Indoor Track

‘Hawks

Seek 4th

SWC Title

By Kim J. Harmon

History could be in the making come Saturday – as if things haven’t been historic enough already, mind you.

See, the Lady Nighthawks will be heading to Staples High School in Westport on Saturday to seek their fourth consecutive South-West Conference indoor track championship.

That’s FOURTH consecutive.

And, at the same time, co-captain Janelle Tracy will be seeking her fourth consecutive individual title in the 50-meter dash.

That’s FOURTH consecutive.

Whoa.

The South-West Conference meet will be held Saturday,_January 29, at 4:30 pm, at Staples High School in_Westport.

“The girls will be in the thick of it,” said head coach Dave Foss. “Everything has to go their way, but they have a good shot at defending their title. I think we can get a lot of the first- and second-place points, so it’s a matter of how the third-, fourth-, and fifth-place points get split up.”

Coach Foss expects the major competition to come from New Milford and possibly even Lauralton_Hall, although he said it was difficult to evaluate teams from the few SWC_Developmental meets there were.

After Tracy attempts to lock up another title in the 50-meter dash, she will move on to the 300-meter race for an attempt at another individual title. Coach Foss is also looking to Laurie Miller (long jump), Cassie Shewmaker (500-meters), Erin Kostecki (800- and 1,600-meters) and the 4-by-400 and 4-by-240 relay teams to possibly grab some first-place points.

While the girls are strong up front and will have to fight for the back end points, it will be a matter of opposites for the boys. The strength of the boys’ team doesn’t lie so much in the front line, but in the ability to capture many of the thirds, fourths, fifths, and sixths.

“They should be reasonably competitive,” said coach Foss. “If the first-place finishes get split up, we have a lot of kids who can get a second, third or fourth, and that could help us a lot.”

Coach Foss things Vinny Nitopi is Newtown’s best shot at a first-place title in the shot put. He will also look to Chris Carolan in the 1,000-meter run and David Rod in the 800-meter race for high finishes.

“I’m looking for a couple kids to break out,” he said.

The 4-by-800, sprint medley, 4-by-400 and 4-by-240 relay teams should also score good points, coach Foss said.