae Lepre gutted out a 4-6, 6-4, 10-7 victory; and the No. 3 tandem of sophomores Ka Yee Lam and Maggie Martin earned a 7-6, 6-0 win.

The Hornets swept a recent tri-match against Foran and East Haven at Pine Orchard County Club to improve to 9-9.

On May 21, Branford totaled a score of 162 to defeat both the Lions (177) and the Yellowjackets (204). Senior Liam Deane shot a 38 and shared medalist honors with a golfer from Foran. Max Bunton scored a 41, fellow junior Minsok Lee finished with a 41, and sophomore Spencer Engstrom turned in a round of 42.

Branford has one match left in the regular season and will then compete in the Division II State Championship at Fairview Farms Golf Course in Harwinton at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 5.

Damien Maniscalco and the Hornets defeated Cheshire in their SCC Tournament opener, before taking a 6-3 loss to Hand in the semifinals. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Sound