NEWTOWN HIGH RECAPS – Wrestlers Finish Fourth In SWC Championship Race

By Kim J. Harmon

A fourth-place finish at the South-West Conference wrestling championships, a surprising 31-point rout of the Bethel High School girls’ basketball team, a dominating win by the hockey team.

Even though winter made a re-appearance with a blizzard-like storm, things looked pretty upbeat last week at Newtown High School.

WRESTLING

Eighth at SWCs; Fourth overall

Lots of people may have been down on the Newtown High School wrestling team back in December, but the Nighthawks proved all their detractors wrong last weekend when they finished fourth in the South-West Conference championship standings.

Powerhouse Bunnell took first 75 points with New Milford – the SWC Tournament champions – coming in second with 69 points. Masuk finished third with 40 points, just head of the Nighthawks and their 31 points.

The ‘Hawks finished just three points ahead of Bethel, which closed out the regular season with a 41-29 win over the ‘Hawks last Wednesday.

Senior co-captain Jeff Lipnick had the best showing for the locals, finishing second at 130 pounds after suffering a first-period pin to Andrew Bogusky of Bunnell. Freshman John Gouveia came in third at 112 pounds, earning a thrilling 5-4 decision over Mikal Grant of New Fairfield. And senior Aadil Ansari finished fourth at 275 pounds after suffering a pin, with two seconds left in the first period, to Mike Danise of Bethel.

The ‘Hawks finished eight at the SWC tournament, but their 7-4 regular season record earned them enough points to finish fourth in the championship chase.

Tournament Results – 1. New Milford 189, 2. Bunnell 145.5, 3. Bethel 129, 4. Masuk 120, 5. Pomperaug 113, 6. Brookfield 106, 7. Stratford 100.5, 8. Newtown 91, 9. New Fairfield 91, 10. Weston 70, 11. Immaculate 28.5, 12. Joel Barlow 20.

SWC Championship results – 1. Bunnell 75, 2. New Milford 69, 3. Masuk 40, 4. Newtown 31, 5. Bethel 28, 6. Pomperaug 21, 7. Stratford 17, 8. New Fairfield 14, 9. Brookfield 10, 10. Weston 4, 11. Joel Barlow 1, 12. Immaculate 0.5.

NOTE: The SWC championship is decided by points accrued for regular season wins as well as placement at the conference tournament.

Individual Results

103 – Anthony Amorando, New Milford, def. Nick Chirantano, Stratford, 14-8. Consolation – Kenny Pancoasast, Masuk, def. Andrew Cronin, Immaculate, 19-2; 112 – Andrew Panetta, Pomperaug, def. Anthony Ricco, Stratford, 6-2. Consolation – John Gouveia, Newtown, def. Mikal Grant, New Fairfield, 5-4; 119 – Marc Halper, Bunnell, def. Edin Mesanovic, New Milford, 6-5. Consolation – Tom Levene, Weston, pinned George Fernandes, Bethel, 4:05; 125 – Spiros Stefanatos, New Milford, def. Mat Kozak, Brookfield, 6-5. Consolation – Jesse Inman, Stratford, def. DJ McCarthy, New Fairfield, 3-1; 130 – Dennis Bogusky, Bunnell, pinned Jeff Lipnick, Newtown, 1:31. Consolation – Micah Flashman, Masuk, def. Pat Porizillo, Pomperaug, 8-0; 135: Dan Makowicki, Bunnell, def. Dave Mack, Pomperaug, 5-4. Consolation – Scot Sullivan, Brookfield, def. Julian Christie, Immaculate, 6-2; 140 – Michael Bellagamba, New Milford, def. Chase Verzello, Pomperaug, 4-0. Consolation – Dylan Wolf, Bethel, def. Steve Flathers, Stratford, 9-5; 145 – Shane Yachulke, New Fairfield, def. Cody Griswold, New Milford, 3-0. Consolation – Josh Mancher, Bethel, def. Walter Ruilova, Bunnell, walk-over; 152 – Jeremy Hodza, Bethel, def. Jamie Pisano, New Milford, 5-3. Consolation – Samuel Molina, Masuk, pinned Joe Wabshinak, New Fairfield, 3:59; 160 – Mike Kaptein, Bethel, def. Gerry Klein, New Milford, 7-0. Consolation – Burak Buyuksolak, Masuk, def. Kyle Ungar, Barlow 10-5; 171 – Anthony Kostek, Bethel, def. Ben Hadden, Brookfield, 3-2. Consolation – David Blackwell, Bunnell, def. David Witterr, Weston, 3-0; 189 – Bill Ryan, Masuk, pinned John Wamser, Brookfield, 1:20. Consolation – Dan Perez, Bunnell def. Baron Jacobs, Pomperaug, 10-4; 215 – Dave Carrubba, New Fairfield, def. Max Beaudry, Brookfield, 4-3. Consolation – Jordan Kannon, Weston, def. Matt Martin, Pomperaug, walk-over; 275 – Tom Ferrell, New Milford pinned Paul Feneroli, Masuk, 5:59 Consolation – Mike Danise, Bethel pinned Aadil Ansari, Newtown, 1:58.

