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Over the past several years, the Newtown High School athletic program has become a tremendous feeder system for universities and colleges across the country.

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Over the past several years, the Newtown High School athletic program has become a tremendous feeder system for universities and colleges across the country.

Three current NHS athletes are preparing to move on to major Division I programs (Wisconsin, Penn State and Wake Forest) while many more are right now making an impact on the basketball floor, lacrosse field and baseball diamond.

Here is what Allison Frobey, Ron Isler, John Oliver, Chris Body, Lisa Masella, Kelley Haines, Jayme Beckham (all formerly of Newtown High School) and Catherine Maher (formerly of St. Margaret’s-McTernan in Waterbury) have been up to:

A NEW GAME

PLYMOUTH, New Hampshire – The Plymouth State University women’s lacrosse team opened the 2005 season last weekend with a non-conference tilt at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and taking the field for the first time was Allison Frobey of Newtown.

The game was also official debut of new Panther head coach Paula Habel, who took over last fall for Wynne Lobel, who left to become the head coach at Bryant University. After posting one of the best seasons in school history in 2004 (including victories in its first 17 games, a fifth straight conference championship and a visit to the NCAA regional final) Plymouth State will be hard-pressed to match lasts year’s success.

But coach Habel says the team is determined to build on the program’s recent success.

“Although we lost (three) seniors, we have a lot of strong players returning,” said Habel. “We have seven solid people in each end of the field that can do the job. We should be a more balanced team, and I think we have more depth.”

Frobey, a sophomore co-captain last fall with the Plymouth State women’s soccer team, hits the lacrosse field for the first time and coach Habel expects to play Frobey in the defensive midfield with sophomore All-LEC defender Amanda Spadafora, junior Hillary Arthur, freshman Jackie Connerty and senior Katie O’Donnell.

“We want to contend for the Little East Conference championship,” said Habel. “We want to build on what has been accomplished here in the past. I love the work ethic that’s here. I can’t wait to see what we can do. It’ll be exciting.”

The Lady Panthers will play their first five games on the road, including a visit to Western Connecticut State University in Danbury on Sunday, April 3.

A NEW MOUND

WILLIMANTIC – With a tough year at Virginia Wesleyan behind him, pitcher Ron Isler of Newtown has taken his game to Eastern Connecticut State University.

Isler heads to ECSU as a sophomore, but maintains four years of eligibility as a redshirt due to a spring injury. Isler pitched for four years at Newtown High School, winning the MVP award his junior year and earning a selection to the CIAC All-State team as a senior.

Isler also played AAU for the Connecticut Bombers in 2001 and was a three-year member of the Bethel American Legion program and a two-time all-zone selection.

“Ron is a great young ballplayer and a great competitor who will pitch right now with the sub-varsity,” said ECSU coach Holowaty, “but who will hopefully get some work on the varsity.”

TAKING FLIGHT WITH SEAHAWKS

ST. MARY’S CITY, Maryland – One of five Newtown High School boys’ lacrosse players to finish his career with more than 100 goals, John Oliver is now a member of the St. Mary’s men’s lacrosse team in St. Mary’s City, Maryland.

The Seahawks are currently 2-3 (2-1 at home and 0-2 on the road) and Oliver earned his first varsity point (an assist on a first-period goal by Jon Beam) in a 20-5 season-opening win over Wittenberg. Through the first five games, Oliver played in two games and recorded the one assist with one shot on goal. He also registered one ground ball pickup.

A NEW BODY IN THE CAGE

SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts – He spent the past two years defending the cage for the Newtown High School boys’ lacrosse team and now he is doing the same for the Western New England College men’s lacrosse team.

Prior to the start of the season, Chris Body and James Ells (of Cheshire) were considered the top candidates for the starting goalie position but Body started the first two games of the 2005 season, playing 90 minutes, allowing six goals and making 18 saves.

The Golden Bears opened with a 14-5 win over Union (New York) in which Body made 11 saves and followed up with a 13-3 win over Roger Williams in which Body made seven saves (sharing time in the cage with Ells).

Coming off its best season ever, WNEC hopes to challenge for the Pilgrim League tournament title. The Bears were 14-7 a year ago, setting a new school record for wins while capturing the West Division title and finishing second in the Pilgrim League Tournament.

WNEC capped its season by winning the ECAC Division III New England Tournament for the program’s first ever post-season championship.

“This team has some much-needed explosive depth in the offensive end,” said fourth-year coach John Klepacki. “Our defense came together as a unit during our fall scrimmages. The coaching staff is extremely excited about the potential of this group.”

