By Steve Bigham

STRATFORD - Running through the woods of Roosevelt Forest in Stratford Wednesday afternoon, Newtown senior Jeff Heller finished first as the NHS cross country team improved its record to 5-1.

Heller’s time of 19:01 would be considered high for most courses, but given the woody conditions, it was right on.

“This was a real cross country course,” noted Coach Rich Pesce, who watched his still-budding squad squeak out a win over Bunnell (26-31) and easily defeat Stratford (15-50) and Weston (15-50).

Newtown’s David Rod (19:45) finished fifth overall, while Ryan Ignatius (20:09), Brandon Kirch (20:16), and Chris DiNoto (20:39) rounded out the Nighthawks’ top five, finishing seventh, 9th and 11th respectively.

Bunnell posed Newtown’s biggest threat by having three runners score among the top 10. However, Newtown’s depth appeared to be the difference as the local runners bunched together and stayed ahead of the pack.

“The challenge for us was to go to a new course and perform well, especially against Bunnell which has two or three good runners,” Pesce said.

The longtime Newtown coach credited Brandon Kirch for stepping it up so far this season. The senior had been a junior varsity runner prior to this season, but was forced into a starring role in his final season.

“He is beginning to show what I had hoped I’d see from him,” Pesce said.

Also finishing among the top 20 from Newtown were Dana Robinson (21:00), AJ Palmer (21:04), Tyler Hull (21:10), Evan Graves (21:44) and Steve Tomasiewicz (22:05), who finished 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th and 20th.

NOTES: Bunnell cross country coach James Brown is a 1987 NHS graduate and was a member of Coach Pesce’s cross country teams during that time . . . Newtown finished seventh at this past weekend’s Wilton Invitational.