Bethel 41, Newtown 29

135: Jeff Lipnik (N) tech. fall Brandon Lennox 18-2. 140: Dylan Wolf (B) pinned Colin O’Connor 4:55. 145: Josh Monaner (B) dec. Jeff Bray 2-0. 152: Jeremy Hodza (B) maj. dec. Gary Andrews 17-5. 160: Mike Kaptein (B) pinned Jagi Enkhbaatar 5:01. 171: Anthony Kostek (B) pinned Matt Meehan 5:49. 189: Tyler Gazetos (B) maj. dec. Bryant Aliaga 11-3. 215: Joel Minalgo (N) pinned Nate Boyarsky 5:14. 275: Mike Danise (B) pinned Aadil Ansari 5:23. 103: Kimberly Solheim (N) won by forfeit. 112: John Gouveia (N) pinned Eddie Murray :33. 119: George Fernandes (B) dec. Dana Van Buskirk 8-4. 125: Andrew Lischke (B) dec. Mark Bonamici 9-2. 130: Andrew Kmetez (N) won by forfeit.

HOCKEY

Newtown 5, Sheehan 5; Newtown 7, St. Joseph’s 2

The Newtown High School hockey team has struggled to find offense all season long … except for last week, that is.

The Nighthawks exploded for 12 goals and registered a convincing win (7-2 over St. Joseph’s of Trumbull) and a thrilling tie (5-5 with Sheehan) and pushed their record to 3-9-3 overall, 2-7-1 in the South-West Conference.

Sophomore forward Francis Oggeri had four goals and a pair of assists in the offensive onslaught with three of those goals coming in the form of a hat trick against Sheehan. Oggeri now has a team-high 11 tallies and 19 points on the season.

Both Blake Bell and Pat Daly had a pair of goals and an assist in the two games.

“It was great to win,” said head coach Dustin Zima. “The guys really deserved it.”

Against Sheehan, the Titans scored first at the 7:21 mark of the opening period but Joe Brewer answered back a little over three minutes later off an assist from Daly. And then Oggeri, with just 14 seconds left in the period, started his run at the hat trick.

The Titans and the Nighthawks traded goals through the first 10:26 of the second period with Daly, from Brewer, scoring to keep the game knotted at 3-3. But Oggeri scored at 11:54 and 13:45 of the second period to stake the ‘Hawks to a 5-3 lead.

If the locals had any thoughts of pulling away, though, the Titans dashed them with a goal with just eight seconds remaining in the period. And with 1:13 left to play in the game, the Titans scored the equalizer to send the game into overtime.

Mike Jurasek faced 37 shots and turned away 32 to earn the draw.

The ‘Hawks got off to a slow start against St. Joseph’s of Trumbull last Friday, but when the offense got untracked it got untracked in a big way. Three goals in the second period and four more in the third lifted the locals to a 7-2 win.

The Cadets scored first, at 1:09 of the first period, but the ‘Hawks scored three unanswered goals in the second period off the sticks of Oggeri, Bell and Christian Beitel to take a 3-2 lead. After the Cadets opened the third period with a goal, the locals stormed to the final horn on goals by Bell, Max Beitel, Matt Wright and Daly. Wright also had an assist in the onslaught, as did Oggeri, Taylor Casey, Bell and Brewer.

