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01/19/2019 11:00 PMWrestling
The Branford wrestling team earned a win versus Shelton and then split four matches in a quad-meet at Ledyard High School in last week’s matchups. With these results, the Hornets stand with an overall record of 12-10 on the year.
Branford hosted Shelton on Jan. 16 and defeated the Gaels by the final score of 42-32. Sophomore Peyton Tracy helped Branford get off to a good start by pinning his opponent at the 1:26 mark of his 138-pound bout. Fellow sophomore Luke Volpe prevailed by pin in the second round of his 126-pound match. In the 132-pound division, senior captain Brendan Shamas won a close match for the Hornets, who recorded four victories via forfeit versus Shelton. Junior captain Minsok Lee lost a 3-1 decision against a returning State Open medalist in the 220-pound division, while sophomore AJ Robinson won a hard-fought contest by a 3-1 score in his 152-pound matchup.
Three days later, the Hornets had a quad-meet at Ledyard, where they earned wins over New Britain and Lyman Memorial to go with defeats versus Ledyard and Chariho, Rhode Island. Freshman Patrick Zdunek had a stellar day by claiming three wins via pin in the 113-pound weight class. In the 160-pound division, sophomore Anthony LaFogg rallied for a victory that helped Branford dispatch New Britain.
Boys’ Ice Hockey
Branford split a pair of home games last week to move to 6-2-2 on the season. The Hornets lost to Watertown-Pomperaug, before posting a victory versus Conard later in the week.
Branford saw its seven-game winning streak come to a close when the Hornets took a 4-1 loss to Watertown-Pomperaug in a Southern Connecticut Conference/South-West Division matchup at Northford Ice Pavilion on Jan. 16. Senior Max Bunton scored a goal to give Branford a 1-0 lead just three minutes into the game. However, Watertown-Pomperaug came back with a goal in the first period, two in the second, and one in the third to seal the win.
Three days later, Branford hosted non-conference opponent Conard and earned a 4-2 win over the Chieftains. Blake Kustra scored from fellow junior Spencer Engstrom to put the Hornets up 1-0 midway through the first period. Conard netted two goals in the second period to bring a 2-1 lead into the third, but Branford scored three goals in the final frame to emerge victorious. Bunton scored from Engstrom and junior Jack Manware to tie the game at 2-2 with 9:30 remaining, Manware scored from Engstrom to give Branford a 3-2 lead with 3:50 to play, and then senior Rob Lionetti scored on a Manware assist to put a bow on the 4-2 victory. Senior Greg Lucente made 21 saves in net for the Hornets.
Girls’ Ice Hockey
The Branford-North Branford-Sheehan-Lyman Hall girls’ ice hockey team was scheduled to play Stamford-Westhill-Staples on Jan. 19, but the game was postponed due to inclement weather. The Wings, who have a record of 4-6-1, will face Stamford-Westhill-Staples at Terry Conners Ice Rink in Stamford on Monday, Feb. 4 at 6 p.m.
Gymnastics
Sophomore Brooke Kustra competed on behalf of Branford when the Hand gymnastics team went up against Foran in a road meet last week. Kustra finished in third place for the all-around at Foran High School on Jan. 17.
Kustra totaled a score of 28.5 to earn third place in the all-around at the meet. Kustra took first place on bars with a score of 7.1 and finished tied for second on bars with an 8.0 to highlight her third-place performance.
Girls’ Basketball
Branford split a pair of games last week by defeating Sacred Heart Academy and taking a loss against East Haven. The Hornets have an overall record of 5-6 on the season.
On Jan. 14, Branford traveled to Hamden to face Sacred Heart Academy and picked up its fifth win of the season by earning a 48-23 victory over the Sharks. Four days later, the Hornets hosted East Haven and dropped a decision 66-32 versus the Yellowjackets.
Boys’ Basketball
The Hornets lost contests against Sheehan and East Haven last week to move to 1-7 on the year.
Branford hosted Sheehan on Jan. 15 and took a 72-50 loss versus the Titans. Then on Jan. 18, the Hornets were on the road to take on East Haven and lost by the final score of 54-35.
Boys’ Indoor Track
Branford had a busy stretch that saw the Hornets compete at the Yale Track Classic, the Southern Connecticut Conference Novice Meet, and the SCC Coaches Invitational last week.
On Jan. 12, Branford took part in the Yale Track Classic that was held in Coxe Cage at Yale University. The Hornets continued their record-setting season by breaking three school records at the meet, which featured schools from a number of states. Senior Matt Daley set the school record in the 600 by posting a time of 1:25.12. Fellow senior Aidan Kropiwnicki ran a time of 36.93 in the 300 to break the school record. Branford’s distance medley relay of Daley, junior Nolan Scott, Kropiwnicki, and senior Marzio Mastroianni broke the school record by finishing with a time of 10:56.32. Mastrioanni also came in second place in the 1,000 with a time of 2:32.12.
Three days later, the Hornets sent some athletes to the SCC Novice Meet at Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven. Freshman Cheng Wu ran a time of 40.07 seconds to edge out LaMar Anderson from Hamden (40.21) for first place in the 300-meter dash. In the 600-meter run, Wu timed in at 1:34.12 to take first place over Anderson, who finished second at 1:34.79.
Junior Sean Jansen cleared a height of 10 feet-6 inches to win the pole vault for the Hornets. Junior Andrew Wirtz took second place with a height of 10 feet. Sophomore Julian DiLauro finished fifth (8-0), and junior Joe Youn placed seventh (7-6). In the high jump, junior Ayden Sahin came in third place by clearing 5 feet. Junior Julio Tozetti finished eighth in the 600 with a time of 1:37.45.
Then on Jan. 19, Branford was back at Floyd Little Athletic Center to compete in the SCC Coaches Invitational. The Hornets’ 4x800 relay of seniors Derek Tratnyek, Mastroianni, Kropiwnicki, and Daley finished sixth with a time of 8:50.31, scoring three points for the Hornets to put them in 35th place at the meet. Senior Matt Alexander took 10th place in the long jump with a distance of 19 feet-5.5 inches. Kropiwnicki finished 11th in the pole vault by clearing 11-6. Branford’s 4x200 relay of Scott, Mastroianni, Daley, and senior Carlos McCaay ran a time of 1:39.17 to finish in 11th place.
Girls’ Indoor Track
Freshman Bella Finta claimed first place in the 1,600-meter run for the Hornets at last week’s SCC Novice Meet.
Finta recorded a time of 6:04.45 to finish first in the 1,000. Finta’s time was about a second-and-a-half faster than runner-up Katrina Muhs of Guilford, who placed second with a time of 6:05.96.
Later in the week, junior Rose Lockery ran the 300-meter dash for Branford at the SCC Coaches Invitational. Lockery came in 11th place by running a time of 45.78 seconds.