Field Hockey

The Guilford field hockey team faced off against Branford in the semifinal round of the Southern Connecticut Conference Tournament last week. The Grizzlies took a 3-2 defeat versus the Hornets in the contest and will now get ready to play in the Class M State Tournament this week. Guilford has an overall record of 15-2-0-1 on the season.

After earning an 8-0 win over Lauralton Hall in the quarterfinals, top-seeded and four-time defending champion Guilford hosted No. 4 seed Branford in an SCC Tournament semifinal game on Nov. 1. The Hornets edged out the Grizzlies by a 3-2 score at Guilford High School to advance to the final, where they took a 2-1 loss to Cheshire. The defeat marked the end of a 13-game win streak for Guilford.

The Grizzlies opened the scoring when senior Ella Clarke scored from fellow senior MJ Santa Barbara at the 12:19 mark of the first quarter. Branford tied the game by scoring a goal later in the period.

The Hornets scored their second goal on a breakway to take a 2-1 lead over Guilford during the second quarter. Branford maintained its one-goal edge at the halftime break.

Following a scoreless third quarter, senior Kim Evans tipped home a corner shot by senior Scout Climie to tie the score at 2-2 at the 8:57 mark of the fourth. However, the Hornets scored the go-ahead goal with 2:39 remaining in the game and went on to get the 3-2 victory. Freshman goalie Addie Oakes made 5 saves in net for Guilford.

Guilford now enters the Class M State Tournament as the three-time defending champs. The No. 1 seed Grizzlies are hosting the winner of Suffield and Waterford for a first-round game on Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 6 p.m. If Guilford wins, it would host the winner of No. 8 seed Brookfield and No. 9 Branford in the quarterfinals on Thursday, Nov. 10, potentially setting up a rematch with the Hornets.

The Class M semifinals will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 15 and Wednesday, Nov. 16. The Class M state final is being hosted at Wethersfield High School on Saturday, Nov. 19.

Girls’ Volleyball

The Guilford girls’ volleyball team earned a win versus Jonathan Law in the quarterfinals of the SCC Tournament before taking a loss against Cheshire in a semifinal contest last week. The Grizzlies are sporting an overall record of 16-6 as they get ready to participate in the Class L State Tournament that gets underway this week.

As the No. 4 seed, Guilford had a bye through the first round of the SCC bracket. On Nov. 1, the Grizzlies hosted No. 12 seed Jonathan Law and defeated the Eagles by a 3-0 score. Guilford swept the matchup by the final tally of 25-15, 25-12, 25-19 to advance to the semifinals.

Senior Halle Krause dished out 14 assists to go with 13 kills and 7 digs for the Grizzlies in the win. Sophomore Sam Alberghini had 10 kills with 5 digs and 3 aces, while fellow sophomore Alexa Kukta finished the match with 8 digs, 7 kills, and 6 aces.

Two days later, Guilford was on the road to face top-seeded Cheshire in the SCC semis and took a 3-0 defeat to the Rams. Cheshire won the match with set scores of 25-11, 25-10, 25-19 to make it the championship game, where the Rams claimed a 3-2 win over Amity.

Guilford is the No. 5 seed in the Class L State Tournament and has a bye through the first round. The Grizzlies will host the winner of No. 12 seed Woodstock and No. 21 Brookfield in the second round on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 6 p.m.

The Class L quarterfinals will be played on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. The semifinals are on Wednesday, Nov. 16; and the championship match is being hosted at East Haven High School on Saturday, Nov. 19.

Girls’ Swimming and Diving

The Guilford girls’ swimming and diving team posted a third-place performance when the Grizzlies competed at the SCC Championship last week. Guilford scored 842 points as a squad on its way to claiming third place when the conference meet was hosted at Southern Connecticut State University on Nov. 3.

Guilford’s 400 freestyle relay of sophomore Isabel Torello, sophomore Kate Young, senior Grace Young, and freshman Aislin Cohen finished in second place by recording a time of 3:44.29 at the SCC Championship. The quartet a school record with their runner-up performance.

The Grizzlies’ 200 medley relay featuring junior Sorina Cheng, Grace Young, Kate Young, and Cohen took third place (1:53.98); and 200 freestyle relay of Cheng, senior Charlotte Martocci, junior Isabella Blanco, and Torello finished in sixth place (1:45.92).

