GHS sports News & Notes

GHS boys golfer (L-R) Nick Anderson, Charlie Dolan, Gavin Kvadus, Nick DiNino, Connor Goode at Avon Invitational 

Boys Golf Defeats Rocky Hill, Wins Avon Invitational
 
GHS boys’ golf moved to 6-0 with a (156-211) victory over Rocky Hill. Senior Co-Captain Connor Goode was the match medalist, shooting an even-par round of 36 at Glastonbury Hills Country Club. Goode continued his season-long consistent play with seven pars and one birdie. Senior Nick DiNino posted a 37, also showing excellent consistency with eight pars. Seniors Nick Anderson and co-captain Charlie Dolan rounded out the scoring to keep the Guardians undefeated. Head coach Tom Zelek stated, “The team has been playing solid golf and have really taken advantage of the weather and excellent course conditions.”
 
The team followed up the win over Rocky Hill by winning the Avon Invitational Tournament with a tournament record score of 286 at Tunxis Country Club. This was the Guardians first tournament of the year, finishing ahead of 2nd place Berlin (312) by 26 strokes. Goode and Dolan were the tournament's co-medalists (lowest score of all 70 players), both scoring a (-2) 68 on the par 70 Green Course at Tunxis. DiNino and sophomore Gavin Kvadus both posted excellent scores of 75 to complete the best team score ever posted at this tournament. Zelek, “I couldn’t be happier for the guys, but I can’t say I’m all that surprised at their scores. They have been scoring well all season at our 9-hole matches but all four of these players are strong 18-hole competitors as they play in many tournaments during the summer. There’s a big difference between our high school matches and 18 hole tournaments and these players bring a lot of experience and obviously skill to the course.” Coming into the week, the Guardians are ranked # 1 (11.8 scoring average) in Division 1 Boys Golf.
 
Girls Cross Country Wins Dual Meet
 
On September 21, GHS girls’ cross country defeated Conard and Avon (15-50) at Meadow Parks. Glastonbury runners finished in the top-11 spots, led by freshman Brooke Strauss, who won by finishing the 5k course with a time of 18:42. Jackie Caron and Ava Gattinella finished 2nd and 3rd with times of 19:25 and 19:51, followed closely by Jackie Dudus (19:59) and Lucy Bergin (20:04). Sophomore Haley Evans and senior Liv Dickson finished with times of 20:17 and 20:25. Rounding out the top-ten, all with times all under 21 minutes, were GHS runners Kelley MacElhiney (20:40), Sarah Ongley (20:50), and Annika Hurley (20:55). 
 
 
Boys Cross Country Competes at Dual Meet
 
GHS boys’ cross country had its second dual meet of the season on Tuesday, September 21st at Fisher Meadows Park in Avon, finishing just behind Avon and Conard on the extremely fast course. Despite the overall finish, the Guardians had an amazing team race with nearly every runner setting a new personal record over the 5000-kilometer distance.

Senior Joseph Accurso led the way, running a time of 15:58 to finish fourth overall. Accurso was followed by junior Harrison Krause in seventh place and senior Kevin Graziosi in eight place, who ran times of 17:16 and 17:23, respectively. Senior Cody Stone had an unbelievable race, coming in with a time of 17:37 to finish in tenth place and beat his previous best by nearly 50 seconds. A trio of young stars in junior Cameron Colletti, sophomore Troy Giaccone, and junior Dominic Pena rounded out the top seven for the Glastonbury boys by finishing consecutively in 17th, 18th, and 19th places overall. Senior Jackson Stone had a great race as well, running a time of 18:56 to come in 23rd place. He was followed closely by fellow senior Chris Andriola, who crossed the line in 19:12 to earn 24th overall.

​Many younger runners on the team also had incredible performances, such as freshman Austyn Neidal who ran a time of 19:33. Sophomores Jace Lewis and Max Pawelek both ran well, with each finishing in just over 20 minutes. Freshman Caleb Leon had his best run yet, coming in at 20:51 to finish in 46th place. In his first race of the season, sophomore Dylan Vincelette set a new personal best of 22:10. Other runners with strong efforts included freshman Teddy Corey, sophomore James Amirault, and senior Patrick Quinn, with all three achieving the fastest times of their careers.