Printer Friendly Version - Girls’ Swimming and Diving Makes History at State Meets, Football Loses on Thanksgiving

Senior Sorina Cheng was an integral part of the Guilford girls’ swimming and diving team that placed third overall with a score of 479.5 at the Class M State Championship, and 16th overall with a score of 136 at the State Open Championship. Photo by Kenneth Marangell/The Courier

Guilford football traveled to Amity on Nov. 17 and recorded a strong 42-0 victory. Tyler Hilgert went 14/16 on passing for 265 yards and four touchdowns. Caden Hillier had nine rushes for 110 yards and two touchdowns, while Trevor Ridley had three catches for 55 yards and one touchdown.

Further contributing on the receiving side of the ball were Jake Jahnige (three catches, 66 yards, one touchdown), Joe Tafro (two catches, 75 Yards, one touchdown), and Jake Hedge (one catch, five yards, one touchdown).

On Nov. 22, the Grizzlies traveled to Daniel Hand for their annual Thanksgiving rivalry matchup and fell 36-20.

The Guilford girls’ swimming and diving team competed in the Class M State Championship and CT State Open Championship over the last two weeks. On Nov. 9, junior Jordyn Gould competed in 1M diving and placed second at the Class M State Championship Meet at Middletown High School, achieving All-State status. On Nov. 11, the swimmers competed at the East Lyme Pool for Class M State Trials, and many of them moved on to compete in the Class M State Finals meet on Nov. 14 at Southern Connecticut College.

At the Finals meet, the 200-yard medley relay team came in sixth place, with a time of 1:58.46, and consisted of senior Sorina Cheng, sophomore Liana Clune, senior Isabella Blanco, and freshman Muiriel Rader. Junior Isabel Torello came in fourth in the 200 freestyle (1:58.12) and fifth in the 500 freestyle (5:17.88). Sophomore Clara Matos da Cruz came in 18th in the 200 freestyle (2:08.11) and 12th in the 500 freestyle (5:40.11).

Cheng came in fourth in the 200 individual medley (2:16.75). She also became the Class M State Champion in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:00.8, earning her All-State. Additionally, Cheng broke the school record with her winning time. Junior Kate Young took 10th place in the 200 individual medley (2:24.96) and 11th place in the 100 butterfly (1:05.23). Junior Taylor Nowak took 23rd in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:32.79.

Sophomore Aislin Cohen took third place in the 50 freestyle (24.99) and second place in the 100 freestyle (54.27), earning her All-State in both events. Rader took 15th in the 50 freestyle (27.05) and 12th in the 100 freestyle (58.45). Blanco took 17th in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:07.07. Junior Amy Shi took 24th in the 100 freestyle with a time of 1:02.14. Freshman Abigail Fernandez took 15th place in the 500 freestyle (5:45.46) and eighth place in the 100 backstroke (1:06.31).

Junior Evelyn Bertolini took 19th place in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:52.71, and 22nd place in the 100 backstroke (1:11.12). Torello, Young, Rader, and Cohen came in fourth place in the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:42.70. Clune came in 14th in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:17.38. Guilford came in third place as a team in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:41.46, and consisted of Torello, Young, Cheng, and Cohen. The team finished in third place overall at the meet with a score of 479.5.

On Nov. 16, Gould competed in the CT Diving State Open Championship at Middletown High School and placed 10th in Connecticut. Then, on Nov. 19, the swimmers competed at Yale University for the CT State Open Swimming Championship. Torello took 22nd place in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:59.82, and 18th in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:21.20. Cohen took 15th in the 50 freestyle (24.96) and 13th in the 100 freestyle (54.59).

Torello, Young, Rader, and Cohen placed 13th in the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:42.73. Cheng placed 10th in the 100 backstroke (1:00.21). Torello, Young, Cheng, and Cohen took ninth in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:42.19. As a squad, the Grizzlies finished in 16th place in Connecticut with a score of 136. This is the highest placement in Guilford girls’ swim and dive history!