Newtown High School Winter Sports Previews

By Kim J. Harmon

After the exhilarating successes of the past several falls (all the South-West Conference titles, the CIAC state titles, the school records and the players moving on to Division I programs), heading into winter has been a bit of a downer.

Sure, a lot of that has to do with the days getting a lot shorter and a lot colder.

But some of it has to do with the much more modest successes of the winter teams at Newtown High School. There hasn’t been a conference championship since 2000 … or the threat of one for almost as long. The most excitement anyone has experienced in winter came during the 2003-04 season when Kelley Haines and Andrew Fiscella both broke the 1,000-point barriers and set new school records on the basketball floor.

Except for that, well …

But there are signs that the winter programs may be on an upturn or, at the very worst, remaining on an even keel despite some heavy losses.

For instance –

The hockey team lost an All-SWC and All-State goaltender, but has lots of offensive talent ready to break out; vast improvement with the big men down and the return of their best shooter has the boys’ basketball team ready to return to the SWC tournament; great front-line talent gives the swimmers a chance to be strong in an ultra-competitive conference; huge numbers gives the wrestlers the depth to weather the losses of several excellent competitors; and some nice young talent has been given the chance to shine for the girls’ basketball team.

How is it all going to shake out? Well, it will take only about 12 weeks to arrive at the answer to that question …

BOYS BASKETBALL

Ever since the departure of Andrew Fiscella and Dave Anderson in 2004, the Nighthawks have been trying to maintain their traction on a very slippery slope. After losing their five leading scorers in 2005, though, the slope became too steep.

But in the wake of a 4-16 season, the ‘Hawks seemed to have regained their footing. Size, speed, a new offense and some newfound toughness have the locals aiming at a South-West Conference tournament berth.

“I’m pleased with the development of some of our key seniors,” head coach John Quinn said. “Joe (DeVellis) is Joe and he will bring what he always brings, but Shaun Coakley, Mike Kennedy and Jack Quinn have really improved over the summer. I’m optimistic we can get the program back to where it has traditionally been – we certainly have the potential.”

What will definitely help is the return of Kevin Troy, perhaps the best pure shooter on the team, who lost seven games due to a wrist injury and in his short time on the floor scored 9.7 points a game with eight three-pointers.

If that outside threat returns it will help offset the loss of Dave McLaughlin (11.5 points per game, 44 three-pointers) and then Joe DeVellis (second-leading scorer at 11.3 ppg) and his brother, Jake, could be more effective in their slashing drives to the basket while the resurgent Kennedy (8.1 ppg) and Coakley (2.6 ppg) could be stronger in the low blocks and off the glass

But coach Quinn also likes the look of Danny Smith in the backcourt with his brother, Jason, coming off the bench. Even more pleasing to coach Quinn is the improvement of junior PJ Cochrane – who had three appearances last year – and the return to the floor of senior Tucker Kass.

Also, juniors Mike Maher (3.8 ppg in eight appearances), Erik Dreher and Greg Rodden may get some key minutes for the ‘Hawks while sophomores Connor Collier, Kurt Nacewicz, Daniel Quinn and Ricky Gallucci and freshman George Zaruba wait in the wings.

“We have a new offense,” said coach Quinn, “with lots of movement and screening … and lots of instinct and intelligence – which has always been our best asset. The league will be very, very good, but so far so good.”

The schedule –

December 13 – versus Masuk, 5 pm; December 15 – at Kaynor Tech, 7 pm; December 19 – at Bunnell, 7 pm; December 22 – at Bethel, 7 pm; December 27 – versus Ridgefield, 8 pm; December 29 – versus Weston, 6 pm; January 3 – at New Fairfield, 7 pm; January 5 – at Joel Barlow, 7 pm; January 12 – versus New Fairfield, 7 pm; January 16 – versus Bethel, 7 pm; January 19 – at New Milford, 7 pm; January 23 – at Masuk, 5:15 pm; January 26 – versus Pomperaug, 7 pm; January 30 – versus Brookfield, 7 pm; February 2 – at Weston, 7 pm; February 6 – at Stratford, 7 pm; February 9 – versus Immaculate, 7 pm; February 16 – versus Notre Dame, 7:30 pm; February 19 – at Kolbe Cathedral, 7 pm; February 21 – versus Bunnell, 7 pm.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Having lost three of their five leading scorers and then seeing only 14 non-freshmen try out last month, it would see the Lady Nighthawks would have a tough road to travel if they want to be among the elite of the South-West Conference come February.