FIRST TEAM, ALL-GNAC

SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts – The top offensive force for the Western New England College women’s basketball team, junior center Lisa Masella of Newtown was rewarded with a spot on the Great Northeast Athletic Conference’s First Team.

Masella – who started all 27 games for the Golden Bears – was a second team All-GNAC selection the last two years and this year led the Bears in scoring (9.8 points per game) and rebounding (9.7 boards per game). She had eight double-doubles and in the ECAC Division III New England Tournament quarterfinals she scored 12 points and dragged down five rebounds in a 64-40 loss to No. 1 seed Brandeis.

The Golden Bears finished the 2004-05 season at 19-8.

Coach Wendy Davis was named GNAC Coach of the Year.

A GOOD START

DURHAM, New Hampshire – The most prolific scorer in Newtown High School girls’ basketball history, Kelley Haines of Newtown enjoyed a nice start to her collegiate career at the University of New Hampshire.

The Wildcats are currently 14-13 in the 2004-05 season and opened the American East Tournament in Hartford last weekend. The ‘Cats opened with a 68-48 win over Albany and moved on to face the University of Hartford (and coach Jen Rizzotti) on Friday.

Haines played 16 minutes in the win over Albany, shooting 3-of-6 from the field (2-of-5 from beyond the three-point arc) and scoring nine points. Haines scored nine points in a game twice before (versus Stony Brook on January 9 and versus the University of Maryland at Baltimore County on January 29), but her personal high thus far is a 10-point effort in a 65-57 loss to Vermont In January.

For the year, Haines has played in 25 games and has scored 113 points (4.5 points per game) while averaging 14.6 minutes of action per game. Haines has shot 40-of-110 from the floor (36.4%), 20-of-64 from beyond the arc (31.3%) and 13-of-22 from the free throw line (59.1%). She has also dished off 13 assists while making 11 steals.

THE END TO A SOLID CAREER

DANBURY – She might not have scored a bunch of points, but Jayme Beckham of Newtown was an integral part of the Western Connecticut State University women’s basketball team and now her collegiate career has come to an end.

The Lady Colonials concluded the 2004-05 season at 12-14. Beckham played in 21 games (starting 17 of those) and averaged 5.1 points per game in an average of 18.9 minutes of action per game. Beckham also registered 24 blocks while averaging 2.9 assists per game and 1.3 steals per game.

A solid 63.3% free throw shooter, Beckham shot 40.2% from the floor.

SPARKING THE LADY BANTAMS

HARTFORD – The Trinity College women’s basketball team may have struggled to a 9-14 record in the 2004-05 season, but Cat Maher of Newtown – former star at St. Margaret’s-McTernan and all-time leading scorer in Waterbury history – had a chance to make an impact.

At SMMcT, Maher was All-League and All-New England all four years and played in the Connecticut All-Star game as a sophomore, junior and senior. In her first year at Trinity, she played in 22 games (starting 13 of those) while shooting 41.4% from the floor, 26.0% from beyond the arc, and 63.6% from the free throw line.

As a sophomore, she played in 22 games (starting 12 of those) while scoring 213 points (9.7 points per game). She shot 83-of-194 from the floor (42.8%), 24-of-80 from beyond the arc (30.0%) and 23-of-30 from the free throw line (76.7%) while grabbing 58 rebounds, dishing off 38 assists and making 22 steals.

SETTING RECORDS

MIDDLEBURY, Vermont – Tim Lux of Sandy Hook sparked the Middlebury College men’s swim team to a second-place finish at the NESCAC Championships in February with three first-place finishes and three new school records.

Lux captured the 50 (26.52), 100 (57.66) and 200 (2:07.16) breaststroke events, setting new school records in the 50 and 100 events.

Lux also competed on the Middlebury 400 medley relay team, which took second at the NESCACs and set a new school record with a 3:25.51 finish.

AT THE NET

GETTYSBURG, Pennsylvania – Caroline Kunkel is a returning letterwinner for the Gettysburg College women’s tennis team.

As a freshman last year, Kunkel split time between No. 4 and No. 5 singles and played primarily at No. 3 doubles. She posted a pair of singles wins last year along with three doubles win over Gettysburg, 4-7 overall.

She made her collegiate debut with a 7-5, 6-3 singles win over Ashley Baker of McDaniel back on March 23, 2004. In the same match, she teamed with Katie Ferraro for her first collegiate doubles win.

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