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05/08/2022 12:00 AMSoftball
The Guilford softball team claimed two more victories last week to improve to 11-2 and extend its winning streak to 9 consecutive games. The Grizzlies notched road wins against Mercy and Lyman Hall to continue their winning ways in 2022.
Guilford defeated Mercy the final score of 14-2 in a road game on May 2. Senior Allie Petonito went 3-for-4 with a home run and 3 runs scored for the Grizzlies. Sophomore Addie Smith went 2-for-4 with 2 homers and 3 RBI, while junior Sophia Stanger was 3-for-5 with a double and 2 RBI. Sophomore Adrianna Piascik struck out 7 batters over 4 innings pitched to get her second win of the season.
Three days later, the Grizzlies to hit the road to face Lyman Hall and earned a 16-8 victory in the contest. Piascik threw a complete game with 6 strikeouts to earn her third win of the year for Guilford. Senior Ava Singleton and freshman Ella Munson both had 3 hits to pace the Grizzlies’ offense. Petonito went 2-for-4 with a triple and a grand slam in the victory. Junior Sami Green added 2 hits for Guilford.
Baseball
The Guilford baseball team took a pair of 1-run losses last week to move to 6-9 on the season.
In its first game of the week, Guilford lost to Hand by a 4-3 score in a home game on May 3. The Grizzlies held a 3-1 lead entering the final inning before Hand scored 3 runs in top of the seventh to come away with the victory.
Sophomore Bryce Meder pitched 6.1 innings and struck out 8 hitters for Guilford. Junior Carter Williams hit a 2-run double, while senior Aiden McBrierty had an RBI double in the contest.
The following day, the Grizzlies were on the road to face Hamden and took a 4-3 defeat against the Green Dragons. Hand won the game in walk-off fashion by plating the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Senior Mike Torre and sophomore Colin Pompano had 2 hits apiece for Guilford.
Girls’ Lacrosse
The Guilford girls’ lacrosse team increased its win streak to 11-straight games by winning both of its contests on last week’s schedule. The Grizzlies earned victories versus Hand and Amity to keep their win streak going and improve to 11-1 on the year.
Guilford started off the week by claiming a 15-14 road victory versus Hand on May 3. Senior Maddie Epke scored 5 goals to go with 2 assists in the win. Junior MJ Santa Barbara had 3 goals and 2 assists, while senior Taylor Farace scored 2 goals and had 1 assist. Senior Lorelei King, junior Scout Climie, junior Ella Clarke, sophomore Payton Root, and freshman Tea Gambardella all scored 1 goal for the Grizzlies.
Three days later, the Grizzlies hosted Amity and defeated the Spartans by the final score of 16-6. Senior goalie Sydney Widlitz made 14 saves for Guilford in the victory. Farace scored 4 goals, Epke had 3 goals and 4 assists, Root scored 3 goals to go with 1 assist, and Santa Barbara also netted 3 goals. King, Climie, and Clarke added 1 goal apiece for Head Coach Wendy Epke’s club.
Girls’ Tennis
The Guilford girls’ tennis team boosted its record to 10-2 on the season after netting a home win versus Branford last week. On May 5, the Grizzlies hosted Branford at Guilford High School and defeated the Hornets by a 5-2 score to reach the double-digit victories for the season.
Sophomore Kallie Kagan claimed a 6-4, 6-4 victory for Guilford in the No. 2 singles match against Branford. Freshman Caroline Hergan and sophomore Molly Peterson both earned 6-0, 6-0 wins in the No. 3 and 4 singles matches, respectively. The Grizzlies’ No. 1 doubles team of junior Izzy Bowman and freshman Sophie Gochman notched a 6-2, 6-2 victory; and the No. 2 team of sophomore Alexie Gipson and sophomore Gabby Kellner won their contest by a 6-2, 6-3 score.
Boys’ Outdoor Track
The Guilford boys’ outdoor track team improved to 4-3 on the year by earning a 117-10 home victory versus Career on May 4.
Junior Joshua Chen finished first in the 100 (11.5) and the 400 (53.3) for the Grizzlies in the victory, qualifying for states in the 400. Sophomore Andrew Gutierrez won the 100 hurdles (20.2) and the triple jump (39-4.5), qualifying for states in the hurdles, while Trey Chieffo finished first in the high jump (5-4) and long jump (17-0.5).
Guilford also received first-place finishes from senior Cal Stephens in the 200 (24.2), junior Michael Masotti in the 800 with a state-qualifying mark of 2:02.5, junior Bretton Garrick in the 1,600 (4:52.4), senior Justin Shiffrin in the 3,200 (10:02.8), freshman Ethan Wienkamp in the javelin (100-0), junior Mike O’Brien in the shot put (33-4), and junior Jack Magee in the discus with an SCC-qualifying mark of 94 feet.