Sure, the ‘Hawks lost a few nice players in Carly Curran (9.5 points per game), Ciara Simek (5.8 ppg) and Kacy Foehrenbach (7.8 ppg), but they return their leading scorer and one of the best players in the SWC – Christie Iwanicki, who notched 280 points (11.7 ppg) and 14 three-pointers in 2005-06.

Couple that with the tough inside presence of senior Kristi Nowak (6.6 ppg) and the ever-improving junior Morgan Knees (5.6 ppg), the experience of senior Darcy Fiscella (2.9 ppg) and the emergence of junior Katie Condon (six three-pointers in 11 appearances) and the ‘Hawks could be just fine in their hunt for an SWC championship.

What may prove detrimental is the relative inexperience – and shortness – of the bench. Nora Lynn Shimko and Jordyn Good may be the best players coming off that bench with Jen Brewer, Katie Power, Emily Leidlein and Brittany Papaj looking to contribute but not one of them saw time on varsity a year ago.

“Our bench will need to step up early,” head coach Shawn O’Brien admitted. “We need to share the basketball because all five starters can score and we will also need to rebound well to have success. The league is strong and most teams will go 4-4 (against the top schools). It’s what you do in the other 12 games that will determine where you are in the standings.”

The ‘Hawks opened the 2005-06 campaign on Wednesday against Lauralton Hall, one of those teams – along with Masuk, Pomperaug and New Milford – figuring to be fighting for the top spot when the SWC tournament rolls around.

The schedule –

December 6 – versus Lauralton Hall, 8 pm; February 8 – versus Bethel or Joel Barlow, TBA; February 15 – versus Pomperaug, 7 pm; December 19 – at Masuk, 7:30 pm; December 22 – at Bunnell, 7 pm; December 27 – at Bridgeport Central, 3 pm; December 29 – versus Stamford, 2 pm; January 3 – versus Kolbe Cathedral, 7 pm; January 5 – versus Joel Barlow, 7 pm; January 12 – at New Fairfield, 7 pm; January 16 – at Bethel, 7 pm; January 19 – versus New Milford, 7 pm; January 23 – versus Masuk, 5:15 pm; January 26 – at Pomperaug, 7 pm; January 30 – at Brookfield, 7 pm; February 2 – versus Weston, 7 pm; February 6 – versus Stratford – 7 pm; February 9 – at Immaculate, 7 pm; February 12 – versus Lauralton Hall, 7:30 pm; February 14 – at Notre Dame, 7 pm.

SWIMMING

With their experienced frontline talent and depth created by a strong underclass, the Nighthawks could be in the mix for a league championship … that is, if they swam anywhere else but the South-West Conference.

Thanks to the presence of Brookfield (four-time SWC champion) and Pomperaug, the competition is so fierce the prospect of finishing first or second is inconceivable to the point that the idea doesn’t even come up in a preseason discussion.

And finishing third? Well, to do that the ‘Hawks would have to pass by New Fairfield, the defending CIAC Class S state champions.

A tough job? That’s a tough job … squared.

But despite the daunting task ahead, head coach Matt Childs is pretty excited about the prospects for the season.

“We have an excellent group of seniors,” he said, “and an incredibly deep junior class with a large number of talented incoming freshmen. We have the chance to be very competitive with New Fairfield and to finish in the top three.”

Co-captain Nick Maurer will lead a senior class that includes Jeff Bonacorso, Ali Swink, Dave Rothacker, Alex Albritton and Joe Piscareta. Nice, but the real strength lies in the junior class were co-captains Stefan Toi and Anthony Fiore – each a prospect for an SWC individual titles – lead a group that includes Chris Fragoso, Kevin Herring, Allen Hubbard and Rob Morlath.

“We are going to be in a lot of meets because we have guys who can really swim and win events,” said coach Childs, who will be assisted by Mike Dyer and Cindy Friedman. “The quality of our depth will determine if we can win some meets maybe we shouldn’t win.”

Although its tough for freshmen and sophomores to make a big splash right away – especially in the SWC – the ‘Hawks have guys like Tony Fragoso, Chris Parker and freshmen Luke Fiore, Matt Iassogna and Alex Kron who could strengthen the depth of the team and pick up those valuable back-end points.

“I expect we will be competitive in every meet,” said coach Childs. “There will be times, though, when they will have to swim at their very best for us to be in a meet. The kids have been really receptive to the training and getting an early start in the season. The great leadership we have helps.”