The ‘Hawks out-shot the Cadets, 37-27. It was a rougher game that usual, too, with both teams getting whistled for five penalties.

The locals were slated for a rematch against Sheehan on Wednesday at the Choate School Rink in Wallingford and will host Amity of Woodbridge on Friday at the Danbury Ice Arena. Next week, the ‘Hawks will visit St. Joseph’s and Cheshire to close out the 2005-06 regular season.

Newtown          0              3              4              - 7

St. Joseph’s     1              0              1              - 2

GOALS: Newtown – Blake Bell 2, Francis Oggeri, Christian Beitel, Max Beitel, Matt Wright, Pat Daly. ASSISTS: Newtown – Francis Oggeri 2, Taylor Casey, Matt Wright, Blake Bell, Joe Brewer. SHOTS: Newtown – 39, St. Joseph’s – 24. SAVES: Newtown – Peter Oggeri 22.

Sheehan            1              3              1              0              - 5

Newtown          2              3              0              0              - 5

GOALS: Newtown – Francis Oggeri 3, Pat Daly, Joe Brewer. ASSISTS: Newtown – Pat Daly, Joe Brewer, Taylor Casey. SHOTS: Sheehan – 37, Newtown – 27. SAVES: Newtown – Mike Jurasek 32.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Newtown 61, Bethel 30; Newtown 69, Stratford 27

A couple of blowouts – but one of ‘em was quite unexpected.

After the Newtown High School girls’ basketball team lost to Bethel, 49-48, in the season opener back on December 8 most people probably expected the South-West Conference rematch between Newtown and Bethel last Friday would be just as close.

But it wasn’t.

And the senior co-captains did much of the damage for the Lady Nighthawks as Carly Curran canned 16 points and dragged down five rebounds, Kacy Foehrenbach chipped in nine points and Ciara Simek dropped in five points to lead their team to a convincing 61-30 win.

What made the 31-point rout even more surprising was that it came after the Lady Wildcats upset Notre Dame, 61-59, back on February 7.

“We were all a little nervous,” said Simek, “because we were a little bit worried about that Notre Dame game. But it was Senior Night and our emotions were really up. This was a big game and we knew we had to come out strong.”

The locals exploded off the opening tip and had a 17-4 lead after the first eight minutes. That lead extended to 31-10 at the half and the ‘Hawks simply coasted the rest of the way.

Junior Christie Iwanicki tossed in 12 points to help pace the offense. Senior Casey Frobey dropped in a bucket as Simek and Foehrenbach both knocked down three pointers. Lucy French scored her first varsity points.

Coupled with a 69-27 rout of Stratford on Tuesday, the locals improved to 12-7 overall, 10-5 in the SWC. Only a tilt with Lauralton Hall on Wednesday, after press time, remaining on the schedule with the SWC quarterfinals approaching this weekend.

In the win over Stratford, Curran scored 11 points and Simek added 10 with Kristi Nowak and Katie Condon (with a trio of three-point baskets) tossing in nine points apiece. Ten different players scored for the ‘Hawks, who only had a narrow, one-point lead, at the end of the first period before going on a 21-2 run in the second to blow the game open.

The South-West Conference quarterfinals open this weekend and while seeding was still uncertain at press time, the ‘Hawks were looking forward to the tournament.

“I think right now we’re feeling pretty good about it,” said Simek. “We’re going into it with our heads up, thinking positively, and it’s good knowing that anyone could win it all.”

Newtown 69, Stratford 27

NEWTOWN (69): Ciara Simek 4 2-2 10, Carly Curran 5 0-0 11, Kacy Foehrenbach 2 2-2 7, Christie Iwanicki 1 1-2 3, Kristi Nowak 2 5-6 9, Darcy Fiscella 0 0-0 0, Casey Frobey 3 0-0 6, Morgan Knees 4 0-0 8, Katie Condon 3 0-0 9, Kelley Tenney 2 0-0 4, Lucy French 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 27 10-12 69.

