By Kim J. Harmon

A lot of different athletes had a hand in bringing the Newtown High School sports program a lot of success this past week (seven wins in nine contests), but if one wants to take a closer look there are five names to start with.

Joe DeVellis.

Gary Andrews.

Mike Kennedy.

Jeff Bray.

Christy Iwanicki.

DeVellis and Kennedy helped lead the boys’ basketball team to an easy win over New Milford, Christy Iwanicki helped carry the girls’ basketball team over New Milford, and Jeff Bray and Gary Andrews helped lead the wrestling team to a quad meet sweep of Immaculate, Brien McMahon and Thomaston on Saturday morning.

For their exploits and more, read on –

WRESTLING

New Fairfield 38, Newtown 36

Newtown 66, Immaculate 9

Newtown 54, McMahon 22

Newtown 58, Thomaston 19

Three days after an agonizing loss to New Fairfield had it questioning its competitiveness, the Newtown High School wrestling team reeled off three quad meet wins over Immaculate, Brien McMahon and Thomaston to run its record to 7-5 overall.

The loss aside, the superb performance on Saturday left head coach Al Potter one shy of his 100th career win.

“We should never have lost this meet,” coach Potter said after falling, 38-36, to New Fairfield last Wednesday in New Fairfield. “We will have to make some adjustments to become a more competitive team.”

The Nighthawks were better than simply competitive last Saturday … they were more like dominant, overwhelming, overpowering and simply tremendous. The locals won by counts of 66-9 (over Immaculate), 54-22 (over Brien McMahon) and 58-19 (over Thomaston).

Last Wednesday, though, the ‘Hawks had a 36-27 lead over the Rebels heading into the final two weight classes but lost that lead when Jeff Bray was pinned at 145 pounds and Gary Andrews suffered a 16-1 technical fall decision to Joe Wabshinak at 152 pounds.

The meet started at 160 pounds and after four classes – with the locals suffering a couple of pins – Newtown was in a 15-3 hole. But Aadil Ansari (275), John Gouveia (112) and Dana Van Buskirk (119) reeled off pins as Kim Solheim (103) earned a forfeit win and all of a sudden the Nighthawks were ahead 27-15.

After Jeff Lipnick decisioned Shawn Gallagher at 130 pounds and Colin O’Connor earned a forfeit win at 140 pounds, the ‘Hawks seemingly had control of the meet.

But that control was fleeting.

The weekend, however, belonged to the Nighthawks.

Bray (145 pounds) and Andrews (152 pounds) had terrific performances, each going 3-0 with three pins and while Bray needed just 3:46 to accomplish his feat Andrews needed just 5:00 to accomplish his.

Meanwhile, Gouveia (112) was 3-0 with a couple of pins while Van Buskirk (119) and Lipnick (130) were each 3-0 with a pin. Bryant Aliaga (189) was also, technically, undefeated on the day but neither Thomaston, Immaculate or Brien McMahon were able to put a wrestler up against him.

Mark Bonamici (125) and O’Connor (140) registered two pins apiece on Saturday.

The ‘Hawks were in Brookfield on Wednesday trying to get coach Potter his 100th career win and will be at the Morgan Duals on Saturday.

New Fairfield 38, Newtown 36

160: TJ Silva (NF) dec. Jagi Enkhbaatar 7-2; 171: Mike See (NF) pinned Kenny Cardelle, 4:20; 189: Bryant Aliaga (N) dec. Chris Annese 10-8; 215: Dave Carrubba (NF) pinned Joel Minalgo, 2:48; 275: Aadil Ansari (N) pinned Jim Wild, 5:47; 103: Kim Solheim (N) won by forfeit; 112: John Gouveia (N) pinned Mikhail Grant, 3:14; 119: Dana Van Buskirk (N) pinned Jimmy Klecker, 5:48; 125: DJ MacCarthy (NF) pinned Mark Bonamici, 3:23; 130: Jeff Lipnick (N) dec. Shawn Gallagher, 10-3; 135: Ben DiFabbio (NF) pinned Andrew Kemetz, 3:21; 140: Colin O’Connor (N) won by forfeit; 145: Shane Yachulke (NF) pinned Jeff Bray, 3:19; 152: Joe Wabshinak (NF) tech. fall Gary Andrews, 16-1.

