Girls’ Cross Country

The Hornets staked their claim to a 10th-consecutive SCC Oronoque Division championship by sweeping a tri-meet in New Haven last week. Branford competed against division opponents North Haven and Wilbur Cross at East Rock Park on Oct. 16, running to a 21-38 win versus the Indians, while posting a 21-31 triumph over Cross. Once again, Kevin Connell’s team went undefeated in the Oronoque and also capped the regular season with a 6-3 mark.

“This was another good meet on the schedule. North Haven came into the meet undefeated and Cross had one of the top runners in the country, Danae Rivers. The girls had the incentive of shooting for their 10th-straight Oronoque Division title. This was goal one for the season and they accomplished it today,” said Head Coach Kevin Connell. “Now, we must focus on SCCs and Class MMs. We need strong races from everyone to be successful and they have all put in the work.”

Cyrene Nicholas took second place by finishing in 20 minutes, 19 seconds with Courtney Cosgrove in third at 20:46 and Anneliese Troidle in fourth behind a time of 20:54. Sophie Angelo came in ninth place (21:48), Kendall Simmons was 12th (22:44), Maddy Vitale finished in 14th (23:03), and Mansi Chapatwala took 15th (23:08).

“Our top three did what they had to do—get out near the front and hold onto their positions,” Connell added. “Sophie ran her usual steady race and Kendall, Maddy, and Mansi worked together to finish strong. Good team effort.”

Boys’ Cross Country

Branford completed the regular season at 5-4 after splitting a tri-meet at East Rock Park in New Haven on Oct. 16. The Hornets defeated Cross 20-39 and took a 28-29 defeat against fellow Oronoque opponent North Haven that clinched the division title for the Indians.

“This was, as advertised, a close one all the way right to the finish, decided by a couple of feet,” Coach Kevin Connell said. “The North Haven kids ran with a lot of heart and got the win. Our guys also gave it their all. We just came up a little short. They will regroup and get another shot at them at SCCs.”

The Hornets’ Andrew Byrne ran to a second-place finish at this meet by recording a time of 18 minutes and 15 seconds. Spencer Mariotti was next in the pack as he took third at 18:32. Branford’s other point scorers were Marshall Borrus (6th, 19:05), Robbie Lionetti (8th, 19:09), Matt Daley (15th, 19:23), Andrew DeBenedectis (16th, 19:30), and Harry Troidle (17th, 19:36).

“Andrew Byrne had another solid race. He hung in there with the North Haven runner for the entire race, but came up a little short at the end. At one point in the race, we were losing by quite a bit and Marshall Borrus and Robbie Lionetti had tremendous finishes to catch a couple of North Haven runners to close the gap,” Coach Kevin Connell said. “Three of our freshmen had good races to finish as our fourth, fifth, and sixth runners today. We counted on them and they came through.”

Football

The Branford football team notched its first victory of the 2015 fall season by posting a 25-12 triumph at Sheehan on Oct. 16. The Hornets jumped out to a 19-0 halftime lead en route to scoring the win.

Zach DeGoursey opened the night by scoring on a 2-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter. Teddy Gionteris kicked the extra point and Branford led 7-0. DeGoursey crossed the goal line again 1:10 into the second by scoring on a 13-yard scamper and the Hornets extended their advantage to 13-0. Just under five minutes later, Griffin Lynch found Luke DiStasio on a 12-yard scoring strike that gave John Limone’s squad a 19-0 command at intermission. Sheehan scored on a 45-yard run to make it 19-6 in the third quarter, but with 38 seconds left in the frame, Lynch threw an 18-yard TD for a 25-6 cushion entering the fourth. Sheehan scored the game’s final touchdown on a pass with 2:50 to play for the 25-12 final.

DeGoursey ran 39 times for 162 yards and two TDs to lead Branford’s ground game. Noah DeGoursey added 35 yards on 10 carries. DiStasio caught three passes for 35 yards with the two scores, plus Daniel Thomas snagged three receptions for 74 yards. Lynch completed 7-of-12 passing for 117 yards and the pair of touchdowns.

On defense, the Hornets’ top tacklers were Spencer Berty (8), Jackson Seward (8), Zach DeGoursey (7), Noah Lordan (6), Jake Roberts (6), and Neil Clyne (6). Zach Ellison, James Dering, and DiStasio all intercepted Sheehan’s quarterback and Clyne also recovered a fumble for Branford, which next plays at division foe Lyman Hall at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 22.

Field Hockey

Branford improved its record to 7-2-1-1 by recently earning a 1-1 tie at Stonington and then posting home wins against Amity (5-0) and Mercy (2-0). The Hornets are 5-2-0-1 in their SCC contests.

