By Kim J. Harmon

BETHEL – Oh, more than a few jaws dropped and more than a few people exclaimed “wow!” when Elise DeRoo of Newtown crossed the finish line at the South-West Conference girls’ cross country championship … ahead of Moira Kenny of Immaculate and Jeanne Theleen of Pomperaug and just a shade over the course record.

But DeRoo was not one of them.

Considering the amount of hard work she started putting in last year, after finishing fourth at the SWCs, an individual title wasn’t so much a surprise as a reward.

“I was a little disappointed last year,” said DeRoo, who set the Pomperaug and Newtown course records this year and cut nearly 90 seconds off her finish from a year ago at the SWCs, “and I think that is what fueled me. I trained really hard and re-dedicated myself to the sport.”

And, boy, did it pay off – not only for her, but for the Lady Nighthawks, who easily won their sixth consecutive conference championship.

“Elise has been so goal-oriented all season,” said head coach Doug Russell. “She was motivated, she trained smart, and she did everything a top class runner should do. I told her to run her race; don’t chase (Kenny or Theleen), but run your race.”

After the first circuit around the lower fields at Bethel High School, DeRoo was cruising about 10 feet behind Kenny. By the time the runners hit the infamous “Beast,” though, things took a turn for the better.

“I wanted to go out and pace them,” said DeRoo, “but I was apprehensive that I would be able to keep up with Moira. But I did so much work and I knew if I could make a move, it would be on the Beast.”

Kenny had the lead when the runners hit the base of the hill, but DeRoo had it when they came back down. And even though she inexorably spread the gap, DeRoo – with the usual look of painful determination on her face – kept striving hard for the finish line and crossed at 15:10.5.

Kenny came in 20 seconds later.

Theleen came in 28 seconds after that.

And once Newtown senior co-captain Jen Brill came in fourth at 16:11.15, the countdown to a sixth straight championship for the Lady Nighthawks was a mere formality. And after Sara Pollock finished seventh, Anne Martino finished 11th and Carolyn Gingras finished 18th, the title was theirs.

“We all came in with thoughts of where we would like to be,” said Brill. “This is a really, really great feeling. But we’re looking for more. We’re always striving to get better and we have such bigger goals in our mind. We’re working for something great.”

The ‘Hawks have lost only one regular season decision in the five-year tutelage of head coach Doug Russell, who took over for former head coach Marsha Caine in 2003, and even though the girls have dominated in the South-West Conference all that time they never once slowed down.

“We set our goals,” said coach Russell, “and we really looked to see what we could do with hard work and commitment and a love for the sport.”

The 2007, though, is far from over as the start of the “second season” is just a couple days away. The locals already are focusing on the CIAC Class LL and CIAC State Open championships and, maybe, a berth in the New England championships.

“In the states it’s a whole different ball game,” said Brill, “but we’ve been doing this for so long we’re pretty confident.”

Next up is the CIAC state championships on Saturday, October 27, at Wickham Park in East Hartford.

TEAMS – 1. Newtown 41, 2. New Fairfield 105, 3. New Milford 115, 4. Immaculate 128, 5. Joel Barlow 148, 6. Pomperaug 159, 7. Weston 183, 8. Bethel 199, 9. Bunnell 223, 10. Brookfield 231, 11. Notre Dame 245, 12. Lauralton Hall 279, 13. Masuk 333.

TOP 25 INDIVIDUALS – 1. Elise DeRoo (Newtown) 15:10.5, 2. Moira Kenny (Immaculate) 15:30.61, 3. Jeanne Theleen (Pomperaug) 15:58.07, 4. Jen Brill (Newtown) 16:11.15, 5. Katie Collins (Immaculate) 16:19.20, 6. Rose Willey (Brookfield) 16:37.74, 7. Sara Pollock (Newtown) 16:47.46, 8. Emma Tobin (Weston) 16:51.53, 9. Sara Lauren (Bunnell) 16:54.27, 10. Holly Ray (Joel Barlow) 16:54.27, 11. Anne Martino (Newtown) 17:13.11, 12. Emily Crnic (New Fairfield) 17:18.07, 13. Kaitlyn Flynn (New Milford) 17:19.48, 14. Kate Doyle (Lauralton Hall) 17:22.10, 15. Laura Hickey (New Fairfield) 17:23.01, 16. Jenny Cahalane (New Milford) 17:25.71, 17. Jen Paradiso (New Milford) 17:25.90, 18. Carolyn Gingras (Newtown) 17:32.43, 19. Jenn Simons (New Fairfield) 17:41.92, 20. Christie Attanasio (Newtown) 17:35.88, 21. Mary Simons (New Fairfield) 17:41.92, 22. Emma Kiefer (Joel Barlow) 17:43.26, 23. Jackie Mancher (Bethel) 17:43.49, 24. Lindsey Russo (Notre Dame) 17:44.79, 25. Lindsay Parshall (Masuk) 17:44.98.

