GHS Sports News & Notes

Nick DiNino (left) and Connor Goode (right) won the 7th annual CT 2-Man Invitational Golf Tournament held at Blackledge Country Club

Goode and DeNino Set Tourney Record
GHS junior golfers Connor Goode and Nick DiNino set a tournament record (65), besting the previous mark of 66, to win by six strokes at the 7th annual CT 2-Man Invitational Golf Tournament held at Blackledge Country Club. Head coach Tom Zelek said that Goode and DeNino were in complete control all day, adding, “There is a bit of strategy necessary to be successful in this 2-Man Best Ball format and Connor and Nick were able to execute nearly flawlessly. We had practiced and talked about Best Ball strategy the day before and these two players obviously not only knew what to do but were able to carry out the plan.” 37 teams competed in this event and another Glastonbury team of senior captain Ethan Kalk and junior Charlie Dolan finished tied for 4th.
 
The Guardians, who currently rank #1 in Division I, went on to win their 12th match of the season at Rockledge Golf Course in West Hartford . Junior Charlie Dolan fired a one under par (35) to be the match medalist. DiNino shot an even par (36), while Goode and Gavin Kvadus contributed, allowing Glastonbury to notch two more victories and a tie. Glastonbury’s team score of 149 was matched by Conard, who also scored a 149, while Hall High shot a 164 and Wethersfield High shot a 172. Entering the week, Glastonbury’s overall record 11-0-2 this season.
 
GHS Baseball Finishing Strong
The Guardians enter this week riding a four-game winning streak, upping their record to 11-6 heading down the home stretch of the regular season. 

The team started the streak with a 10-2 victory over Conard, thanks to a 10-run fifth inning. Sam Benedict, Owen Stephens, Spencer Azzara, Luke Fahey, Jake Benedict, and Ben Curcio all drove in runs during the pivotal inning. Dan Cantafi was on the bump, allowing only two hits and one run over five innings, and striking out four. Fahey led the hitting with two doubles. Benedict stole two bases in the win.

Last Monday, the Guardians crushed rival Wethersfield 11-1. Alex Boucher was an RBI machine, driving in four runs on two hits. Boucher drove in the runs on a double in the third and a triple in the fourth. Glastonbury got on the board when Stephens singled, scoring Curcio. The team added three in the third with Boucher and Kyle Stephens each having RBIs. Dan Beagle had his head in the game, pitching the full five innings, allowing only three hits and giving up a run. Benedict, Boucher, and Sean Borden all managed multiple hits.

Next up was a 5-0 victory over Avon. Stephens pitched a complete game shutout, striking out three, and the Guardians offense got going early, scoring a pair of runs in the top of the first. The team scattered eight hits in the game. Jayden Sgro was flawless in the field with six chances and Jake Benedict was 3-4 from the plate, scoring three runs.

The team closed the week with a dramatic 6-5 victory over Farmington. Sgro drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the sixth, scoring Fahey. Cantafi started on the mound, striking out six and walking one. Glastonbury totaled 10 hits in the game with Jake Benedict, Curcio, and Fahey each having multiple hits.

GHS Girls Tennis Remains Perfect
The Guardians won five more meets over the last two weeks, remaining unbeaten (14-0) heading into the final week of the regular season.
The team beat Hall, Avon, Wethersfield, and Southington (6-1), before sweeping RHAM (7-0) last Thursday. #1 singles player Catherine Zak won all five matches, as did the #1 doubles teams, featuring a combination of Mirta Atighechi, Bridget Corey, Sammie Chung, Anna Radulescu, Erin Cabana, and Norah Andersson-Orth.   

Annee Bess Blair, Olivia Lee, Emma Cantor, Emma Miller, and Gabby Canihuante also picked up singles wins.

Four More for GHS Boys Volleyball
Boys’ volleyball won four more matches last week, upping their record to 12-3.

The Guardians started the week with a double-dip victory over Bulkeley, winning a pair of two-set sweeps on Monday.

On Wednesday, they defeated East Hartford in three set behind Liam Scales, who has 15 kills. Setter Paul Gilberto added a game-high 23 assists and six aces.

They closed the week with a three-set of Wethersfield at GHS last Friday. 

Girls LAX on the Attack
Girls’ lacrosse defeated Granby Memorial 17-3 last Wednesday, improving the team to 10-3. The Guardians currently rank top-ten in Class LL with the state tournament on the horizon.

Sam Forrest and Joelle Solecki each netted four goals and Bella Acosta added three more goals and an assist. Mary McKiernan dished out a game-high five assists, also scoring a goal, and Christina Guanci added two assists and a goal.  

As she has been all year, Goalie Bridget Clarke was stout in goal.

Girls T&F Continues to Shine
Girls track & field had two more impressive victories, first defeating Hall (102-48) and then dominating Farmington (139-11), improve the team to 5-0 this spring.
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Against Hall, the 4x800m relay team consisting of Kelley MacElhiney, Sydney Huff, Annika Paluska, and Kylie Hilliard, came in first with a time of 10:25. The 4x100m with Hannah Caiola, Alyssa Healy, Meghan Smith, and Riley Carroll also came across the line first with a time of 52.33. Zoe Spann-McDonald dominated the 100m hurdles, finishing first (16.77) followed by Emma Smith (16.88). Hannah Caiola represented in the 100m, finishing first in 13.23 seconds. In the 1600m, Casey MacElhiney and Jackie Caron finished neck and neck (first and second) with times of 5:29.36 and 5:29.40. Jackie Caron and Ava Gattinella finished first and second in the 800m, while Caiola and Carroll went 1-2 in the 200m. Casey MacElhiney blew away the 3200m competition, finishing first with a time of 11:07. Rounding out the running events, the 4x400m consisting of Healy, Emma Smith, Caron, and Meghan Smith finished first (4:07).
 
In the field, Layla Spann-McDonald earned first place in the discus, throwing 98’7”. Mallory Malz placed first in long jump (15’11.75”), triple jump (34’5.5”), and pole vault 11’. High jump was swept with first second and third place finished from Kate Desousa, Brittany LeClair, and Tennaly LeClaire (5’2”, 4’8”, 4’6”).
 
Against Farmington, Jackie Dudus, Annika Hurley, Casey MacElhiney, and Kelley MacElhiney placed first in the 4x800. Caiola, Carroll, Healy, and Emily Smith ran a time of 50.6 seconds in the 4x100. Spann-McDonald and Emma Smith placed first and second in the 100m hurdles, respectively. Caiola won the 100m (12.4), while Annika Paluska, Lucy Bergin, and Kylie Hilliard placed first, second, and third in the 1600m. Molly Harding won the 400m and Emma Smith won the 300m hurdles. Mikayla Nedder and Sydney Huff finished first and second in the 800m, while Caiola won the 200m. Olivia Dickson placed first in the 3200 (12:17.3) and teammate Sarah Ongley placed second (13:25.7). With a great finish to the running events, Healy, Casey MacElhiney, Lola Rotelli, and Emma Smith ran a collective time of 4:11.1 in the 4x400, placing first.
 
On the field side, Anna Morris placed first in javelin (76’9”) and shot put (22’11). Brianna Jordan won the discus, throwing 65’10”, followed closely by Taylor Huff placing second (64’9”), and Anna Morris (57’6”). Malz placed first in long jump, triple jump, and pole vault, while DeSousa placed first in high jump.