Guilford was also bolstered by victories from its 4x100 relay of senior Mitchell Yaggi, Stephens, Chen, and O’Brien (46.4); its 4x400 relay of Garrick, Stephens, Masotti, and senior Nathan Montgomery (3:59.7); and its 4x800 relay of Masotti, junior Zach Pawelek, Montgomery, and Shiffrin (9:13.3).
A few days later, the Grizzlies were represented by several athletes when the Middletown Invitational was held on May 6 and 7. Coleman Love finished first in the sophomore 1,600 with a state-qualifying time of 4:38.60. Gutierrez finished second in the 300 hurdles (44.38) and was fourth in the triple jump (38-0). Alex Hansen placed third in the sophomore 1,600 with a state-qualifying mark of 4:39.95, Connor Pensa took third in the sophomore 3,200 (10:21.62), and Shiffrin finished fourth in the varsity 1,600 (4:26.83).
Guilford’s freshman-sophomore 4x400 relay team of Wienkamp, Love, Hansen, and sophomore Milano finished in fourth place (3:50.85). Masotti took fifth place in the 3,200 (9:51.39), and Mackinley Cho finished sixth in the sophomore 800 (2:12.17).
Girls’ Outdoor Track
The Guilford girls’ outdoor track squad notched a 102-46 win over Career in a home meet on May 4 to improve the team’s record to 4-3 this season.
Senior Julia Antony claimed first place in the 800 (2:26.5) and the 1,600 (5:35.2) to help Guilford get its victory versus Career. Freshman Agnes Batters won the 300 hurdles (51.9) and the pole vault (6-6) for the Grizzlies.
Guilford also saw first-place performances from junior Alexa Suchy in the 3,200 (12:02.6), junior Ella Esposito in the high jump (4-6), sophomore Tea Davison in the long jump (15-0), and sophomore Anushree Ajgaonkar in the shot put (23-9) and the discus (62-5) at the meet.
Guilford’s 4x400 relay of freshman Ella Heckler, freshman Rachel Vale, freshman Jillian Evans, and sophomore Ella Young finished in first place (4:59). The 4x800 relay of sophomore Skylar Bohn, freshman Inka Muhs, junior Grace Barlage, and junior Clara Laughlin also finished first (12:27.9).
Later in the week, Guilford sent several athletes to compete at the Middletown Invitational on May 6 and 7. Heckler won the 400 (62.79) with fellow freshmen Daniella Selig placing fifth (65.12) in the event on the first day of the competition. Davison finished second in the long jump (15-1.25) for Guilford. Sophomore Juliana Montgomery took fourth place in the 3,200 (13:18), Batters finished fifth in the 300 hurdles (53.73), and freshman Lily Sullivan came in sixth place for the high jump.
The next day, Guilford’s 4x800 relay of Antony, sophomore Clara Gahm, Suchy, and senior Olivia Skapcyznski finished in second place with a time of 10:03. Junior Olivia Kaisin finished sixth in the 3,200 (11:56) for Guilford. Hickey took seventh in the 400 (61.97), Young placed eighth in the 300 hurdles (53.30), Suchy was ninth in the 1,600 with a season-best time of 5:25, and Skapcyznski finished 10th in the 800 with a personal-best of 2:28.
Crew
The Guilford crew program hosted Avon for a meet on May 6 and came away victorious in the two marquee matchups.
In the girls’ varsity eight race, the boats exchanged leads as they battled down the course with the Grizzlies ultimately crossing the finish line with a time of 5:33.9 and Avon finishing in 5:40.4. The Guilford boys’ varsity eight had a very clean row, steadily building a lead on the 1,400-meter course and finishing in 4:46.6, ahead of Avon at 4:55.
Avon won the boys’ and girls’ second varsity eight races, but in the novice races, the Guilford boys defeated Avon by seven seconds. The girls’ novice boat finished six seconds behind Avon.
Guilford will next compete at the Connecticut Public School Rowing Association Championships at Lake Waramaug in New Preston on Sunday, May 22.
Boys’ Golf
The Guilford boys’ golf team took three defeats last week to move to 3-4 on the season.
On May 3, Guilford took a 167-169 road loss to Branford at Pine Orchard Country Club. Freshman Andrew Beauton finished with a score of 39 for the Grizzlies. Senior Miguel Pearce shot a 42, senior Owen Angkatavanich finished with a 43, junior Aidan Webster carded a 45, and junior Leo Hergan posted a score of 46 in the contest.
The next day, the Grizzlies hosted Hand and lost to the Tigers by the score of 162-172 at Madison Country Club. Then on May 5, Guilford played a home match versus Cheshire and took a 153-168 defeat.