Boys’ Cross Country

The Guilford boys’ cross country team put forth a first-place performance when the Grizzlies hit the trails to participate in the SCC Divisional Championships last week. Guilford competed in the Hammonasset/Quinnipiac meet and finished first for both the Hammonasset Division and the overall standings at the Guilford Fairgrounds on Sept. 29.

Guilford scored 30 points as a team among its Hammonasset opponents, finishing in first place ahead of Hand (35) to take the title. In the overall standings, the Grizzlies scored 35 points to beat out Hand (47) for top honors.

Junior Coleman Love ran a time of 16:24.6 to take fourth place in both the Hammonasset and overall and help the Grizzlies win the meet. Senior Michael Masotti finished fifth in both the Hammonasset and overall (16:30.7). Junior Alex Hansen took sixth place both in the Hammonasset and outright (16:41.6) for Guilford.

Senior Ryan Franchi finished seventh for the Hammonasset and was ninth overall (16:47.7) for the Grizzlies. Junior Connor Pensa took eighth place in the Hammonasset (16:56.2) and was 11th overall (16:56.2).

Freshman Jack Faitsch finished 11th in the Hammonaset and placed 15th overall (17:04.05) at the meet. Senior Bretton Garrick placed 13th in the Hammonasset and was 20th overall (17:31.4), while junior Cooper Woods finished 15th in the Hammonasset and placed 24th overall (17:44.7) on behalf of Head Coach Jon Rivera’s squad.

Girls’ Cross Country

The Guilford girls’ cross country team put together an excellent showing when the Grizzlies competed in the SCC Divisional Championships at the Guilford Fairgrounds on Sept. 29. Guilford participated in the Hammonasset/Quinnipiac meet and finished first in the Hammonasset to go with a second-place showing overall.

The Grizzlies totaled 30 points in the Hammonasset competition to finish ahead of Foran (52) for first place and claim the championship. In the overall standings, Guilford scored 71 points and only placed behind Sacred Heart Academy (49).

Freshman Ciara Davenport ran a time of 18:59.9 to take second place in the Hammonasset and finish third overall for Guilford. Senior Olivia Kaisin placed third in the Hammonasset and finished sixth overall (19:50.5). Senior Clara Laughlin finished fourth for the Hammonasset and placed 11th overall (20:36.34).

Sophomore Ana Sadlon finished 10th in the Hammonasset and was 23rd overall (21:53.2). Freshman Summer Mangan finished 12th for the Hammonasset and placed 29th overall (22:24.9) on behalf of the Grizzlies.

Junior Michaela Hogan finished 15th in the Hammonasset and 34th overall (22:48.4). Junior Juliana Montgomery placed 16th in the Hammonasset and finished 36th overall (23:16.3) for Head Coach Jim Ford’s club.

Girls’ Swimming and Diving

The Guilford girls’ swimming and diving team improved its record to 8-0 after picking up three recent victories. The Grizzlies earned wins versus the Old Lyme-Valley-Old Saybrook (OL-V-OS) co-op team, Hamden, and Sheehan to stay undefeated on the campaign.

On Sept. 23, Guilford posted a 102-76 road victory against OL-V-OS at the East Lyme Aquatics Center. Then on Sept. 27, the Grizzlies faced Hamden on the road and won the meet by the final score of 98-82 at Hamden High School. Guilford went on to notch a 96-82 home win versus Sheehan at Walsh Intermediate School on Sept. 28.

Then on Oct. 1, Guilford competed at the Shoreline Invitational that was hosted at Walsh Intermediate School. Senior Ella Esposito, who is in her first year as a diver, set the school record for an 11-dive performance by posting a score of 357.00 points in a first-place finish at the meet. Sophomore Jordyn Gould took third place in the diving with a score of 335.45.

The Grizzlies also saw several swimmers earn first-place finishes at the Shoreline Invitational. Junior Sorina Cheng claimed first place in the 50 backstroke (32.14), 100 backstroke (1:06.60), the 100 individual medley (1:04.28), and the 200 individual medley (2:22.12) for Guilford. Sophomore Kate Young won the 50 butterfly (29.59) and the 100 butterfly (1:06.39), while sophomore Isabel Torello earned top honors for the 200 freestyle (2:05.05) and the 500 freestyle (5:48.43).

Senior Grace Young notched a victory in the 100 breaststroke (1:10.52) for Guilford. Freshman Aislin Cohen finished first in the 100 freestyle (57.76) on behalf of Head Coach Jen Amasino’s squad.

Guilford’s 200 medley relay of Cheng, Grace Young, Kate Young, and Cohen posted a first-place finish (1:56.84) at the invitational. The Grizzlies’ 200 freestyle medley of Cheng, Grace Young, Kate Young, and Cohen also took first place (1:45.31).

