There were plenty of solid Newtown High School girls’ swim and dive team performances in a hard-fought 96-88 loss to always-tough and visiting Pomperaug of Southbury on September 12.

Newtown’s 200 yard medley relay of Ella Seaver, Zoe Petertonjes, Grace Fischer, and Alexa Kwarcinski was first in a time of 1:53.76.

Kwarcinski won the 200 individual medley race in 2:16.45. Petertonjes took the top spot in the 50 freestyle in 25.81.

Ella Hall was first in the diving competition with a score of 198.4.

Out of the diving break, Petertonjes recorded another win with a time of 1:01.34 in the 100 butterfly race. Kwarcinski was second in the 100 backstroke event, clocking in at 1:03.61.

Newtown’s 200 free relay team of Lillian Accettella, Fischer, Diellza Limani, and Petertonjes was first in 1:47.59.

The Nighthawks had some third-place finishes. Limani was third in the 50 free in 26.86 as well as in the 100 in a time of 58.67. The 200 free relay of Emily Metzker, Maddy Watson, Sierra Marx, and Madelyn Marcisz came in third in 1:58.14. Fischer was third in the 100 breaststroke race in 1:12.99. The 400 free relay of Limani, Seaver, Anna Shew, and Kwarcinski was third in 4:00.26. Shew placed third in the 500, making her final touch in 5:51.16. Diver Shannon O’Donnell also took third.

“We didn’t get the score we wanted but it’s always fun to go against a great team like Pomperaug. They pushed us,” Newtown Coach Becky Osborne said.

“For early in the season we had some great swims and dives. The stuff we need to work on is a lot of little stuff that’s easily fixable,” said Osborne, referring to dives in to begin races, turns, and other small things to fine-tune.

“We have a lot to look forward to this year,” she added.

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