Printer Friendly Version - Guilford Boys’ Cross Country Places 4th at States; Girls’ Swimming Finishes 5th in SCCs

Senior Justin Shiffrin finished in 20th place with a time of 17:40 to help the Guilford boys’ cross country squad take fourth place overall at the Class L State Championship at Wickham Park. File photo by Wesley Bunnell/The Courier

The Guilford boys’ cross country team turned in two excellent performances while competing in a pair of postseason meets last week. The Grizzlies finished in fourth place at the Class L State Championship and then came in ninth place as a squad at the State Open Championship.

Guilford scored 139 points on its way to taking fourth place at the Class L State Championship at Wickham Park on Nov. 1. Junior Michael Masotti finished in 19th place for the Grizzlies with a time of 17 minutes and 40 seconds. Senior Justin Shiffrin clocked in with that same time of 17:40 and finished in 20th place at the meet.

Junior Ryan Franchi finished in 25th place (17:51), and sophomore Alex Hansen took 27th place (17:55) for Guilford. Junior Bretton Garrick finished in 48th place (18:30).

Sophomore Coleman Love took 51st place (18:40) at the Class L meet. Senior Thomas Gregory finished in 60th place (18:54) for the Grizzlies.

By virtue of its performance in the Class L Championship, Guilford’s entire team qualified to take part in the State Open at Wickham Park on Nov. 5. The Grizzlies posted a team score of 247 to finish in ninth place in the Open standings.

Masotti finished in 48th place by running a time of 17:06 for Guilford. Shiffrin finished in 61st place with a time of 17:14. Hansen finished in 71st place (17:20), Love finished 84th (17:33), and Garrick came in 113th place (17:58).

Franchi finished in 137th place (18:21) at the State Open. Gregory finished in 145th place (18:36) on behalf of the Grizzlies.

The Guilford girls’ swimming and diving team put forth a stellar showing by taking fifth place at the SCC Championship last week. The Grizzlies scored 614.5 points on their way to finishing fifth in the conference meet at Southern Connecticut State University on Nov. 3.

Junior Grace Young finished fourth in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:09.91 for Guilford at SCCs. She also took 13th place in the 100 butterfly by swimming a time of 1:03.03. Sophomore Sorina Cheng finished fifth in the 200 individual medley (2:18.39) and took eighth place in the 100 backstroke (1:03.60) for the Grizzlies.

Guilford’s 400 freestyle relay of freshman Kate Young, freshman Isabel Torello, Cheng, and Grace Young finished sixth (3:52.39) in SCCs. The 200 freestyle relay of Kate Young, junior Charlotte Martocci, Torello, and Grace Young finished in seventh place (1:46.82); and the 200 medley relay featuring Cheng, junior Rylan Jacobson, senior Natalie Bryan, and Martocci took eighth place (2:00.11).

Freshman Jordyn Gould finished in seventh place for Guilford at the SCC Diving Championship that was held at Sheehan High School on Oct. 30. Gould posted a score of 308.85 points to take seventh place on the diving board.

Torello came in eighth place in the 500 freestyle (5:32.20) for Guilford at the SCC meet. Torello also finished 11th (2:03.72) in the 200 freestyle. Jacobson finished 13th in the 100 breaststroke (1:14.14), Martocci took 15th place (58.95) in the 100 freestyle, and senior Brynn Leslie finished 15th in the 500 freestyle (5:46.00).

Guilford is competing in the Class M State Championship this week. The Diving Championship is at Sheehan High School on Thursday, Nov. 11 at 5:30 p.m.; the Swimming Qualifying takes place East Hartford High School on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 5:30 p.m.; and the Swimming Championship is at Cornerstone Aquatic Center in West Hartford on Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 6 p.m.

The Guilford football team posted its second-straight victory by shutting out SCC Tier 3 opponent Bassick in a road game week. On Nov. 5, Guilford traveled to Bridgeport to face Bassick and claimed a 46-0 victory at Kennedy Stadium to improve to 4-3 overall with a record of 1-1 in SCC Tier 3.

Sophomore quarterback Tyler Hilgert was 9-of-12 passing for 158 yards and four touchdowns in Guilford’s win versus Bassick. Senior Eric Dolmus had three catches for 69 yards and a touchdown for the Grizzlies. Senior Mike Palatiello had two catches for 23 yards and a touchdown, senior Aiden McBrierty caught two passes for 18 yards and a score, and fellow senior Jack O’Brien had a 20-yard touchdown reception to go with five extra points in the victory.

Freshman Kevin Smith had four carries for 35 yards and one touchdown for Guilford. Senior Eddie Barlage had four carries for 25 yards, junior Mike O’Brien ran two times for 25 yards and a touchdown, and junior Dillon Burlakoff had a 5-yard TD run to go with a 28-yard reception.

Barlage also recorded three sacks and seven tackles on defense for the Grizzlies. McBrierty had two sacks with five tackles in the shutout. Senior Colby Ambroziak had an interception and three tackles on the night.

Guilford’s next contest is a SCC Tier 3 home game versus Branford (6-1, 2-0) on Friday, Nov. 12. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Kavanaugh Field at Guilford High School.

The Guilford girls’ volleyball team took a defeat against Cheshire in the SCC Tournament quarterfinals last week. Next up for the Grizzlies is the Class L State Tournament that gets underway this week.

On Nov. 2, No. 8 seed Guilford took a 3-0 loss at top-seeded Cheshire in the quarterfinals of the SCC Tournament. The Rams won the match with set scores of 25-22, 25-15, and 25-11.

Guilford (11-9) is the No. 20 seed in the Class L State Tournament and opened up the draw by facing No. 13 Kennedy on the road in first-round action on Nov. 8 (after press time). If the Grizzlies won that match, they are facing the winner of No. 4 E.O. Smith and No. 29 Wethersfield in the second round on Thursday, Nov. 11. The quarterfinals are on Saturday, Nov. 13, the semifinals take place on Wednesday, Nov. 17, and the Class L state final is at East Haven High School on Saturday, Nov. 20.

The Guilford boys’ soccer squad will begin its second phase of postseason play by participating in the Class L State Tournament beginning this week.

Guilford (11-4-2) has the No. 9 seed in the Class L bracket and played a first-round home game versus No. 24 Rockville on Nov. 9 (after press time). With a victory, the Grizzlies would host the winner of No. 8 Bristol Central and No. 25 Wilton in the second round on Thursday, Nov. 11. The quarterfinals are on Saturday, Nov. 13, the semis will be held from Tuesday, Nov. 16 to Thursday, Nov. 18, and the Class L state final is at Dillon Stadium in Hartford on either Saturday, Nov. 20 or Sunday, Nov. 21.

The Guilford girls’ soccer team is competing in the Class L State Tournament this week.

As the No. 16 seed in the Class L draw, Guilford (8-6-3) hosted No. 17 Berlin for a first-round game on Nov. 8 (after press time). If the Grizzlies won that game, they faced No. 1 seed St. Joseph on the road in second-round action on Nov. 10 (after press time). The quarterfinals are on Friday, Nov. 12, the semis run from Tuesday, Nov. 16 to Thursday, Nov. 18, and the championship game is at Dillon Stadium in Hartford on either Saturday, Nov. 20 or Sunday, Nov. 21.