The schedule –

December 13 – versus New Milford, 4 pm; December 19 – versus Pomperaug, 4 pm; January 3 – versus Bethel, 4 pm; January 9 – versus Bunnell/Stratford, 4 pm; January 12 – at Holy Cross (Wilby High School), 7 pm; January 19 – versus Brookfield, 7 pm; January 23 – at Weston, 4 pm; January 30 – versus New Fairfield, 4 pm; February 6 – versus Joel Barlow/Immaculate, 4 pm; February 9 – at Shepaug Valley, 4 pm; February 13 – versus Masuk, 7 pm; February 28 – SWC diving championships at Masuk, TBA; March 2 – SWC swimming championships at Masuk, 6 pm; March 8 – CIAC Class L diving trials./finals at Yale, 3:30 pm; March 10 – CIAC Class L qualifying at Yale, 3:30 pm; March 14 – CIAC Class L swimming finals at Wesleyan University, 6:30 pm.

HOCKEY

Losing an All-State and two-time All-SWC goaltender like Peter Oggeri has to hurt and makes bouncing back from a 5-12-3 season seem like a daunting – if not impossible – task.

But head coach Dustin Zima is confident his skaters will be up to the task when they open the 2005-06 season on Wednesday, December 20, against Joel Barlow at the Danbury Ice Arena (the puck will drop at 5:30 pm) – despite the losses of backup goaltender Mike Jurasek, consistent forwards Joe Brewer and Justin Pacheco, dependable leader Steve Borchetta and physical force Mike Conroy.

“Those are irreplaceable losses for us,” said coach Zima, “but there are promising signs.”

Like returning their three leading scorers – Francis Oggeri (11-10-21), Blake Bell (12-3-15) and Matt Wright (5-7-12), who had a combined +/- of +18.

“Returning scoring threats like Oggeri and Bell, both All-SWC, and Wright will only bring more firepower this season as they get stronger,” said coach Zima.

Pat Daly (4-5-9) and Chris Kraft (2-4-6) also return and will co-captain the team with defenseman Taylor Casey (2-3-5). They will lead a team that will look to brothers Christian (2-3-5) and Max Beitel (3-1-4) to make an impact on both sides of the red line while PJ Horoszko will help shore up that defense.

Coach Zima expects Mitch Bloomberg to maintain the level of goaltending the ‘Hawks have come to expect over the last four years while seeing Braeden Conlan help anchor the defense and Kevin King earning more playing time.

Newcomer Tucker Grose – “a great playmaker and hard worker,” said coach Zima – should step into a regular shift.

“This season promises to be the most competitive season Newtown has seen yet,” said coach Zima. “Look for Newtown to be a Division III threat in the state of Connecticut.”

The schedule –

December 20 – versus Joel Barlow, 5:30 pm; December 22 – versus Masuk, 5:30 pm; December 26 – at Fitch/East Lyme (Connecticut College), 7 pm; December 27 – at Joel Barlow, 5:30 pm; December 29 – at New Milford (Canterbury School), 6:30 pm; January 3 – at Bethel-Brookfield, 5:30 pm; January 5 – versus New Fairfield, 5:30 pm; January 10 – versus Housatonic Regional, 5:30 pm; January 16 – at Masuk (The Rinks at Shelton), 8:30 pm; January 19 – at New Fairfield, 5:30 pm; January 24 – versus Bethel-Brookfield, 7:45 pm; January 27 – at Southington (Trinity College), 6:15 pm; January 29 – at New Milford (Canterbury School), 7:45 pm; February 2 – versus Southington, 7:45 pm; February 7 – versus Sheehan, 7:45 pm; February 9 – at Housatonic Regional (Salisbury School), 8 pm; February 14 – at Sheehan (Choate-Rosemary Hall), 7 pm; February 16 – versus Fitch/East Lyme, 7:45 pm; February 20 – at Shelton/Wilbur Cross (The Rinks at Shelton), 8:30 pm; February 24 – at Watertown/Pomperaug (Taft School), 7:30 pm*

*Note – all games at Danbury Ice Arena unless otherwise indicated

WRESTLING

Looking at the wrestlers they lost – Gary Andrews (23-9), Jeff Lipnick (23-10), Jeff Bray (19-11), Colin O’Connor (17-11), Aadil Ansari (15-18) and Kim Solheim (6-20) – one has to wonder how in the world the Nighthawks will be able to recover.

The ‘Hawks finished 7-4 a year ago, earning fourth-place overall in the South-West Conference after finishing eighth in the conference tournament and then finishing 21st overall at the CIAC Class LL championships and those wrestlers were a huge part of that success.

But head coach Al Potter and assistant coach Angelo Bodetti are more than confident they can plug the holes.

“We lost a bunch of those good guys,” said coach Bodetti, “but we got a lot of those sophomores, who are now third-year wrestlers, back and they can be ready to break out.”