Slow Start Slows

Newtown Boys

Overcoming the hill known as “The Beast” is one thing. Overcoming a slow start is another.

The Newtown High School boys’ cross country team had been in the mix for an SWC title for the past few years but due to heavy graduation losses was forced to take a bit of step back in 2007. That didn’t stop the Nighthawks, though, from looking for a top three finish at the conference championships last week at Bethel.

But it was not to be. A slow start proved a little too much to overcome and the locals took fifth overall behind New Milford, Brookfield, Pomperaug and Weston.

The ‘Hawks defeated Weston by three points during the regular season and only lost to Pomperaug by 13 points.

Kevin Hoyt, who has been a front runner all season long, finished sixth overall at 16:18.35. Mike Levene of Joel Barlow captured first and was followed somewhat closely by Dan DeCrescenzo of New Milford and Taylor Phillips of Brookfield.

David Meyer came in as Newtown’s No. 2, finishing 22nd overall at 17:19.31. Alex DiNoto (28th – 17:35.86), Jordan Reed (30th – 17:38.02) and Tucker Grose (44th – 18:21.81) all figured into the scoring for the locals, who were 10-3 this year.

Next up is the CIAC state championships on Saturday, October 27, at Wickham Park in East Hartford.

TEAMS – 1. New Milford 34, 2. Brookfield 63, 3. Pomperaug 97, 4. Weston 117, 5. Newtown 130, 6. Joel Barlow 132, 7. New Fairfield 162, 8. Immaculate 224, 9, Masuk 254, 10. Bethel 287, 11. Bunnell 327, 12. Notre Dame 381, 13. Oxford 389.

TOP 25 INDIVIDUALS – 1. Mike Levene (Joel Barlow) 15:37.44, 2. Dan DeCrescenzo (New Milford) 15:47.72, 3. Taylor Phillips (Brookfield) 15:57.54, 4. Craig Hunt (New Milford) 16:09.92, 5. Dan Watson (New Milford) 16:12.42, 6. Kevin Hoyt (Newtown) 16:18.35, 7. John Raneri (New Fairfield) 16:26.75, 8. Harrison Katz (Pomperaug) 16:29.57, 9. Mike Marston (Brookfield) 16:36.74, 10. James Moen (Brookfield) 16:37.61, 11. Kyle Anderson (New Milford) 16:43.22, 12. Frank Stewart (New Milford) 16:45.61, 13. Steven Piscatelli (Weston) 16:57.07, 14. Zachary Kraus (New Milford) 17:04.62, 15. Kevin Collins (Brookfield) 17:06.51, 16. Matt Letho (Pomperaug) 17:06.70, 17. Christopher Kalivas (Weston) 17:07.99, 18. Colin McCory (Pomperaug) 17:10.27, 19. Connor Robey (Joel Barlow) 17:12.54, 20. Jake DeLucia (New Fairfield) 17:!6.74, 21. Eric Brenn (Pomperaug) 17:17.67, 22. David Meyer (Newtown) 17:19.31, 23. Mike Viklund (New Milford) 17:20.40, 24. Tim Isselee (Bethel) 17:22.05, 25. Charlie Goldburg (Joel Barlow) 17:33.51, 28. Alex DiNoto (Newtown) 17:35.86, 30. Jordan Reed (Newtown) 17:38.02, 44. Tucker Grose (Newtown) 18:21.81.