Field Hockey

The Guilford field hockey team finished up another exceptional regular season with a win and then claimed a victory in its first game of the SCC Tournament last week. The Grizzlies have won 13 games in a row and are sporting an overall record of 15-1-0-1 as they get ready to face Branford in the SCC semifinals this week.

On Oct. 25, Guilford traveled to Woodbridge to take on Amity for its last game of the regular season and defeated the Spartans by the final score of 4-1. Senior MJ Santa Barbara scored 2 goals for the Grizzlies in the win. Senior Grace Barlage and junior Payton Root both scored 1 goals for Guilford.

Then on Oct. 29, top-seeded Guilford hosted No. 8 seed Lauralton Hall for an SCC Tournament quarterfinal game and notched an 8-0 victory versus the Crusaders. Barlage netted 3 goals, including 1 goal on a penalty shot, to lead Guilford to the win.

The Grizzlies also received goals from senior Ella Clarke, senior Kim Evans, senior Alex Glascoff, junior Lila Garuti, and sophomore Cassie Ward in the victory. Junior goalie Eliza Chamberlain faced 8 shots in goal for Guilford on the week.

Guilford is hosting No. 4 seed Branford in the SCC semifinals on Tuesday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. With a win, the Grizzlies would play the winner of No. 2 seed Cheshire and No. 3 Hand in the conference final at Amity High School on Thursday, Nov. 3 at 7:15 p.m.

Following the SCC Tournament, the Grizzlies will compete in the Class M State Tournament that begins on Monday, Nov. 7. Guilford has won four-straight SCC championships and three-consecutive state titles.

Girls’ Swimming and Diving

The Guilford girls’ swimming and diving team completed a perfect regular season by notching a road victory over Fitch-Stonington-Wheeler-New London (F-S-W-NL) last week. On Oct. 24, the Grizzlies competed against the Falcons’ co-op squad and won the contest by an 89-81 score at the UConn Avery Point pool to finish the regular season with an overall record of 14-0. A few days later, Guilford sent three athletes to compete in the SCC Diving Championship.

Sophomore Isabel Torello claimed first place in the 200-yard freestyle by swimming a season-best time of 2:03.21 for Guilford in last week’s victory versus F-S-W-NL. Junior Sorina Cheng placed first in the 200 individual medley with a season-best time of 2:18.73 and also broke her own school record for the 100 backstroke by posting a time of 1:02.04. Freshman Aislin Cohen took first place in the 50 freestyle with a season-best time of 25.84 and also won the 100 freestyle with a mark of 56.32.

Senior Charlotte Martocci recorded season-best times in the 100 freestyle (59.14) and the 200 freestyle (2:09.47) at last week’s meet. Senior Rylan Jacobson delivered season-best time in the 200 IM (2:30.24) and the 100 breaststroke (1:16.23) for the Grizzlies. Sophomore Kate Young posted a lifetime-best time of 1:03.45 in the 100 butterfly, marking a two-second drop from her previous best.

Guilford saw two of its relays take first place in the victory. The Grizzlies’ 200 medley relay of Cheng, senior Grace Young, Kate Young, Cohen finished in first place (1:55.66); while the 200 freestyle relay featuring Martocci, Grace Young, Kate Young, and Torello also finished in first (1:53.46).

On Oct. 29, the Grizzlies were represented by three competitors when the SCC Diving Championship was hosted at Sheehan High School. Sophomore Jordyn Gould took third place with score of 377.20 for Guilford, setting a new school record for an 11-dive performance.

Senior Ella Esposito finished in fifth place with a score of 351.75 at the SCC diving meet. Sophomore Ava Seseske took 14th place by posting a score of 313.20 for the Grizzlies.

Guilford is competing in the swimming portion of the SCC Championship at Southern Connecticut State University on Thursday, Nov. 3 at 5 p.m. After that, the Grizzlies will participate in the Class M State Championship meet.

Football

The Guilford football team hit the road to play a non-conference game against Woodstock Academy on Oct. 29. The Grizzlies recorded a 46-29 win against the Centaurs in the Saturday afternoon matchup, marking the team’s fourth-straight victory as the Grizzlies improved to 5-2 in the 2022 season.

Senior Mike O’Brien had another big game on the ground by rushing for 237 yards and 3 touchdowns on 24 carries for Guilford in last week’s win. He also had 2 catches for 11 yards. Junior quarterback Tyler Hilgert went 13-of-20 passing for 148 yards and a touchdown to go with 5 carries for 31 yards and a TD.