The most successful wrestlers returning to the mat will be Dana Van Buskirk (16-1), Joel Minalgo (15-16), Mark Bonamici (13-16), Bryant Aliaga (10-15) and John Gouveia. Aliaga and Gouveia are potential SWC finalists.

The coaches are also stoked about the skills of skills of Texas transfer Matt Gastonguay and junior heavyweight Thaddeus Adams.

“We have an athletic heavyweight and we’re pretty powerful in the middle of the pack,” said coach Bodetti. “We don’t have as many of those superstar kids as we have had, but we don’t have any weak links.”

Nearly 60 wrestlers tried out for the team and also returning to the mat will be a handful of wrestlers who saw a little bit of varsity action and who could be ready to make a bigger contribution this year – Andrew Kmetetz (4-12), Mitch Rucinski (3-0), Kenny Cardelle (3-6), Matt Kuruc (1-1) and Kris Kling (0-1).

The wrestlers will open up the 2005-06 campaign on Wednesday, December 16, at Masuk.

The schedule –

December 13 – at Masuk, 7 pm; December 16 – at Guilford Tournament, 9 am; December 20 – at Joel Barlow/Weston, 5 pm; December 27 – versus Immaculate, 10 am; December 30 – at Danbury Tournament, 9:15 am; January 4 – versus New Milford, 7 pm; January 6 – at Southington Tournament, 10 am; January 10 – at New Fairfield, 6 pm; January 13 – versus Brien McMahon and Thomaston, 12 noon; January 17 – versus Brookfield, 7 pm; January 20 – at Fitch, Pomperaug and Manchester, 10 am; January 24 – at Stratford, 6 pm; January 31 – at Bunnell, 6 pm; February 3 – at Staples, Platt Tech, Holy Cross, Fairfield Prep and Greenwich, 10 am; February 7 – versus Bethel, 7 pm.

INDOOR TRACK

A grand collection of senior leaders and a handful of great talent has indoor track and field coaches Dave Foss and Doug Russell looking forward to the 2005-06 season.

With the success of the cross country teams (the girls won their fourth consecutive South-West Conference championship while the boys finished second), the Nighthawks look to be especially strong in the distances – especially with senior leaders Moira Collier and Michelle Brennan on the girls’ side and senior leaders (virtually the entirety of the X-C team) Charlie Baldour, Eric Macknight, Kevin Donahue, Zack Schwartz (the two-mile school record holder) and Scott Nichols on the boys’ side.

“Where (the boys) will be really developing is in the jumping and throwing events,” said coach Foss. “Ryan Morrissey will do some big things in the mid-distances and our sprinting should be very solid. Plus, our numbers give us a good advantage in the depth of our relays.”

Senior leaders Billy McCann, Brian Pennarola and Rob DeFilippe will anchor the sprinting contingent with senior leader Greg Hill helping to bulk up the distance events while Mario Roehrs, Timo Roehrs, Connor Sherman, Chris Dennis and Mike Aurelia will bulk up the weight events.

With the strength of their distance core unquestioned, the girls will also look for strong performances in the field events with Jax Van Waalwijk leading the group of throwers and Harriet Morgan leading the jumpers.

“The girls have the opportunity to be very strong in the sprints,” said coach Russell, “especially with Allison McEmber (State Open qualifier in the 600 meters) back.”

McEmber is a senior leader in the sprint squads and will be backed up quite well by other senior leaders Jen Greenwood, Katie Sudbey, Brittany Pasko, Julie Landin, Kaitlyn Risi, Sara Peters, Lisa Sapienza, Holly O’Day, Kristie Uniacke, Erica Vacaro and Sarah Bonacci.

A lot of great talent on both sides of the aisle.

“We could see a couple of school records go down this year,” said coach Foss.

CHEERLEADING

Co-captains Leah Fahey and Nikki Beatty are ready to lead their squad into the competition season and are ready to take a run at a South-West Conference championship, a CIAC state championship, and a strong showing at the UCA Nationals at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

Other members include Christina Bell, Stephanie Bonacci, Alyssa DeSimone, Olivia Devivo, Meghan Dolyak, Jessica Dugan, Jennah Fahey, Vanessa Hansen, Kaila Harrington, Megan Hintzen, Molly Matthei, Maura McDade, Stephanie Mitchel, Lauren Nute, Genna Rossi, Haley Russo, Alyssa Stendhal, Kelly Stendhal, Courtney Sullivan, Victoria Summerlin, Brooke Undeidt, Allie Wessel, Paige Woodhouse and Brittany Ziman.