At non-conference opponent Stonington on Oct. 10, Kiersten Bjork scored Branford’s goal from Britney Bunbanlu and Jackie DaRos with 18:46 to play in the game. The goal came as a result of strong team play in the circle as Autumn McHenry fought for the ball and it went back out to DaRos, who lifted it slightly, after which Bunbanlu pushed it toward the goal, where Bjork was there to put it past the goalie. LanLe Crotty had fought for the ball prior to the goal, as did Alanna Grimm, Carol Frye, and Sabrina Torcellini. Stonington later tied the game at 1 with 4:16 remaining. On a partial breakaway, Branford goalie Keira Integlia made the initial save, but the ball was passed quickly to the other side for the score. Integlia made three of her five saves in the 10-minute, sudden victory overtime period. Branford had 14 shots on goal and took 14 penalty corners. Coach Cathy McGuirk gave kudos to her bench for their cheering and support and additionally noted the strong play of Carly Shea, Liante Claude, Ashlee Smestad, Leah Pendl-Robinson, and Matilda Kreider.

Then on Oct. 13, the Hornets came back to shut out Amity 5-0 at home. Frye had one goal with three assists in the victory. It was 3-0 Branford at half after Crotty scored from Frye, Bjork scored from Crotty, and Shannon Healy scored from Torcellini and Frye in a 10-minute span midway through the opening period. The Hornets then netted a pair of goals early in the second half when Shea scored from Bjork and Frye, after which Frye put one home on Crotty’s helper. The Hornets took 24 shots on goal and had 14 penalty corners with Integlia making one save for the shutout. Twenty-one players contributed to the win, including Maddie McGann, Sam Coleman, Shannon Finn, and Emma Dwyer.

Then versus Mercy on Oct. 16, Crotty scored 6:32 into the game from Torcellini and Frye on one of Branford’s 17 penalty corners. Nine minutes later, Frye passed it out and Crotty took a hard shot that went past the Tigers’ goalie and into the cage for a 2-0 advantage. Integlia came up with four saves for her second-straight shutout. Coach McGuirk said the victory was a team effort with contributions from all and also thanked team managers Shelby Oliveri and Olivia Datre for their help throughout the season.

On Monday, Oct. 26, Branford will host its Pink Cancer Awareness Game when the Hornets take on Lauralton Hall at the high school. Face-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Volleyball

The Hornets avenged an earlier loss to Oronoque Division rival East Haven by beating the Yellowjackets 3-1 at home last week. The teams split the first two sets with Branford taking the opener 25-17 and East Haven winning the second 25-22. Eva Esposito’s club then won the final two frames by scores of 25-10 and 25-15 to claim the victory. Abby Atkinson totaled 15 kills, 10 digs, three blocks, and four aces, while Adrienne DiGioia had 13 kills with 10 digs and two blocks. Madison D’Onofrio added seven kills and two digs.

Two days later at home, Branford picked up another division win by blanking North Haven 3-0 (25-20, 25-12, 25-21). DiGioia posted eight kills, six digs, and two aces; Atkinson had six kills with six digs and a pair of aces; and Gillian Basilicato and Jenn Hwang each added two digs for the Hornets, who improved to 5-1 in Oronoque play.

Branford then closed the week with another home match and dropped a competitive 3-1 contest to Mercy by scores of 15-25, 25-23, 26-24, 25-18. Atkinson had a big night with 15 kills and 16 digs and went 14-for-14 from the service line. Sarah Wirtz was also perfect serving at 15-for-15. DiGioia had nine digs and 11 kills, plus D’Onofrio scored six aces and added six kills. The Hornets are 11-5.

“Nice to redeem ourselves against East haven and put ourselves in position to win the division, but didn’t play like ourselves the rest of the week, despite beating North Haven and then losing to a more-aggressive Mercy team,” Coach Esposito said.

Girls’ Swimming and Diving

The Hornets are now 6-4 after enduring three defeats last week. Branford first hosted a tri-meet at the Walsh Intermediate School on Oct. 12 and took a 105-80 loss to Amity, plus a 100-85 defeat versus non-conference opponent Wethersfield. Then three days later, the Hornets were home for Cheshire and dropped a 100-81 decision.

In the meet against Amity and Wethersfield, Scott Butler’s Hornets saw Erika Maercklein win the 50 freestyle in a time of 25.79 seconds. Paige MacNeil prevailed in the 100 butterfly by swimming 1:01.27, while Gabija Karosas was first for the 100 backstroke at 1:02.07. Also, Branford’s 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay were both victorious with times of 1:53.79 and 3:47.47, respectively. Each quartet featured Karosas, Maercklein, MacNeil, and Caitlin Daley.