Wrestling

Michael Burchell took first place in the 285-pound weight class for the second straight year to help the Hand wrestling team record a fifth-place finish at the Class L State Championship, which was held at Bristol Central on Feb. 16 and 17. The Tigers totaled a team score of 129.5 points to take fifth place at the meet.

Burchell knocked off New Canaan’s Jack Stewart for the 285 title by pinning him at the 1:58 mark of their championship clash. To reach the final of his bracket, Burchell defeated John Duncan of Bristol Central by pin at the 24-second mark and then pinned Middletown’s Nick Dejesus in just 27 seconds.

Also for Hand, Mark Hartmann finished second in the 132-pound weight class, while Adam Hendrick was the runner-up in the 170 division. Hartmann lost a 14-5 decision against Maloney’s Demetre Carnot in his final, which he had reached by defeating Cam Corazzo from Wethersfield (16-1 decision), Quinn Rogers of E.O. Smith (17-1), and Colin Lindner from New Milford (pin at 5:24). Hendrick lost to Xavier’s Ryan Devivo by pin at 1:45 of their title bout. On his the way to the finals, he bested Maloney’s Andy Cruz (pin at 1:49), Justin Hathaway of Fairfield Ludlowe (pin at 1:07), and South Windsor’s Cooper Nodden (8-2).

Also for Hand, Alec Dube finished third in the 182-pound bracket after defeating Kyle Fabich of New Milford by pin at the 1:48 mark of the consolation final. Kyle Davern place sixth in the 120 division for the Tigers, whose other competitors were Zach Morro (106), Dylan Brochard (126), Blake McGee (138), Charles Jenson (145), Carter Ganino (152), Seamus Moriarty (160), Matt Derken (195), and Van Docker (220).

Girls’ Basketball

Hand finished the regular season with 17 victories, before winning its first two games in the SCC Tournament to advance to the semifinals for the fourth straight season. The Tigers now have an overall record of 19-3 on the campaign.

Hand finished the regular season at 17-3 after netting a 75-60 victory over Guilford on Feb. 12. As the No. 3 seed in the SCC Tournament, the Tigers hosted No. 14 Cheshire in the first round on Feb. 15 and routed the Rams 66-37. In the quarterfinals against No. 6 Cross, Hand edged out the Governors 64-62 on Feb. 17 at Sheehan.

The Tigers will face No. 2 seed East Haven (19-2) in the SCC semifinals on Monday, Feb. 19 at Law High School at 6 p.m. The winner moves on to the final versus either No. 1 Mercy (20-1) or No. 4 Hamden (18-4) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 21 at East Haven High School.

In last week’s win against Guilford, Sara Wohlgemuth led all scorers with 25 points, while Gabby Egidio dropped 20 points, and Emma Sullivan chipped in with 13 points. Hand stormed out of the gates by putting five players in the scorebook in the first quarter to take a 24-9 lead. The Tigers then extended that advantage to 42-20 heading into the locker room at halftime. However, Guilford did not go away quietly. Amanda King was red-hot in the third quarter and scored 13 of her team-high 21 points as the Indians outscored Hand 27-15 to cut the lead down to single digits at one point. Still, Hand kept its composure down the stretch and spread out its scoring to take home the win.

In the Tigers’ postseason opener, Wohlgemuth led all scorers with 23 points, while Egidio poured in 22. Wohlgemuth came out firing in the first quarter by scoring 10 of Hand’s 15 points to give her squad a nine-point lead after one. In the second quarter, it was Egidio’s turn. Egidio scored 10 of the Tigers’ 18 points for the frame as they took a 33-14 lead into the break. Cheshire showed signs of life in the third behind a pair of Sara Mulligan three-pointers, but Hand had the answer, as Emma Sullivan hit a trey and scored seven of her nine points in the third to push the lead to 29 heading into the final period. Hand coasted the rest of the way and advanced to the SCC Tournament quarterfinals for the sixth consecutive year.

Two nights later, the Tigers earned a 64-62 win over Cross in the SCC quarterfinal round to advance to face East Haven in the semis.

Boys’ Basketball

The Tigers stand at 9-10 after splitting two games last week and now get ready to play in the SCC Tournament.

The Tigers took a 57-34 defeat to Guilford on Feb. 12, but then bounced back to defeat New Milford 59-44 on Feb. 17 in last week’s matchups. Hand is the No. 11 seed for the SCC Tournament and will travel to No. 6 seed Amity for a first-round game at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 22.

Gymnastics

One week after winning its 10th consecutive SCC title, the Tigers completed an undefeated regular season with a record of 17-0 after notching four more wins last week.

The Tigers had a quad-meet on Feb. 13 and scored 134.35 points to defeat Mercy (131.1), Haddam-Killingworth/Hale-Ray/Morgan (116.9), and Valley Regional (88.75). Erin Naclerio won the all-around with a score of 36.55 by placing first on vault (9.65), first on floor (9.3), second on bars (8.6), and second on beam (9.0), The Tigers’ other performances included Grace Rogers (third on vault, 8.55; third on bars, 8.45; third on beam, 8.75; tied for second on floor, 8.6; third in all-around, 34.35), Lexi Theel (31.05 all-around, 8.25 on vault, 8.1 on beam, 8.0 on floor); Kayla Cataldo (8.2 on floor, 8.05 on vault); Grace Segnere (8.15 on vault), Carly Barba (8.45 on vault); Delaney Skelly (8.35 on beam); and Kelley Levis (8.0 on floor).

Hand then closed the regular season with a 129.1-122.5 win over Foran on Senior Night on Feb. 16. Prior to the meet, the Tigers honored the members of their senior class: Erin Naclerio, Delaney Skelly, Marisa Padelli, and Brinley Enge, who were all were spotlighted on all four events during the meet. Hand’s performances included Naclerio (34.55 all-around, 9.4 on beam), Schylar Saliba (31.85 all-around, 8.55 on floor, 8.0 on vault), Rogers (8.8 on floor, 8.3 on vault), Barba (8.4 on vault), Theel (8.2 on floor), and Levis (8.35 on floor).

Next up for Hand is the State Championship meet that will be held on Saturday, Feb. 24 at Pomperaug High School. The Tigers are the five-time defending Class M champions and, this week, they will find out what class they are competing in at this year’s state meet.

Boys’ Ice Hockey

The Tigers earned a win against Masuk last week and are now 4-12 on the season.

Hand took a 7-2 loss to Sheehan on Feb. 11 and then lost a 5-1 game against North Haven the next day. However, Hand got back on the winning side of things by posting a 3-1 victory over Masuk on Feb. 16.

Boys’ Indoor Track

The Tigers’ 4x400 relay picked up a point at the State Open Championship on Feb. 17 at the Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven.

Hand’s quartet of Jamie Calderon, Carson Hines, Liam Akers, and Nick Porte finished sixth with a time of 3:33.43 at the Open. The Tigers’ 4x800 relay of Calderon, Hines, Porte, and Tyler Bennard finished ninth (8:29.39), while Russell Powell was 12th for the high jump by clearing 5-10.

Girls’ Indoor Track

Gabby Harmon competed on behalf of Hand at last week’s State Open Championship. Harmon took ninth place in the 300 by timing in at 41.99 seconds for the Tigers.