Newtown High School’s boys’ swimming and diving team, sparked by Tommy Horan’s record-setting backstroke effort, put forth a strong all-around effort in a 97-75 win over visiting New Milford, on January 14.

Horan broke the NHS pool record in the 100 yard backstroke event, making his final touch in a time of 56.32.

“It feels good. I’ve been doing a lot more during practice — working on my kick outs and my flip turns,” Horan said.

All of the Nighthawks have been working hard in practice of late, especially, leading to some fast times in the pool in the team’s third meet of the season and first in a week and a half.

“Today was a good day because we had probably our four or five hardest practices of the season,” leading into the meet,” Newtown Coach Zach Gauvin said.

Newtown had a little extra, unexpected, practice time because the meet — originally scheduled for Tuesday — was postponed due to New Milford school travel restrictions resulting from anticipated snow that turned out to be not much more than a dusting.

Despite having endured increased yardage in practices of late, the swimmers stepped up and recorded strong swims across the board. In addition to Horan’s performance, several Nighthawks stood out. Gauvin noted that Owen Gray and Xavier Williams both finished their 100 yard freestyle races in under one minute — Gray clocking in with a time of 56.47 and Williams finishing in 59.34 to finish first and second, respectively.

Additionally, Mike Annesley finished his leg of the final event of the day, the 400 free relay race, in under a minute. Annesley helped the contingent, also comprising Williams, Gray, and Horan, finish in 3:51.15. The relay squad had the fastest time but Newtown exhibitioned the final three events — the back, 100 breaststroke, and 400 relay — after locking down the team victory following the 200 free relay race.

Williams and Annesley are freshmen and have made quick progress for the Hawks, Gauvin notes.

Newtown had first-place outcomes or, in the case of exhibitions, best times in each of the 12 events. The Nighthawks kicked off the meet with a first-place result in the 200 medley relay as the team of Horan, Caelen Ritter, Annesley, and Gray placed first in 1:53.83.

Peter Fagerholm won the 200 freestyle race in a time of 1:56.85. Ritter and Annesley had a one-two finish in the 200 individual medley with times of 2:23.45 and 2:25.12. Matt Kretz was first in the 50 free, sprinting to a finish in 27.14, narrowly edging New Milford’s Raj Kandhari, whose time was 27.19. Newtown’s Conrad Reilly was close behind, placing third, in 27.47.

The swimmers took a break for the diving competition, and Newtown continued its success as Kyle Gaynor won with a score of 232 and Ian Humber was second with 190.

In the 100 butterfly race, Horan took the top spot, making his final touch in 1:03.98. After Newtown’s strong showing in the 100 free, the Hawks sealed the win with a one-two-three outcome in the 500 freestyle event. David Lawrence was first in 5:33.48, Annseley was runner-up in 5:48.34, and Ritter was next in 6:12.31.

Williams, Fagerholm, Brandon Qiao, and Gray were first in the 200 free relay race, with a time of 1:32.97. The relay team of Sean MacMullan, Reilly, Jack Swanson, and Chris Hiteshew was second in 1:55.00.

After Horan’s backstroke win, Fagerholm had the best time in the 100 breaststroke, with a time of 1:13.29; Lawrence was next in 1:13.97, followed by MacMullan in 1:16.03.

Gauvin came into the campaign with the goal of having all 23 of his team members qualify for postseason, something he’s yet to have happen in his 11 years of coaching. Most of the team members have already qualified for the South-West Conference and/or Class LL State championships, and Gauvin notes that although the team has six meets remaining, it is about halfway through the campaign with practices and training considered.

“We’re getting closer,” Gauvin said. “They’ve just got to keep going — keep at it every day.”