Cohen also finished third in the 100 freestyle (55.46) and sixth in the 50 freestyle (25.65) for Guilford at SCCs. Grace Young finished third in the 100 breaststroke (1:09.30) and placed 10th in the 200 individual medley (2:19.81).

Torello claimed fourth place in both the 200 freestyle (2:00.67) and the 500 freestyle (5:25.70) at the conference meet. Senior Rylan Jacobson finished fourth in the 100 breaststroke (1:13.23) and also came in 19th place for 200 individual medley (2:31.86).

Cheng finished fifth in the 200 IM (2:15.21) to go with a ninth-place performance in the 100 backstroke (1:03.12). Kate Young took seventh place in the 100 freestyle (56.56) and finished 11th in the 50 freestyle (26.51).

Freshman Maria Clara Matos da Cruz swam to an 11th-place finish in the 500 freestyle (5:48.66) and also placed 20th in the 200 freestyle (2:09.56) for Guilford. Martocci finished 11th in for the 100 freestyle (58.35) and was 13th in the 200 freestyle (2:07.07).

Sophomore Evelyn Bertolini finished 15th in the 500 freestyle (5:53.10) for the Grizzlies in SCCs. Blanco claimed 16th place in the 100 butterfly (1:07.66) and finished 22nd in the 200 freestyle (2:10.09).

Junior Sofia Tian finished 26th in the 100 butterfly (1:13.53), while freshman Liana Clune took 28th place in the100 breaststroke (1:23.04) for Guilford. Senior Eliza Hastings finished in 31st place for both the 50 freestyle (28.90) and the 100 butterfly (1:18.59).

One week prior to the swimming portion of the SCC meet, the Grizzlies sent three athletes to compete at the SCC Diving Championship at Sheehan High School on Oct. 29. Sophomore Jordyn Gould finished in third place with a score of 377.20 points, breaking the school record for an 11-dive performance. Senior Ella Esposito finished in fifth place (351.75), and sophomore Ava Seseske finished 14th (313.20) on behalf of Guilford.

Guilford is competing in the Class M State Championship meet this week. The Class M Diving Championship will be held at Middletown High School on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 5:30 p.m.; the Class M Swimming Trials are on Friday, Nov. 11 at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) at 6 p.m.; and the Class M Swimming Championship will be hosted at SCSU on Monday, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m.

Football

The Guilford football team hosted Foran for an SCC Tier 3 clash at Kavanaugh Field on Nov. 4. The Grizzlies were edged out by the Lions by the final score of 35-34 to put their overall record at 5-3 to go with a mark of 4-1 in the division this year. Foran improved to 8-0 overall with a 5-0 record in SCC Tier 3 action.

Guilford nearly pulled off a crazy comeback in its contest against Foran. The Grizzlies trailed 35-14 in the fourth quarter before scoring three-straight touchdowns to get within one point in the closing minutes. Foran blocked the extra point following Guilford’s final touchdown and then hung on to get the win.

Foran recorded the first score of the game on a 29-yard touchdown pass and held a 7-0 lead after the opening quarter. The Lions later scored on a 14-yard run in the second quarter for a 14-0 advantage.

Guilford responded when freshman Alex Tafro threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to junior Joe Tafro for the Grizzlies’ first TD of the night. Freshman Ares Vasiliou kicked the extra point to make it 14-7 at halftime.

Foran scored two touchdowns during the third quarter. The Lions used a 5-yard TD run and a 24-yard scoring rush to take a 28-7 lead into the fourth.

Alex Tafro tossed a 5-yard touchdown to Joe Tafro, and then Vasiliou hit the extra point to make it 28-14 in the early minutes of the final period, but Foran returned the ensuing kickoff for a 79-yard TD to increase its lead to 35-14.

Guilford rallied to get back in the game by scoring 3 touchdowns during a 4-minute span in the fourth quarter. Alex Tafro ran for a 3-yard score that was followed by the PAT from Vasiliou to cut the gap to 35-21. A few minutes later, senior Mike O’Brien scored on a 5-yard touchdown run, after which Vasiliou made the extra point to bring the Grizzlies within 35-28.