Newtown 66, Immaculate 9

140: Colin O’Connor (N) pinned Bugess, 1:45; 145: Jeff Bray (N) pinned Fitzgerald, 1:30; 152: Gary Andrews (N) pinned A. Salola, 1:52; 160: Jagi Enkhbaatar (N) pinned Tim Salola; 171: Ken Cardelle (N) dec. Hadaad, 13-11; 189: Bryant Aliaga (N) by forfeit; 215: Joel Minalgo (N) by forfeit; 275: Aadil Ansari (N) by forfeit; 103: A. Crownin (I) dec. Kimberly Solheim, 20-14; 112: John Gouveia (N) pinned Frank; 119: Dana Van Buskirk (N) dec. Curtis, 6-2; 125: Mark Bonamici (N) pinned Sorcuk; 130: Jeff Lipnick (N) by forfeit; 135: Cristy (I) pinned Andrew Kemetz.

Newtown 54, McMahon 22

145: Jeff Bray (N) pinned Chris Leony, 1:38; 152: Gary Andrews (N) pinned Scott Tizzano, 1:23; 160: Jagi Enkhbaatar (N) major dec. Tim Phillips, 19-11; 171: Mike Bohannor (M) pinned Matt Meehan, 3:16; 189: Bryant Aliaga (N) by forfeit; 215: Joel Minalgo (N) pinned Israel Quardado, 2:19; 275: Edwin Agusto (M) pinned Aadil Ansari, 1:31; 103: Mike Edwards (N) major dec. Kim Solheim, 13-0; 112: John Gouveia (N) by forfeit; 119: Dana Van Buskirk (N) pinned Sean Fields, 5:39; 125: Mark Bonamici (N) pinned Vincent Lapino, 1:10; 130: Jeff Lipnick (N) tech. fall Chris Cifro, 17-1; 135: Mitch Rucinski (N) dec. Dan Keegan, 9-8; 140: Han Lee (M) pinned Colin O’Connor, 2:42.

Newtown 58, Thomaston 19

152: Gary Andrews (N) pinned Mike Clanzio, 1:45; 160: Justin Chapman (T) dec. Jagi Enkhbaatar, 7-3; 171: Brad Hackett (T) pinned Kenny Cardelle, :29; 189: Bryant Aliaga (N) by forfeit; 215: Joel Minalgo (N) by forfeit; 275: Aadil Ansari (N) by forfeit; 103: Andrew Duncan (T) major dec. Kim Solheim, 14-4; 112: John Gouveia (N) pinned Joe Walsh, 3:28; 119: Dana Van Buskirk (N) major dec. Conor Hackett, 12-1; 125: Chris Bardel (T) pinned Mark Bonamici, 1:34; 130: Jeff Lipnick (N) pinned Francis Geleda, :36; 135: Mitch Rucinski (N) pinned Kenny Martinik, 1:22; 140: Colin O’Connor (N) pinned Colin Platt, 2:23; 145: Jeff Bray (N) pinned Rich Rosa, :38.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Newtown 68, New Milford 50

The moment Joe DeVellis’ three-point basket slipped through the nylon the Newtown High School boys basketball team was in almost total control of its South-West Conference tilt with New Milford last week.

Sure, the Nighthawks trailed briefly at the start of the game and then twice more inside the first eight minutes, but with DeVellis tossing down 29 points and Mike Kennedy racking up a double-double (16 points and 11 rebounds) the locals coasted to a 68-50 win to improve to 3-5 overall, 1-3 in the SWC.

The ‘Hawks were in such control that freshman Jake DeVellis and sophomore PJ Cochrane saw their first varsity minutes with DeVellis also scoring his first varsity points. Cochrane earned his spot through his efforts in practice and on the floor for the junior varsity squad.

