As midsummerlike temperatures greeted the cross country team participants for practices in the first week of September, they had cool-weather success on their minds. By the time the late October South-West Conference championships roll around, the 90-degree heat will likely be long gone, and Newtown High School’s runners hope to be leaving many of their competitors in the dust on their way to conference success.

The girls’ and boys’ squads both placed third in the SWC meet a year ago. With five of the top seven participants back in the fold, the girls’ squad is targeting conference bragging rights, or at least being a top contender with a chance to claim first place.

Newtown is led by captains Sarah Mawdsley, Katie Reilly, Julia Faxon, and Caitlin Moss. Mawdsley, an All State runner, finished sixth in the SWC, one place behind teammate Erin Tressler. In addition to that tandem, Emma Bayuk, Maddie Findley, and Kelsey Miller are top-seven runners who return.

Longtime Coach David Foss stepped down to give more attention to his family, and Carl Strait steps in to lead the boys.

“Obviously, I have big shoes to fill,” said Strait, noting that Foss has played a role with the program for more than 20 years.

Strait, the school’s associate athletic director and a physical education teacher, has plenty of running and coaching background. He was an assistant with the cross country team and coached the track squad.

He inherits a lineup that returns four runners from the top seven from last year’s conference championships: Joel Duval, Ethan Burg, Brendan Reeds, and Christian Lestic. The captains for the boys are Vijay Makayee, Joey Conrod, Ethan Burg, and Rich Linley. In addition to these runners, returnees Josh Bent and Dylan Bartlett, along with transfer Riley Rising, will vie for top spots in the lineup.

“I’m really excited. We have a huge number of kids this year,” Strait said as preseason unfolded last week. “I’m really excited about the enthusiasm and energy we have.”

The season starts on Tuesday, September 15, with a home meet as Bethel, New Fairfield, and Weston visit to race the boys beginning at 4:30 pm, followed by the girls’ meet at 5. The competitions will be held at Reed School.

Read more about the cross country squads in the September 11 print edition of The Bee.