STRATFORD (27): Kaitlin Moran 1 2-2 5, Bonnie Deangelis 4 1-2 9, Shanyka Dumore 1 0-0 2, Alicia Bailey 5 0-0 11, Amanda Aquilino 0 0-0 0, Caitlin Carol 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 11 3-4 27.

Three-pointers: Condon (N) 3, Curran (N), Foehrenbach (N), Moran (S), Bailey (S).

Newtown 61, Bethel 30

BETHEL (30): Tara Nathan 1 3-4 5, Chelsea Schumacher 2 1-4 5, Karen Garrison 0 0-0 0, Sarah Oberhammer 2 1-2 6, Katie Moran 0 0-0 0, Maria LoBalbo , Katie Voorhees 2 0-0 4, Tina Closius 2 0-0 4, Keegan Hackman 1 0-2 3, Niki Usher 1 0-0 3. TOTALS: 11 5-12 30.

NEWTOWN (61): Ciara Simek 2 0-0 5, Carly Curran 7 2-2 16, Kacy Foehrenbach 3 2-3 9 , Christie Iwanicki 3 4-4 12, Kristi Nowak 1 0-1 2, Darcy Fiscella 2 0-2 4, Casey Frobey 1 0-0 2, Morgan Knees 3 1-2 7, Katie Condon 1 0-0 2, Kelley Tenney 0 0-0 0, Lucy French 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 24 9-14 61.

Three-pointers: Simek (N), Foehrenbach (N), Oberhammer (B), Hackman (B), Usher (B).

BOYS BASKETBALL

Bethel 50, Newtown 49; Stratford 59, Newtown 52

Undermanned and under the gun, the Newtown High School boys’ basketball team saw its losing streak extend to six games with a 59-52 loss to Stratford on Tuesday night in the Hawks Nest.

Coupled with a 50-49 loss to Bethel last Friday, the Nighthawks have fallen to 4-13 overall and are facing a brutal trio of games against Bridgeport Central, Notre Dame and Immaculate over the next six days to close out the regular season schedule.

“I’ve never had this in my high school coaching career,” said head coach John Quinn. “No matter what we do, things just don’t go our way. But last night (Stratford) was a great high school basketball game. We just came up short even though the kids just played their hearts out.”

The Red Devils came in sporting a 13-3 record and with a star in Corey Jacobs, but the ‘Hawks – after falling into a bit of a hole in the first period – rallied to take a one-point lead at the half. Despite a game-high 16-point effort from Joe DeVellis and a 12-point effort from Mike Kennedy, though, the ‘Hawks just didn’t have enough firepower to pull off the upset.

Jacobs led the Devils with 14 and Matt Barr added 12. Dave McLaughlin scored eight points for the ‘Hawks and Mike Maher – with a pair of three-pointers – popped in seven.

Last Friday, the locals – who hadn’t won since January 21, when they topped New Fairfield – appeared to be in the groove after crafting a five-point lead through the first half. But a tough showing in the third quarter, where they were out-scored, 18-2, by the Wildcats, had the ‘Hawks looking at an 11-point deficit.

But they rallied and were clinging to a 49-48 lead with 20 seconds to go when Andrew Whitlock dropped in a basket to seal the win for the ‘Cats. Whitlock finished with 19 points on the night, overshadowing a 15-point effort by DeVellis.

The locals had three players in double figures, with McLaughlin tossing in 13 points and Kennedy adding 11. DeVellis and McLaughlin both drained three-point buckets, as did Whitlock for Bethel.

“We have talented kids, but they are young,” said coach Quinn. “We’ll look back on this in a year or two as exactly what it was – a rebuilding year.”

Stratford 59, Newtown 52

STRATFORD (59): Chuck Hatchett 1 0-0 2, Matt Barr 4 0-2 12, Maurice Spain 0 0-0 0, Steve Cannon 1 2-3 4, Corey Jacobs 2 9-12 14, Kwasi Agyeman 1 3-5 6, Tim Martin 0 2-3 2, Jeff Lawrence 2 2-2 8, Stenson Jean Baptiste 0 0-0 0, Matt Cottrell 1 0-0 2, Alan Williams 0 0-0 0, Jon Sellers 4 1-3 9. TOTALS: 16 19-30 59.

