Newtown High School’s girls’ swimming and diving team evened its record at 1-1 with a 99-82 win over visiting New Milford on September 19. The Nighthawks earned first place in nine of the 12 events, taking home second and third in the other three.

The 200 yard medley relay team of Alexa Kwarcinski, Zoe Petertonjes, Grace Fischer, and Diellza Limani was first in 1:56.68, 20 seconds faster than the Green Wave’s second-place quartet.

Newtown went one-two-three in the 200 freestyle as Kwarcinski finished in 2:03.50, Lillian Accettella logged a time of 2:15.07, and Lauren Smiley made her final touch in 2:15.88.

In the 200 individual medley, Zoe Petertonjes was first in 2:19.36 and Fischer came in third in 2:29.51. Newtown also grabbed first and third in the 50 free. Limani won in a time of 27.19 and Ella Seaver finished in 27.89

In diving, Ella Hall had a standout score of 241.10, not far off the pool record score of 280.25, set by Bethel’s Farrah Volpintesta in 2018. Volpintesta has gone on to have a successful career at the University of Southern California and Hall is making a nice splash here in Newtown.

“She’s really come into her own; she’s really exciting to watch,” Newtown Coach Becky Osborne said.

Shannon O’Donnell gave NHS more key points by placing third in the diving competition with her score of 162.85.

The Nighthawks held a 51-27 lead coming out of the diving break and built on their team lead over the course of the meet. Fischer came in second in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:06.73 and Accettella was third in the fly in 1:08.39.

In the 100 free, Petertonjes was first in 56.53 and Limani came in second in 59.78. Anna Shew won the 500, clocking in with all fives in 5:55.55; Angela Wennerholm was third in 6:11.80.

Newtown again went one-three in the next event, the 200 free relay. Kwarcinski, Accettella, Fischer, and Petertonjes won in 1:47.20 and Emily Metzker, Audrey McLean, Noelle Marrazzo, and Maddy Watson had a time of 2:01.89.

In the 100 backstroke event, Seaver was second in 1:09.50 and Smiley placed third in 1:11.29. Kwarcinski won the 100 breaststroke race in 1:11.32 and Shew was second in 1:16.28.

The Hawks were runners-up — narrowly — in an exciting 400 free relay race. Accettella, Smiley, Seaver, and Limani clocked in at 4:03.52; New Milford’s relay contingent finished in 4:03.41. Talk about close. Newtown also grabbed third in the meet’s final event as Watson, Metzker, Wennerholm, and Madelyn Marcisz recorded a time of 4:27.13.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.