Spring 2016 Sports Roundup- and What’s Going on with the Turf?

By Matilda Kreider First, you must have noticed that the turf and track at BHS are pretty much… gone. On June 6th, crews began the process of tearing up and replacing the James MacVeigh Athletic Complex’s turf field and track. The $750,000 project should be completed by mid-August, in time for the start of fall sports. The school year has ended, and so have most of the state tournaments for spring sports. Here’s how the Hornets’ seasons turned out.

Girls Lacrosse The girls lacrosse team lost its first game of the season.. and then won the next 12 straight. They posted a regular season record of 14-2 and were seeded #3 in the SCC tournament, although they lost in the semifinal round to #2 seed Cheshire. The team was then seeded #2 in the Class M State Tournament and beat Brookfield and East Lyme before losing 15-6 to #6 New Canaan in the semifinal round. New Canaan went on to win the championship. Girls lax finished with an impressive record of 16-4. Boys Lacrosse The boys lacrosse team split its regular season to end up with a solid 8-8 record. This was enough to give the team a berth into the qualifying round of the Class M State Tournament as the #14 seed, but their season was cut short when they lost 4-3 to Pomperaug, the #19 seed. The boys finished with an 8-9 record and some memorable victories. Boys Tennis Led by eventual state champions Dan O’Neill and Miles Conlin and state finalist Matt Sachs, the boys tennis team had a great season. The team won its first 8 matches straight and then finished with a record of 10-7. Matt Sachs was the runner-up of the Class M singles, losing to Guilford’s Evan Powell in the final round. Miles Conlin and Dan O’Neill beat Eric Benninghoff and Ishan Mirchandani of Weston to win the Class M doubles. With many strong competitors from all grades, the team took 2nd place in the Class M State Tournament.

Girls Tennis  The girls tennis team went 8-9 on the season, posting many great wins along the way. While this wasn’t enough to give them a shot in the Class M State Tournament, they were only one seed away from making it, and it was a great season nonetheless. Girls Track & Field The girls track team had a great run this season, finishing with a 10-1 record, and stood out in the postseason. Finishing 4th at the SCC West Sectional Meet, 7th at the SCC Championship Meet, and 5th at the Class MM State Championship Meet, the team also had many individual winners. Etta Hanlon won the long jump at the West Sectional Meet. Notably, at the Class MM Meet, Claira Janover won the triple jump (35 feet 5 inches) and came in third in the 100 hurdles (16:01), Cyrene Nicholas came in third in the 1,600 meter run (5:22:05), and Bridget Wirtz came in third in the pole vault (9-06). Also, Keira Integlia took fourth in the javelin throw (104-10), Issy Bysiewicz took fifth in the 300 meter hurdles (50.85), Taylor Brown took sixth in the pole vault (9-0), and Gerling Daniels took seventh in the 100 meter dash (12.84). Janover, Nicholas, Wirtz, Integlia, and Bysiewicz all competed in the State Open, and some athletes will compete in the heptathlon and other events this week. Boys Track & Field Having lost a large group of senior runners in the Class of 2015, the boys team had to work even harder this year, finishing with a 4-7-1 record. The team took 6th at the SCC West Sectional Meet, 17th at the SCC Meet, and 20th at the Class MM Meet. Notable standouts included Kory King and Seraphin Tala in the hurdling and jumping events; at the Class MM Meet, King took 2nd in the 110 meter hurdles (15:48) and 7th in the 300 meter hurdles (42.51) and Tala took 8th in the 300 meter hurdles (42:81). King won the 110 hurdles at the West Sectional Meet and will compete in the decathlon this week. Golf In girls soccer coach Jen Kohut’s first season as head coach, the golf team went 14-6 on the season and took 12th in the Division II State Meet. Ryan Sember led the team at that meet by shooting a 79 to come in 9th place. Sember shot an 81 to come in 10th at the SCC Meet, while Liam Deane shot a 92. Other frequent low-scorers included Joe Reilly, Mike Annunziata, and Jason Brennan. Sophomore EJ Lee was the lone girl on the team and consistently performed as the No. 6 shooter.  Sember was given the honor of being a member of the All-State Golf Team.

Softball Having lost 6 senior starters in the class of 2015, the softball team had some rebuilding to do. Freshman Sophia Araneo stepped in on the mound and finished the season with 5 wins under her belt; junior Olivia Datre threw one game against Cross and won that game. After a rough start to the season that left the squad 2-14 in the middle of May, the team pulled together to win its last 4 games and finish at 6-14. While this was not enough to make the state tournament, the team had an exciting last week, including taking 6-2 win over Sheehan after losing 11-2 to the same team earlier in the week. Baseball The baseball team finished the season with a regular season record of 9-11 and was undefeated in Oronoque division play by beating Cross, Career, North Haven, and East Haven twice each. Also notable was a 3-2 victory over Hand early in the season. Facing the #2 seed Hamden- a team having a record season- in the SCC opener, the team dropped a close 5-4 decision. Looking on to the Class L state tournament, the #30 seeded team faced the #3 seed Wilcox Tech but didn’t go down without a fight, losing 3-2. Still, it’s always an exciting season when the team makes both postseason tournaments!