NEWTOWN (52): Joe DeVellis 5 5-6 16, Marc Ingerman 0 0-0 0, Mike Kennedy 5 2-4 12, Dave McLaughlin 2 2-2 8, Mike Mitchell 2 0-0 4, Jack Quinn 1 0-0 2, Dan Smith 0 0-0 0, Jason Smith 0 0-0 0, Mike Maher 2 1-2 7, PJ Cochrane 1 1-1 3. TOTALS: 18 11-15 52.

Three-pointers: Barr (S) 4, Lawrence (S) 2, Maher (N) 2, McLaughlin (N) 2, Jacobs (S), Agyeman (S), DeVellis (N).

Bethel 50, Newtown 49

NEWTOWN (49): Joe DeVellis 5 4-6 15, Marc Ingerman 2 0-0 4, Mike Kennedy 3 5-6 11, Dave McLaughlin 5 2-3 13, Mike Mitchell 3 0-2 6, Jack Quinn 0 0-0 0, Dan Smith 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 18 11-17 49.

BETHEL (50): Justin Curtis 3 0-1 6, Will Ferguson 2 0-0 4, Grant Smith 2 3-4 7, Andrew Whitlock 9 0-0 19, Adam Bomberger 0 0-0 0, Justin Bartholomew 3 0-0 6, Kyle Devaney 3 0-1 6, Donnie Walsh 1 0-0 2, Ryan Rose 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 23 3-6 50.

Three-pointers: DeVellis (N), McLaughlin (N), Whitlock (B).

SWIMMING

Newtown 102, Shepaug 82

Finishing off strong.

After stumbling through a two-meet losing streak, the Newtown High School swim team finished off the 2005-06 regular season with a fairly dominating, 102-82, win over non-conference rival Shepaug Valley last week.

Stefan Toi (200 individual medley, 100 breaststroke) and Max Barrett (50 freestyle, 100 freestyle) were double winners while Anthony Fiore (200 freestyle), Nick Maurer (100 butterfly), Scott Whalley (500 freestyle) and Brendan Deveney (100 backstroke) were all solo winners.

The Nighthawks also captured all three relay events.

Now begins the long layoff as the ‘Hawks prepare for the South-West Conference championships on Friday, March 3, at Masuk High School.

Brookfield and Pomperaug appear destined to battle for the top spot while the locals will tussle with New Fairfield to crack into the top three. The ‘Hawks will be sending a full contingent into the SWCs, though head coach Matt Childs hasn’t yet settled on a lineup.

The top Newtown qualifiers in each event are –

200 freestyle (2:15.00) – Deveney 1:52.65, Toi 1:54.03, Barrett 1:56.83, Fiore 1:58.51, Whalley 2:03.72; 200 individual medley (2:42.00) – Toi 2:05.33, Deveney 2:07.09, Fiore 2:14.14, Barrett 2:15.30, Zack Moliver 2:17.82, Mike Parker 2:19.79; 50 freestyle (28.00) – 1. Barrett 23.42, Toi 24.30, Deveney 24.38, Fiore 24.74, Moliver 25.24, Jeff Bonaccorso 25.34; 100 butterfly (1:15.00) – Toi 56.45, Deveney 58.67, Maurer 1:00.37, Moliver 1:01.76, Chris Fragoso 1:05.25; 100 freestyle (1:01.00) – Barrett 51.48, Toi 52.30, Deveney 52.85, Fiore 53.86, Moliver 54.52, Parker 56.77, Kevin Herring 56.97; 500 freestyle (6:25.00) – Deveney 5:03.30, Toi 5:14.36, Fiore 5:27.95, Moliver 5:35.11, Parker 5:43.87, Whalley 5:46.94; 100 backstroke (1:15.00) – Fiore 58.64, Barrett 58.88, Deveney 59.07, Moliver 1:01.65, Parker 1:02.32, Tony Fragoso 1:08.08; 100 breaststroke (1:20.00) – Toi 1:05.74, Deveney 1:06.61, Allen Hubbard 1:10.65, Moliver 1:10.85.

