By Kim J. Harmon

MONROE – A strong routine, featuring lots of tumbling and a difficult stunt, wasn’t enough to carry the Newtown High School cheerleading squad to a South-West Conference championship.

The annual cheerleading event was held Saturday afternoon at Masuk High School in Monroe and 11 SWC teams competed – but the Lady Nighthawks, suffering a 24-point deduction due to alignment problems in their pyramid, finished fifth overall.

Bunnell took the trophy home, finishing first ahead of Pomperaug and Masuk.

“It’s disappointing,” said co-captain Noreen Barrett, “because we thought we were amazing.”

Barrett captains the team with Kate LeVasseur while Heather Bernhardt and Stacy D’Amico are the co-coaches. Seniors include Bria Innaurato, Christina Matsis, Lauren Egdahl and Melissa Shepard. Juniors are Courtney Sullivan, Lauren Nute, Christina Bell, Jessica Shepard, Alyssa Stendahl, Jess Dugan, Nikki Beatty, Vanessa Hansen and Leah Fahey; sophomores are Alysa DeSimone, Jennah Fahey and Kelly Burch; and freshmen are Maura McDade, Belle Hydock, Stephanie Mitchell, Victoria Summerlin, Genna Rossi and Meghan Dolyak.

The unit will be returning to the National Cheerleading Championships in Orlando, Florida next week.