Newtown High School's girls' and boys' track and field teams opened the regular season with meets against Joel Barlow of Redding and New Fairfield, at Blue & Gold Stadium, on a rainy April 19 afternoon and evening. Coaches noted that some of the hand-written results were washed away as a result of the tough weather conditions.

The boys beat Barlow 102-48 and New Fairfield 136-14.

The Nighthawks swept the 110 hurdles. Brett Deri led the way with a time of 16.04, and was followed by Tom Hartley in 17.6, and Jacob Laros in 18.07.

In the field events, highlights included triple jumpers Todd Perrin with a jump of 36-7, Zach Crebbin 36-4, and Tristan Andrews 33-2. In the pole vault competition, Dylan Lew cleared 10-6, Dylan Bartlett 10 feet, and Nik Accousti 7-6. Grant Unfiedt led the way in the javelin throw with a heave of 149-4.5.

The boys competed in the New York Relays at Icahn Stadium in New York City on April 22. Stand out performances: Shuttle hurdle relay of Deri, Laros, Mitchell, and Hartley broke the school record with a time of 1:12.67. Deri beat the school's 400 hurdle record with a time of 59.24. Jack Godfrey was second in the shot-put with a throw of 48-4 and fourth in the discus with a throw of 136-4. Ryan Williams got sixth in the javelin with a throw of 140-2.

The boys went to Masuk of Monroe on April 24 and were beaten by Masuk 95-55, and topped Pomperaug of Southbury 100-50 and Stratford 135.5-15.5.

The 4x800 relay team of Bartlett, Ryan Escoda, Joel Duval, and Christian Lestik finished in a time of 8:31.3 and got first place. Aiden Jasinski cleared 11-6 in the pole vault to earn first, and Dylan Bartlett came in second by clearing 10-6. Deri was first in the 110 hurdles with a time of 16.3. In another standout performance, Crebbin triple jumped 37-10.

In the girls' team's first meet, the Hawks defeated Barlow 114.5-35.5 and New Fairfield 133.5-16.5.

"Captains came through with big wins but it was great team effort as we scored in every event," Coach Rich Marcello said.

Makenna Cerney won the 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles with times of 17.02 and 47.9. Erin Tressler won the 1600 in 5:34. Annika Alexander won the discus with a throw of 91-3.0 Each of these Nighthawks qualified for the state championships. Russo won the triple jump with a 31-3, qualifying for the South-West Conference championships in the process.

The girls went to Pomperaug of Southbury on April 26 for a meet that was postponed the day before. Newtown defeated Pomperaug 104.5-45.5, Stratford 132.5-17.5, and Masuk 131-15 to improve to 5-0.

NHS event winners: Annika Alexander, shot-put 33-.5; discus 99-8. Marley Marston, javelin 92-6. Lauren Russo, pole vault 10-6, triple jump 32-6. Sarah Tressler, high jump 5. Katie Ryan, long jump 15-1.75. Carly Swierbut,100 meter 12.6, 200 meter 26.3. Cerney, 100 hurdles 17.1, 300 hurdles 47.4. Camille Johnson, 800 meters 2:27.7. 4x100 relay, 51.4.