Printer Friendly Version - Hornets’ Boys’ Track Represents at State Open

Senior Marzio Mastroianni finished ninth in the 1,600 and placed 15th for the 800 while representing the Branford boys’ outdoor track team at the State Open Championship on June 3. File photo by Kelley Fryer/The Sound

The Branford boys’ outdoor track team was represented by several athletes when the State Open Championship took place at Willow Brook Park in New Britain on June 3. Senior Aidan Kropiwnicki placed in the pole vault for the Hornets, who also saw fellow seniors Marzio Mastroianni, Derek Tratnyek, and Matt Daley; juniors Nolan Scott and Andrew Betzig, and freshman Cheng Wu compete at the meet.

Kropiwnicki cleared a height of 12 feet-6 inches to finish in a three-way tied for eighth place in the pole vault at the State Open. With his performance, Kropiwnicki scored 0.33 points for Branford that put the team in 59th place at the meet. Kropiwnicki had previously finished third in the pole vault with a height of 12-6 in the Class MM State Championship.

Mastroianni competed in two individual events for Branford at the Open. Mastroianni took ninth place in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4:21.96 and also came in 15th place for the 800-meter run by crossing the finish line in 2:01.45. Mastroianni had taken first in the 800 at the SCC West Sectional Championship (1:57.64) and the SCC Championship (1:56.42) for the second-straight season, after which he won the event at the Class MM State Championship (1:56.05). He also finished second in the 1,600 at the Class MM meet with a mark of 4:24.62.

Senior Derek Tratnyek ran the 3,200 at the State Open and finished in ninth place by clocking in with a time of 9:40.05. Tratnyek had recently finished second in the 3,200 at the Class MM State Championship (9:41.47) and also won the event at the West Sectional Championship (9:56.17) earlier in the postseason.

The Hornets’ 4x800 relay of junior Andrew Betzig, junior Nolan Scott, freshmen Cheng Wu, and senior Matt Daley claimed 15th place by recording a time of 8:28.21 at the Open. Branford’s quartet had posted a time of 8:07.40 to win the event at Class MM State Championship the previous week. Branford’s 4x400 relay of Daley, Scott, Wu, and Kropiwnicki finished with a time of 3:34.31 to come in 20th place. The Hornets’ group had previously taken fourth place by running a school-record time of 3:27.97 at the Class MM State Championship.

Senior Matthew Daley competed in a pair of relays for the Hornets at the State Open Championship that was held at Willow Brook Park in New Britain. File photo by Kelley Fryer/The Sound

Nolan Scott helped Branford’s 4x800 relay finish 15th and also ran on the team’s 20th-place 4x400 relay at last week’s State Open meet. File photo by Kelley Fryer/The Sound