After the elder DeVellis dropped in his three to start the scoring for Newtown, Dave McLaughlin popped in a three-pointer and Mike Mitchell canned a couple of short hoops and the locals had a 14-9 lead at the first break.

In the second, DeVellis went 4-for-4 from the free throw line, tossed in a pair of mid-range jumpers, and buried his second three-pointer of the game. Kennedy had two strong inside moves and notched five points in the quarter to help the locals take a 35-26 lead at the half.

Kennedy then scored the first six points of the third period (four on a pair of putbacks) as the ‘Hawks opened up a 15-point lead. After a DeVellis bank shot and a inside drive by Kevin Troy near the end of the quarter that lead expanded to 17.

The Green Wave did not get closer than 13 the rest of the way … and that was early in the fourth period. The ‘Hawks scored 19 points in the final quarter – 11 of those coming from DeVellis and three more coming from Danny Smith, who scored all five of his points in the game from the free throw line.

The locals were in Southbury on Wednesday to take on Pomperaug and will be back home on Friday to host Joel Barlow. Next Tuesday, the ‘Hawks will be in Stratford to take on Bunnell with the hopes of avenging a 56-53 loss suffered at the hands of the Bulldogs back on January 9.

Newtown 68, New Milford 50

NEW MILFORD (50): Andy Schlemmer 5 3-5 13, William Chavarria 2 0-0 4, Cody Norlander 5 7-10 18, Chris Allen 1 0-2 3, Frankie O’Brien 0 0-2 0, Nick Paradiso 2 0-3 4, Nate Stenabaugh 0 0-0 0, Chris Russo 0 1-2 1, Xavier O’Rourke 1 2-4 4, Andrew Ventresca 1 0-0 3 Scott Rossell 0 0-2 0. TOTALS: 17 13-30 50

NEWTOWN (68): Shawn Coakley 1 0-0 2, Joey DeVellis 11 5-6 29, Marc Ingerman 0 0-0 0, Mike Kennedy 6 4-6 16, Dave McLaughlin 1 3-4 6, Mike Mitchell 2 1-4 5, Jack Quinn 0 0-0 0, Dan Smith 0 5-6 5, Jason Smith 0 0-0 0, Kevin Troy 1 0-0 2, Jake Devellis 1 1-2 3, PJ Cochrane 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 23 19-28 68.

THREE-POINTERS: DeVellis (N) 2, McLaughlin (N), Norlander (NM), Allen Ventresca (NM).

SWIMMING

Newtown 102, Holy Cross 79

Newtown 98, Bun-Strat 81

A small pothole in the road.

That’s all the loss to Pomperaug, back on January 4, must have been to the Newtown High School swim team because it rebounded with easy wins over Holy Cross of Waterbury (102-79) and Bunnell-Stratford (98-81) to run its record to 5-1 overall, 3-1 in the South-West Conference.

Holy Cross has long been one of the stalwarts of the Naugatuck Valley League, but the locals made short work of the Crusaders as Max Barrett and Brendan Deveney were double winners – Barrett in the 200 individual medley and 100 freestyle and Deveney in the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke.

Zack Moliver (200 freestyle) and Anthony Fiore (500 freestyle) were solo winners while the 200 medley relay foursome of Fiore, Stefan Toi, Barrett and Deveney and the 200 freestyle relay foursome of Barrett, Jeff Bonaccorso, Nick Maurer and Toi also earned first-place finishes.

Against Bunnell-Stratford on Tuesday afternoon, Barrett (200 freestyle), Anthony Fiore (200 individual medley), Bonaccorso (50 freestyle), Toi (100 butterfly), Moliver (500 freestyle) and Mike Parker (100 backstroke) were all winners.

The 200 medley relay foursome of Deveney, Toi, Maurer and Moliver captured first as did the 200 freestyle relay foursome of Barrett, Fiore, Toi and Deveney.

The Nighthawks will host Weston on Tuesday and will host Bunnell-Stratford next Friday. Both meets will start at 7 pm.