Guilford is hosting the East Haven-Cross-Hillhouse co-op squad for a contest on Thursday, Oct. 6 at 3:45 p.m. The Grizzlies will then face West Haven on the road on Monday, Oct. 10 at 4 p.m., followed by a home meet with Shelton on Wednesday, Oct. 12 at 3:45 p.m.

Football

The Guilford football recorded its second win of the season when the Grizzlies posted a 44-7 home victory over divisional opponent Lyman Hall at Kavanaugh Field on Sept. 30. Guilford now has an overall record of 2-2 and is 2-0 in SCC Tier 3 this year.

The Grizzlies are on the bye week for this week. Guilford will return to the field to host Bassick (0-4, 0-2) for an SCC Tier 3 game on Friday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m.

Field Hockey

The Guilford field hockey team improved to 6-1-0-1 on the season after adding three wins to the victory column last week. The Grizzlies scored one-sided triumphs over Lyman Hall and Mercy before edging out Glastonbury in recent action.

Guilford started off the week by posting an 8-0 shutout against Lyman Hall in a road game on Sept. 28. The following day, the Grizzlies hosted Mercy and won the contest by an 8-1 score at Guilford High School. Guilford finished up the week by earning a 1-0 win over Glastonbury in a non-conference road game on Oct. 1.

Senior Ella Clarke scored 4 goals for the Grizzlies during last week’s action. Senior Grace Barlage and junior Tania Evans scored 2 goals apiece on the week.

Guilford also received 1 goal apiece from senior Kim Evans, senior Gigi Meneo, senior Lia Constantini, senior Delaney Victor, junior Payton Root, and junior Lila Garuti between last week’s games. Junior goalkeeper Eliza Chamberlain recorded a pair of shutouts in net for Head Coach Kitty Palmer’s squad.

The Grizzlies are hosting three games at Kavanaugh Field this week. Guilford is facing Sacred Heart Academy at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8; East Lyme on Monday, Oct. 10 at noon; and Sheehan on Wednesday, Oct. 12 at 6 p.m.

Girls’ Volleyball

The Guilford girls’ volleyball team improved to 6-2 on the year after winning two of its three matches last week. The Grizzlies netted wins against West Haven and Hand to go with a loss to Branford in recent play.

On Sept. 27, Guilford hosted West Haven and defeated the Blue Devils by a 3-1 final. The Grizzlies won the match with set scores of 25-12, 25-15, 23-25, 25-14.

Senior Halle Krause had 12 assists with 9 kills, 7 digs, and 2 aces to lead Guilford to the win. Fellow senior Riley Mullett finished the contest with 15 assists, 7 kills, and 2 aces. Sophomore Sam Alberghini posted 6 digs with 5 kills, 5 aces, and 3 blocks to help the Grizzlies get the victory.

The next day, Guilford faced Branford on the road and took a 3-0 defeat versus the Hornets.

Guilford went on to notch a 3-1 victory over Hand in a home match on Sept. 30. Krause had a big match that saw her dish out 10 assists to go with 9 digs, 8 kills, and 2 aces. Mullett had 20 assists and also punched up 8 digs. Senior Emily Lin finished the match with 10 digs to help the Grizzlies defeat the rival Tigers.

Guilford is on the road to face Foran for a matchup on Thursday, Oct. 6 at 5 p.m. After that, the Grizzlies are hosting Hillhouse on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 5:15 p.m. and will then have a home match with Hamden at 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 12.

Boys’ Soccer

The Guilford boys’ soccer team played two SCC opponents on the road last week and came away from the slate with a tie and a loss to move to 6-1-1 for the season. The Grizzlies earned a tie versus Xavier and then lost to Cheshire on the pitch last week.

On Sept. 27, Guilford traveled to Middletown to face Xavier and battled the Falcons to a 0-0 draw. Senior netminder Justin Hess made 3 saves to get the shutout in net for the Grizzlies.

Then on Oct. 1, the Grizzlies were back on the road for a game with Cheshire and took a 2-1 defeat to the Rams, marking the Guilford’s first defeat of the year.

Guilford is playing two more road games this week. The Grizzlies are in West Haven for a game on Friday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. and will then play at Hamden on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 5 p.m.

Girls’ Soccer

The Guilford girls’ soccer team lost two contests last week to put its record at 2-4-1 on the season. The Grizzlies took defeats against Sheehan and Branford in recent action.

On Sept. 28, Guilford faced Sheehan on the road and lost to the Titans by a 2-1 final. Senior goalkeeper Ava Lepro made 3 saves for Guilford. Sophomore goalie had Abigail Burkle also played net and had 3 saves in the game.

The next day, Grizzlies hosted Branford and took a 3-0 loss to the Hornets at Guilford High School. Lepro made 12 saves in goal for Guilford.

Guilford is playing a home game versus Cheshire on Friday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. After that, the Grizzlies will hit the road to face East Haven at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 11.