Newtown 102, Shepaug 82

200 medley relay – 1. Newtown (Barrett, Deveney, Toi, Moliver) 1:47.80, 2. Shepaug 1:51.34, 3. Newtown (Parker, Hubbard, Maurer, Herring) 1:52.90; 200 freestyle – 1. Fiore (N) 1:58.51, 2. Walsh (S) 2:10.20, 3. Wright (S) 2:15.53, 4. Diersall (S) 2:16.45, 5. Fragoso (N) 2:17.34; 200 individual medley – 1. Toi (N) 2:10.00, 2. Delvena (S) 2:19.74, 3. Parker (N) 2:19.79, 4. Connelly (S) 2:32.27, 5. T. Fragoso (N) 2:52.51; 50 freestyle – 1. Barrett (N) 23.56, 2. Decker (S) 24.24, 3. Gillespie (S) 25.13, 4. Bonaccorso (N) 25.34, 5. Herring (N) 25.38; Diving – 1. Uniacke (S) 177 points, 2. Reilly (S) 152 points, 3. Jagoe (N) 92.15 points, 4. Bibkowski (N) 91.45 points, 5. Pierce (N) 77.3 points;100 butterfly – 1. Maurer (N) 1:00.37, 2. Moliver (N) 1:01.76, 3. Morse (S) 1:08.05, 4. Wescott (N) 1:16.20, 5. Gillespie (S) 1:20.20; 100 freestyle – 1. Barrett (N) 51.48, 2. Fiore (N) 53.86, 3. Decker (S) 54.13, 4. Parker (N) 58.01, 5. Caridi (S) 58.07; 500 freestyle – 1. Whalley (N) 5:48.44, 2. Anderson (S) 5:59.70, 3. Walsh (S) 6:02.34, 4. Piersall (S) 6:03.08, 5. Rothacker (N) 6:21.68; 200 freestyle relay – 1. Newtown (Herring, Bonaccorso, Fiore, Toi) 1:40.56, 2. Shepaug 1:41.06, 3. Newtown (Maurer, Hubbard, Morlath, O’Connor) 1:47.08; 100 backstroke – 1. Deveney (N) 59.03, 2. Connelly (S) 59.70, 3. Moliver (N) 1:02.40, 4. Delvena (S) 1:07.94, 5. Fragoso (N) 1:08.44; 100 breaststroke – 1. Toi (N) 1:07.70, 2. Hubbard (N) 1:11.37, 3. Braun (S) 1:13.03, 4. Laing (S) 1:19.25, 5. Stein (N) 1:23.34; 400 freestyle relay – 1. Newtown (Barrett, Moliver, Fiore, Whalley) 3:45.29, 2. Newtown (Morlath, Maurer, Parker, Herring) 3:56.11, 3. Shepaug 4:02.19.

INDOOR TRACK

Girls – 16th at Class LL; Boys – 15th at Class LL

After strong finishes at the South-West Conference indoor track and field championships at Wilton High School, the Newtown High School indoor track and field team took on some of the top competition in the state at the CIAC Class LL championships.

The girls finished 16th overall with 6.20 points while the boys finished 15th overall with nine points.

Zach Schwartz had the top Newtown finish on the day, coming in third in the 3,200 meters at 9:41.17, about 14 seconds behind Donald Cabral of Glastonbury. Schwartz is seeded fourth for the CIAC State Open this weekend at the New Haven Athletic Center.

Meanwhile, Chris Nuelle finished sixth in the pole vault with a vault of 10-06; Scott Nichols was sixth in the 600 meters at 1:30.61, about six seconds behind Matthew Miclette of Norwich Free Academy; and the 4x400 relay team finished sixth at 3:47.85, about 15 seconds behind Manchester

On the girls side, Sadie Ball was fourth in the 1,000 meters at 3:14.91, about 12 seconds behind Christina Vogel of Glastonbury; and Alison McEmber was fifth in the 600 meters at 1:45.40, about four seconds behind Emily Heaslip of Ridgefield.