Newtown 102, Holy Cross 79

200 medley relay – 1. Newtown (Fiore, Toi, Barrett, Deveney) 1:50.18, 2. Newtown (Parker, Hubbard, C. Fragoso, Bonaccorso) 1:58.11, 3. Holy Cross 2:05.41. 200 freestyle – 1. Moliver (N) 2:04.05, 2. Whalley (N) 2:04.50, 3. Dildort (HC) 2:08.29, 4. Kiernaran (HC) 2:08.32. 200 individual medley – 1. Barrett (N) 2:15.30, 2. Dinwinkle (HC) 2:17.04, 3. Maurer (N) 2:27.27, 4. Fragoso (N) 2:36.76. 50 freestyle – 1. McKenna (HC) 23.59, 2. Schwiddle (HC) 24.23, 3. Toi (N) 24.30, 4. Fiore (N) 25.43, 5. Bonaccorso (N) 25.68. Diving – 1. Natale (HC) 197.4 points, 2. Mulhall (HC) 168.7, 3. Hoagland (N) 128.25, 4. Bobkowski (N) 111.05, 5. Jagoe (N) 96.8. 100 butterfly – 1. Deveney (N) 58.67, 2. McKenna (HC) 59.72, 3. Schwiddle (HC) 1:00.12, 4. Maurer (N) 1:01.34, 5. Fragoso (N) 1:08.10. 100 freestyle – 1. Barrett (N) 51.53, 2. Dilport (HC) 54.8, 3. Parker (N) 56.77, 4. Dinwinkle (HC) 57.25, 5. Hubbard (N) 57.70. 500 freestyle – 1. Fiore (N) 5:27.95, 2. Moliver (N) 5:44.38, 3. Whalley (N) 5:47.21. 200 freestyle relay – 1. Newtown (Barrett, Bonaccorso, Maurer, Toi) 1:39.40, 2. Newtown (Rothacker, C. Fragoso, Herring, Hubbard) 1:48.71, 3. Holy Cross 1:51.63. 100 backstroke – 1. Deveney (N) 59.27, 2. Parker (N) 1:03.64, 4. T. Fragoso (N) 1:09.66.

Newtown swam the final two events unofficially

 

Newtown 98, Bunnell-Stratford 81

200 medley relay – 1. Newtown (Deveney, Toi, Maurer, Moliver) 1:53.67, 2. Newtown 2:01.85, 3. Bunnell-Stratford 2:02.37. 200 freestyle – 1. Barrett (N) 1:57.24, 2. Whalley (N) 2:06.36, 3. Ratcliffe (N) 2:20.36, 4. Patrella (B-S) 2:21.00, 5. Patel (B-S) 2:31.32. 200 individual medley – 1. Fiore (N) 2:14.14, 2. Parker (N) 2:24.42, 3. M. Mudre (B-S) 2:33.82, 4. Miller (B-S) 2:36.22, 5. Fragoso (N) 2:36.22. 50 freestyle – 1. Bonaccorso (N) 25.61, 2. D. Dupuy (B-S) 25.98, 3. Herring (N) 26.25, 4. Maurer (N) 26.57, 5. Bempke (B-S) 28.96. Diving – 1. Sobel (B-S) 211.40, 2. Romaniello (B-S) 108.85, 3. M. Hoagland (N) 100.854, 4. Cedegren (N) 87.80, 5. Bierce (N) 81.15. 100 butterfly – 1. Toi (N) 57.84, 2. Morlath (N) 1:12.68, 3. J. Stevens (B-S) 1:14.5, 4. Dlugos (B-S) 1:16.25, 5. Parker (N) 1:18.65. 500 freestyle – 1. Moliver (N) 5:25.11, 2. D. Dupuy (B-S) 5:42.58, 3. M. Mudre (B-S) 6:02.37, 4. Ratcliffe (N) 5:42.88. 200 medley relay – 1. Newtown (Barrett, Fiore, Toi, Deveney) 1:37.93, 2. Newtown 1:50.44, 3. Bunnell-Stratford 1:53.72. 100 backstroke – 1. Parker (N) 1:03.95, 2. K. Petrella (B-S) 1:07.27, 3. E. Gram (B-S) 1:16.25.

