Printer Friendly Version - Wasiolek Takes 2nd in Two Events at States; Boys’ Lacrosse, Girls’ Tennis Lose in Tournament

Freshman Tess Wasiolek finished second in the 1,600 and the 3,200 to help the Branford girls’ outdoor track team claim 10th place at the Class MM State Championship meet at Willow Brook Park. File photo by Kelley Fryer/The Sound

The Branford girls’ outdoor track team was represented by a handful of athletes who scored some points for the Hornets at the Class MM State Championship last week. Led by a pair of runner-up performances from freshman Tess Wasiolek, Branford finished in 10th place with 23 points scored when the state meet took place at Willow Brook Park in New Britain on June 2.

Wasiolek took second place in both the 1,600-meter run and the 3,200-meter run for the Hornets at the Class MM State Championship. In the 1,600, Wasiolek ran a time of 5:14.11 to finish second in the event. Wasiolek went on to finish second in the 3,200 by clocking in with a time of 11:35.19.

Fellow freshman Joelle Budz competed in two individual events and a relay for Branford at states. Budz took sixth place in the preliminaries of the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.13 seconds to advance to the finals. Budz then ran a 13.28 in the finals to finish in sixth place overall for the 100. Budz also ran the 200 and came in 10th place with a mark of 27.30.

Budz also competed on Branford’s 4x100 relay team that finished in fifth place. The Hornets’ quartet of freshman Chayse Gueco, junior Katie Laska, junior Samantha Burzynski, and Budz recorded a time of 52.40 on their way to taking fifth place.

The Branford boys’ outdoor track team finished in 14th place by scoring 19.5 points at the Class MM State Championship meet at Willow Brook Park on June 2.

Senior Mekhi Barnette led the Hornets by finishing in the top eight of three jumping events at states, including a third-place finish in the triple jump and a fourth-place performance in the long jump. Barnette recorded a distance of 40 feet-10 inches on his way to taking third place in the triple jump. Barnette also finished fourth for the long jump with a leap of 20-7.5. In the high jump, Barnette cleared a height of 5-8 and came in eighth place on behalf of Branford.

The Hornets had two athletes place in the javelin at states. Sophomore Avery Atkinson finished in seventh place with a throw of 135-2, while fellow sophomore Evan Bouley took eighth place with a top toss of 134-10.

Branford’s 4x800 relay of junior Patrick Zdunek, junior Wes Raymond, senior Julio Tozetto, and junior Peyton Moriarty finished in sixth place with a time of 8:21.39. The Hornets’ 4x400 relay of Tozetto, Zdunek, junior Cheng Wu, and Moriarty posted a mark of 3:37.29 to finish in seventh place.

Raymond finished 12th in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4:40.79 for Branford. Senior Ryan Hanniford took 14th place in the pole vault by clearing the bar at 10-6.

The Branford-East Haven (Bfd-EH) took a 7-6 defeat versus Newington in a Class L State Tournament qualifying round game last week. Bfd-EH posted an overall record of 6-10 for the campaign.

Bfd-EH was the No. 23 seed in the Class L tourney and played a road game against No. 10 seed Newington in the qualifying round on May 28. Bfd-EH was eliminated from the tournament with a 7-6 loss in the contest.

Senior Luke Volpe scored three goals, while fellow senior Nick Chieffo had two goals with an assist in the game. Senior Dylan Pyle scored a goal, and senior Matt Cordero had an assist. Junior Cam Paleski corralled 11 ground balls for Bfd-EH. Junior goalie Aidan Strebel made eight saves in net.

The Branford girls’ tennis team saw its season come to a close when the Hornets took a loss against Guilford in their opening match of the Class L State Tournament last week.

The Hornets were the No. 7 seed in the Class L State Tournament and hosted No. 10 Guilford for a first-round contest on May 28. Guilford won the match by a 6-1 score to advance to the quarterfinals, where the Grizzlies took a 4-3 defeat to North Haven. Sophomore Evelyn Mollow claimed a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 4 singles to account for Branford’s victory in its match versus Guilford.

Branford finished with an overall record of 12-6 for the 2021 season. Along the way, the Hornets advanced to the championship match of the SCC Division II Tournament.