Football

The Guilford football team earned an exhilarating 35-33 road victory versus Jonathan Law in an SCC Tier 3 contest on Oct. 21. The Grizzlies improved their overall record to 4-2 to go with a mark of 4-0 in the division after defeating the Lawmen in a game that came down to the final play.

Guilford held the lead for most of the night, although Law kept coming back to stay in the game. Trailing by 2, the Lawmen drove to the Grizzlies’ 15-yard line in the final minutes, but then turned the ball over on a fumbled snap. However, Guilford was unable to run out the clock and had to punt the ball back to Law with just 30 seconds left in the game.

Law’s offense made it to midfield for the final play of the contest. Law’s quarterback heaved up a deep pass that was knocked down at the 10-yard line, solidifying the 35-33 win for the Grizzlies. Head Coach Anthony Salvati called it one of the most exciting games that he’s ever been a part of.

Senior Mike O’Brien turned in a huge performance by rushing the ball 42 times for 265 yards and 2 touchdowns for Guilford in the victory. Junior quarterback Tyler Hilgert went 13-of-19 passing for 182 yards and 2 touchdowns, in addition to carrying the ball 6 times for 58 yards and a TD.

Hilgert tossed a 42-yard touchdown pass to senior Dillon Burlakoff in the second quarter and then connected with junior Brady Hallihan for a 20-yard scoring strike in the third quarter. Junior Trevor Ridley had 2 catches for 49 yards to aid Guilford’s aerial attack.

Senior Alejandro Colberg-Martinez lead all tacklers with 9 on the night to go along with a fumble recovery in the fourth quarter. Senior Luke Carignan and fellow senior Liam Alberti made 8 tackles apiece for the Grizzlies’ defense.

On special teams, freshman Zisis Vasiliou went 4-for-5 on his extra point attempts to help Guilford come away with the victory.

Guilford will be on the road to play a non-conference game against Woodstock Academy (3-2) at noon on Saturday, Oct. 29.

Boys’ Cross Country

The Guilford boys’ cross country team claimed second place when the Grizzlies hit the trails to participate in last week’s Southern Connecticut Conference Championship meet. Guilford totaled a team score of 81 points for the SCC competition, only placing behind Xavier (32) for the title at East Shore Park in New Haven on Oct. 19.

Senior Michael Masotti and junior Alex Hansen both garnered All-SCC First Team accolades with their performances at the conference meet. Masotti finished in seventh place by recording a time of 16:44.4 for the Grizzlies. Hansen ran a time of 16:50.7 and finished in eighth place.

Junior Coleman Love made the All-SCC Second Team by taking 15th place with a time of 17:20.4 for Guilford. Senior Ryan Franchi placed 22nd with a mark of 17:27.3 to secure All-SCC Second Team honors.

Senior Bretton Garrick finished in 29th place (17:43.8) for the Grizzlies at SCCs. Junior Connor Pensa came in 64th place (18:34.9), while fellow junior Alex Milano finished in 65th place (18:39.5).

Next up for the Grizzlies is the Class MM State Championship meet at Wickham Park on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 3:50 p.m.

Girls’ Cross Country

The Guilford girls’ cross country squad earned runner-up honors when it competed in the SCC Championship hosted at East Shore Park on Oct. 19. The Grizzlies scored 125 points as a team on their way to taking second place at SCCs, only finishing behind Cheshire (64) for the top spot in the standings.

Freshman Ciara Davenport claimed 10th place by running a time of 20:20.7 for Guilford at the SCC Championship. Senior Olivia Kaisin posted a time of 21:14.6 on her way to a 16th-place performance. Davenport made the All-SCC First Team, while Kaisin earned All-SCC Second Team honors on behalf of the Grizzlies.

Sophomore Ana Sadlon finished in 29th place (21:48.9) for Guilford at the SCC Championship. Freshman Summer Mangan came in 36th place (22:08.6) on behalf of the Grizzlies. Sophomore Danielle Selig finished in 41st place (22:21.6), senior Clara Laughlin took 46th place (22:38.3), and sophomore Inka Muhs finished in 47th place (22:49.6) at the meet.

Guilford will be competing in the Class MM State Championship this weekend. The state meet takes place at Wickham Park on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 3:15 p.m.

Field Hockey

The Guilford field hockey team improved its record to 13-1-0-1 while increasing its win streak to 10-straight games after winning both of its matchups on last week’s schedule. The Grizzlies notched a lopsided victory over Shelton and then won a close contest against Branford last week to keep the good times rolling in the 2022 campaign.

Guilford started off last week by earning a 7-0 home win versus Shelton on Senior Night on Oct. 18. Senior Kim Evans and fellow senior Grace Barlage both scored 2 goals for the Grizzlies in the victory. Seniors Gigi Meneo, Ella Clarke, and MJ Santa Barbara scored 1 goal apiece.

Two days later, the Grizzlies claimed a 2-1 road victory against Branford. Evans and Barlage netted Guilford’s goals in the win. The Hornets scored their lone goal of the day on a penalty stroke, marking the first time that Guilford had allowed a goal in its last eight games.

