Newtown High School’s cross country team members put their best feet forward in the South-West Conference Championships, at Bethel High, on October 18. The top overall finisher in the boys’ race was Soheib Dissa, clocking in with a time of 15:46. Noah Masotta finished 15th and also earned All SWC accolades.

In the girls’ race, the Nighthawks placed third as a team with 72 points (New Milford won with 29 and New Fairfield was second with 49). The Hawks were led by Keira Budge in seventh and Clara D’Amico in tenth (both All SWC First Team selections) along with Grace Lyons, 13th, and Grace Chiriatti, 17th (both All SWC Second Team honorees). Britta Petersen was 25th in 22:37, Jessica Zhang 26th in 22:41, and Annabelle Foley came in 30th in 23:15.

In the JV race, Nadia Andrew was first overall in 23:04 and Kate Hugo placed fifth in 24:50 as the Nighthawk JV squad took first. Alison Bottine was seventh in 25:08, Alexa Young eighth in 25:13, and Madeline Britton tenth in 25:18 in the JV race.

Dissa’s win was something special, Coach Carl Strait noted.

“What we all witnessed on Wednesday was an individual performance that will go unmatched for a long time. There were a lot of moving pieces to make it all happen. It started last year with a commitment to be better. Lots of commitment, transportation, and sacrifices from his family. Teammates had to step up to help him train. It was more than just 15 minutes of fame. It was a months-long journey to get to Wednesday,” Strait said.

“Soheib still had to perform. He had a plan and he executed that plan perfectly. There were a lot of moving parts. There were a lot of people involved. It wasn’t a given at all. We were all so proud,” said Strait, who added that Dissa got plenty of support when he was recognized with his medal following the meet. “To hear the crowd chanting his name when he was called up, it was surreal. Couldn’t be more proud of Soheib —can’t wait to see him race a couple more times this year.”

The boys placed sixth as a team with 143 points; New Milford ran away with the title with a low point total of 43. Dissa’s time was well ahead of second-place Collin Walsh of New Milford, who clocked in at 16:05.

Newtown’s Andrew Arena placed 31st in a time of 18:30, Stephen Sibley was 46th in 18:53, Shawn Cardamone was 50th in 19:10, Adrian Totir came in 53rd in 19:13, and Orion Lowery was 59th in 19:27.

In the JV race, Newtown’s boys placed third behind Brian Sibley in fourth in 18:53, Evan Chaudhary in sixth in 19:20, and Trevor Saunders in ninth in 19:31.