Newtown swam the final two events unofficially

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Newtown 58, New Milford 52

There was a time – not all that long ago – when New Milford was one of the weak sisters of South-West Conference girls’ basketball.

Not anymore.

The Newtown High School girls’ basketball team made the trip down Route 7 last week knowing that the Green Wave was vastly improved and boasting a couple of the finest players in the SWC – Meg Johnson and Cassie Novicki. But the Lady Nighthawks have been pretty good, too, and with Christy Iwanicki scoring a game-high 24 points they were able to grab a 58-52 win.

Iwanicki drained three three-point baskets on the night and her effort helped offset the efforts of Johnson and Novicki, who combined for 37 points and eight three-point baskets to lead the Green Wave. Ciara Simek and Morgan Knees had nine points apiece for the ‘Hawks and, together, went 10-of-11 from the free throw line while Kristi Nowak popped in seven points.

The win helped the locals improve to 6-4 overall, 5-2 in the South-West Conference.

After a game Tuesday with New Fairfield was postponed in anticipation of foul weather, the ‘Hawks battled a tough Pomperaug team on Wednesday in a contest postponed from last week. The locals will be in Redding on Friday to take on Joel Barlow (a team the girls beat 58-47 earlier in the season) and will return home on Tuesday to host Bunnell.

Newtown 58, New Milford 52

NEWTOWN (58): Ciara Simek 2 5-6 9, Carly Curran 2 0-0 4, Kacy Foehrenbach 2 1-2 5, Christie Iwanicki 8 5-10 24, Kristi Nowak 2 3-6 7, Darcey Fiscella 0 0-0 0, Casey Frobey 0 0-0 0, Morgan Knees 2 5-5 9, Lauren Ciccomascolo 0 0-0 0, Katie Condon 0 0-0 0, Kelley Tenney 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 18 19-29 58.

NEW MILFORD (52): Jess Richardson 0 5-9 5, Kathy Sovero 2 3-6 7, Meg Johnson 9 0-0 22, Emma Crowcroft 0 2-3 2, Cassie Novicki 5 1-2 15, Sarah Cooper 0 1-1 1, Jackie Lindo 0 0-0 0, Jen Galligan 0 0-0 0, Sam Doherty 0 1-2 1. TOTALS: 16 12-22 52.

THREE-POINTERS: Novicki (NM) 4, Johnson (NM) 4, Iwanicki (N) 3.

HOCKEY

Guilford 5, Newtown 2

It started out okay.

It just didn’t end up okay.

Things looked pretty good when Justin Pacheco scored off an assist from Joe Brewer at the 6:24 mark of the first period to give the Newtown High School hockey team a 1-0 lead over non-conference foe Guilford last week at the East Haven Rink.

But the Indians scored a couple of first-period goals to surge into the lead and never looked back while dropping the Nighthawks, 5-2.

With the loss, the locals fell to 2-5-2 overall and 2-4-1 in the South-West Conference.

After Pacheco notched his goal (his third of the season), Guilford answered back at the 10:17 and 13:23 marks to take a 2-1 lead. Then, just 44 seconds in the second period, the Indians scored again to take a 3-1 lead. A little over eight minutes after that, Francis Oggeri notched his fourth goal off an assist from Blake Bell to pull the ‘Hawks to within one.

But the Indians answered back at the 12:07 mark of the second period with an insurance goal and then added an irrelevant goal with two seconds left in the game.

Newtown goaltender Pete Oggeri faced 44 shots on the night and turned away 39 of them. While his record between the pipes is a modest 2-3-1, the senior co-captain has made 239 saves with a 3.00 goals-against average and .929 save percentage.

The ‘Hawks hosted New Fairfield on Wednesday and will host New Milford next Wednesday at the Danbury Ice Arena. The puck drops at 5:10 pm next week.

Guilford 5, Newtown 2

GOALS: Newtown – Justin Pacheco and Francis Oggeri. ASSISTS: Newtown – Joe Brewer and Blake Bell. SHOTS: Newtown – 20; Guilford – 44. SAVES: Newtown – Pete Oggeri 39.