The Grizzlies will finish their regular season by playing a road game against Amity this week.

Girls’ Swimming and Diving

The Guilford girls’ swimming and diving team competed against Branford in a road meet at the Walsh Intermediate School on Oct. 20. The Grizzlies posted an 89-65 victory over the Hornets on Senior Night to improve their overall record to 13-0 with one meet remaining in the regular season.

Guilford honored its five seniors as part of the Senior night festivities for this meet. The athletes in the Grizzlies’ senior class are captains Rylan Jacobson, Charlotte Martocci, and Grace Young, along with Eliza Hastings and diver Ella Esposito.

Freshman Aislin Cohen claimed first place in the 200-yard freestyle (2:06.92) for the Grizzlies when they defeated Branford last week. Jacobson finished first in the 200 individual medley (2:37.47), Grace Young placed first in the 50 freestyle (26.76) and the 100 butterfly (1:05.51), and Martocci took first place in the 100 freestyle (1:00.72).

Guilford's 200 medley relay of freshman Clara Matos da Cruz, sophomore Isabel Torello, junior Sorina Cheng, and sophomore Amy Shi finished in first place (2:07.40) at the meet. Sophomore Jordyn Gould earned first place in the diving competition by recording a total of 209.35 points for the Grizzlies.

The meet went exhibition after the 100 freestyle. Cohen swam the 500 freestyle with the fastest time of 5:38.11 for Guilford. Cheng posted the fastest time of 1:02.24 in the 100 backstroke, while Jacobson had the fastest time for in 100 breaststroke (1:18.31). In another exhibition event, Guilford’s 200 freestyle relay team of junior Sofia Tian, sophomore Taylor Nowak, junior Isabella Blanco, and Torello recorded the fastest time (1:51.73) at the meet.

The Grizzlies’ senior quartet of Hastings, Jacobson, Martocci, and Young swam finished second in the 200 medley relay (2:10.53) and then turned in the second-best time for the 200 freestyle relay (1:54.15). The Grizzlies’ 400 freestyle relay featuring Cohen, Kate Young, Matos da Cruz, and Cheng recorded the fastest time (4:01.99) for the exhibition event.

Guilford will be participating in the SCC Championship this week. The SCC Diving Championship takes place at Sheehan High School on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 10 a.m.; the Swimming Qualifier is at Cheshire Community Pool on Tuesday, Nov. 1 at 4 p.m.; and the SCC Swimming Championship will be hosted at Southern Connecticut State University on Thursday, Nov. 3 at 5 p.m.

Boys’ Soccer

The Guilford boys’ soccer team played three games last week and came away from the slate with two victories to boost its overall record to 11-2-2 on the season. The Grizzlies posted 1-0 wins over both Notre Dame-West Haven and Sheehan before finishing the week with a loss against Xavier.

On Oct. 17, Guilford hosted Notre Dame-West Haven and defeated the Green Knights by a 1-0 final. Junior Andres Gutierrez scored the lone goal of the game in the 16th minute to lift the Grizzlies to the victory. Senior Sami AbuGhazaleh had the assist on Gutierrez’s goal.

Two days later, Guilford traveled to Wallingford to played a road game against Sheehan and won the contest by a 1-0 score. Then on Oct. 22, the Grizzlies took a 2-1 loss to Xavier in a Saturday night game at Guilford High School.

Guilford is hosting Cheshire for its last matchup of the regular season this week.

Girls’ Volleyball

The Guilford girls’ volleyball squad won two of its three matches last week and is now sporting an overall record of 13-4 for the 2022 season. The Grizzlies netted wins against West Haven and Branford while also taking a defeat against Morgan in recent action.

Guilford started off last week by earning a 3-1 victory at West Haven on Oct. 17. The Grizzlies took match by the final count of 25-23, 17-25, 25-17, 25-14.

Senior Halle Krause recorded 11 kills to go with 6 digs for Guilford in the win. Junior Emma Getrost had 5 digs and 4 kills, while sophomore Sam Alberghini finished the contest with 6 kills.

Then Oct. 20, the Grizzlies played a road match versus Morgan and were edged out by a 3-2 score. The Huskies rallied to take the match with set scores of 17-25, 17-25, 25-22, 25-20, 16-14.

Krause handed out 13 assists and also had 11 kills in the contest. Senior Corrine Puchalski posted 15 digs with 8 kills and 3 aces for the Grizzlies.

The very next day, Guilford came back to grab a 3-1 home win over Branford. The Grizzlies won the matchup by the final tally of 25-14, 17-25, 25-14, 25-15.

Krause had 12 assists and 6 kills for Guilford in the victory. Puchalski recorded 10 digs with 6 kills and 2 aces. Alberghini chipped in with 10 kills and 5 blocks on the night.

Guilford is playing a road match against Hillhouse on Thursday, Oct. 27 at 4 p.m., after which they Grizzlies will host Hale-Ray for their regular-season finale on Friday, Oct. 28 at 5:15 p.m.