Right after that, Trevor Ridley intercepted Foran’s quarterback to put Guilford on the doorstep of another score. O’Brien followed by rushing for a 1-yard touchdown to make it a 35-34 game with just over 3 minutes to play. However, the Lions were able to block the potential game-tying extra point and then ran out the clock to escape with the 35-34 victory.

Alex Tafro finished the game 12-of-13 passing for 204 yards and 2 touchdowns to go with 6 carries for 49 yards and a TD. Joe Tafro had 5 catches 109 yards and 2 touchdowns for the Grizzlies.

Ridley had 4 receptions for 77 yards, including a catch of 44 yards that set up a touchdown run for O’Brien. Ridley also had 8 tackles to go with the interception that set up O’Brien’s second rushing TD.

Senior Luke Carignan had 9 tackles with a 1 sack in the game. Fellow senior Alejandro Colberg-Martinez had 8 tackles and a sack for the Guilford.

The Grizzlies are in the No. 12 spot for the Class MM State Playoff rankings in which the top eight squads qualify. Guilford will be on the bye week for this upcoming week. The Grizzlies’ next game is a divisional contest at East Haven on Thursday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. Guilford will then host Hand for its annual Thanksgiving game on Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 7 p.m. at Kavanaugh Field.

Boys’ Cross Country

The Guilford boys’ cross country team sent its varsity lineup to run at the State Open Championship at Wickham Park last week. The Grizzlies posted a team score of 276 points to claim ninth place in the State Open standings on Nov. 4. Guilford had qualified for the meet by virtue of its third-place finish at the Class MM State Championship the previous week.

Senior Michael Masotti finished in 27th place by recording a time of 16:50 for the Grizzlies in the State Open Championship. Junior Alex Hansen was next in line by taking 52nd place with a time of 17:20. Freshman Jack Faitsch came in 88th place (17:49) for Guilford.

Junior Coleman Love finished in 100th place (17:56), and senior Ryan Franchi finished in 122nd place (18:17) in the State Open. Senior Bretton Garrick finished in 136th (18:31), while junior Connor Pensa finished in 154th place (18:59) on behalf of the Grizzlies.

Girls’ Cross Country

One week after winning its second-straight Class MM state title, the Guilford girls’ cross country team hit the trails to compete in the State Open Championship that was hosted at Wickham Park in Manchester on Nov. 4. The Grizzlies finished in 16th place as a team by recording an overall score of 340 points at the Open.

Junior Clara Gahm led the Guilford pack at the State Open Championship by finishing in 88th place with a time of 22:07. Freshman Ciara Davenport finished in 93rd place (22:13), while sophomore Ana Sadlon came in 95th place (22:14) for the Grizzlies.

Senior Olivia Kaisin claimed 99th place (22:19), and freshman Summer Mangan finished in 109th place for Guilford in the Open. Sophomore Inka Muhs finished in 143rd place (23:35), and sophomore Daniella Selig placed 148th (23:43) at the meet.

Boys’ Soccer

The Guilford boys’ soccer team will begin phase two of postseason play when the Grizzlies participate in the Class L State Tournament this week.

Guilford is the No. 4 seed in the Class L bracket and has a bye through the first round. The Grizzlies, who have an overall record of 11-4-2, are hosting the winner of No. 13 seed Brookfield and No. 20 Masuk for a second-round matchup on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m.

The Class L state quarterfinals are taking place on Friday, Nov. 11 at 2 p.m. The semifinals are being held from Tuesday, Nov. 15 to Thursday, Nov. 17; and the Class L championship game will be played at Trinity Health Stadium on either Saturday, Nov. 19 or Sunday, Nov. 20.

Girls’ Soccer

The Guilford girls’ soccer team will be competing in the Class L State Tournament this week.

Guilford has the No. 19 seed in the state draw and will kick off the tourney by playing a first-round road game versus No. 14 seed Ledyard on Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 2 p.m. With a victory, the Grizzlies would advance to play at No. 3 seed Wethersfield for a second-round contest on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 2 p.m. Guilford enters the State Tournament with an overall record of 9-7-1 on the year.

The Class L quarterfinals are on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. The semis will be held from Tuesday, Nov. 15 to Thursday, Nov. 17; and the Class L state finals is being played at Trinity Health Stadium in Hartford on either Saturday, Nov. 19 or Sunday, Nov. 20.