Newtown High’s girls’ and boys’ cross country teams are ready to get going and make a strong impression in the South-West Conference this season.

The girls are led by captains Clara D’Amico, Grace Chiriatti, Keira Budge, and Jessica Zhang. Additional top runners in the mix are Grace Lyons, Annabelle Foley, Nadia Andrew, and Britta Petersen.

“Our top ten runners are returners and it’s clear they took summer training seriously and came back well prepared for the season. Our outlook for the season is positive and hope to be one of the top three teams in the SWC and qualify for State Opens as a team,” Caron said.

“Our team has a lot of depth — we have 35 girls on the team who are all willing to put the effort in to improve individually and as a team,” the coach said.

“New Milford and New Fairfield will be our toughest competition. They were 1st and 2nd in the SWC last year and should be this year too,” Caron anticipates.

Newtown’s coach strives for a combination of a great experience and success for the girls.

“Our team is all about making girls feel welcome and a part of the team regardless of how fast they are. The goal is to have each girl improve their time and confidence as a runner by the end of the season. Of course we train to win but it’s more than just winning,” Caron said. “I’m super excited for this season. We have a great group of captains, returning runners, and new runners. I’m excited to see their progress throughout the season and see how far into the fall we can go.”

Boys Have Speed At The Top

Boys’ cross country captains are Adrian Totir, Andrew Arena, Oliver Clancy, Jackson Douglas, Nate Lewis, Soheib Dissa, Noah Masotta, Evan Chaudhary, Charlie Massett, Dan Chomiak, and Miguel Gutierrez.

Key returnees are Dissa, Masotta, Andrew Arena, Steven Sibley, and Brian Sibley. Among the newcomers Coach Carl Strait expects big things from is freshman Orion Lowery, whom he anticipates making an immediate impact and working into the top five.

Strait’s outlook is not different than in past years: “Train, compete, improve every week, become better athletes, better students, and better people,” he said. “This group is going to be a lot of fun to watch. We have a lot of speed at the top in Soheib and Noah but then we have 35 other guys scrambling to pick up the 3, 4 and 5 spots for scoring. It’s been a great start to the season — definitely looking to be one of the top three teams in the league.”

The season begins for both squads Tuesday, September 12, with a visit to Pomperaug of Southbury to race the Panthers and Immaculate of Danbury — the boys at 4:30 followed by the girls at 5 pm. Newtown’s teams host Brookfield, Bunnell of Stratford, and New Fairfield Tuesday, September 19 at 4:30 and 5 o’clock. The home meet is on the trails adjacent to Reed Intermediate School.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.