Junior Joe Tafro had 5 receptions for 65 yards in the victory. Junior Trevor Ridley caught 3 passes for 37 yards and a touchdown, while junior Jake Jahnige had 2 catches for 35 yards. Senior Dillon Burlakoff had a 35-yard touchdown run to contribute to another big day for the Grizzlies’ offense.

Senior Alejandro Colberg-Martinez had 8 tackles and a sack for the Guilford defense. Senior Luke Carignan had 7 tackles and 3 sacks, while sophomore Logan Murphy made 3 tackles with 2 sacks and a fumble recovery. Sophomore Rocco Barbera also recorded 2 sacks, and Jahnige grabbed an interception. Freshman Ares Vasiliou kicked 2 extra points in the win.

Guilford is in the No. 8 spot for the Class MM State Playoff rankings in which the top eight squads qualify. Guilford now gets ready to host Foran for an SCC Tier 3 showdown at Kavanaugh Field on Friday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. The Grizzlies have a record of 4-0 in the division this year. Foran has an overall record of 7-0 to go with a record of 4-0 in divisional play.

Following the Foran game, Guilford will be on the road to play East Haven on Thursday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. The Grizzlies will then host Hand for their annual Thanksgiving Week game at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 23.

Girls’ Soccer

The Guilford girls’ soccer team claimed a victory against Branford in its regular-season finale before taking a loss to Hand in the quarterfinals of the SCC Tournament last week. The Grizzlies have an overall record of 9-7-1 as they get ready to open play in the state tourney.

On Oct. 24, Guilford was on the road to face Branford for its last game of the regular season and defeated the Hornets by a 3-2 score. Guilford scored the first two goals of the game and held a 2-0 lead over Branford at halftime. Junior Maddie Gasparini scored the first goal off an assist from senior Ava Pascarella in the 17th minute of the game. Gasparini netted her second goal of the day in the 28th minute to make it 2-0 at the break.

The Hornets scored a goal in the 62nd minute and then converted a penalty kick in the 73rd minute to tie the score at 2-2 in the waning stages of the game. However, the Grizzlies responded when Gasparaini scored her third goal of the contest in the 76th minute to complete her hat trick and give Guilford a 3-2 lead that held up as the final.

Then on Oct. 29, the 6th-seeded Grizzlies traveled to Madison to play No. 3 Hand in the SCC Tournament quarterfinals and took a 2-0 defeat against the Tigers. The Grizzlies will enter phase two of the postseason when they take part in the Class L State Tournament that starts on Saturday, Nov. 5.

Boys’ Soccer

The Guilford boys’ soccer team took a defeat against Cheshire in its final game of the regular season and then faced Cheshire again in the SCC Tournament quarterfinals a few days later. The Grizzlies lost to the Rams by a 4-0 score in the rematch and are sporting an overall record of 11-4-2 as they prepare to play in states.

Guilford hosted Cheshire for its regular-season finale on Oct. 24 and took a 3-0 loss in the contest. Then on Oct. 29, the 7th-seeded Grizzlies played at No. 2 seed Cheshire in the SCC quarterfinals and dropped a 4-0 decision to the Rams.

Guilford will compete in the Class L State Tournament that begins on Saturday, Nov. 5.

Girls’ Volleyball

The Guilford girls’ volleyball team won two of its last three matches of the regular season to finish with an overall record of 15-5. The Grizzlies notched victories against Hand and Hillhouse before taking a loss to Hale-Ray during the final week of regular-season action.

Guilford kicked off last week by posting a 3-1 road win over Hand on Oct. 24. Then on Oct. 27, the Grizzlies were back on the road to face Hillhouse and won the contest by a 3-0 score. The next day, Guilford took a 3-0 home loss versus non-conference opponent Hale-Ray for their regular-season finale.

Guilford has qualified for the SCC Tournament and has a bye through the first round of the draw. The No. 4 seed Grizzlies are hosting No. 12 Jonathan Law in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, Nov. 1 at 6 p.m. With a win, Guilford would face the winner of top-seeded Cheshire at No. 8 West Haven in the semis on Thursday, Nov. 3. The SCC final takes place at West Haven High School on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 6 p.m. Following SCCs, Guilford will participate in the Class L State Tournament that gets underway on Tuesday, Nov. 7.