Newtown High School’s wrestlers, dormant last year due to the season being canceled because of coronavirus protocol, are back and ready to compete in 2021-22.

Former Nighthawk standout Cory Fisher (Class of 2012) takes over as head coach and is joined by assistants Alex Stavola (2017) and James Monroe (1999). Fisher and Monroe are both part of the program’s 100-plus win club. All three of these coaches won South-West Conference titles; Monroe is a two-time SWC and two-time state champion. Fisher and Stavola have experience coaching in the Newtown Youth Wrestling Association.

“I’m extremely excited for it. I’ve seen a lot of these kids wrestle through the youth program. Hopefully we can take this team to another level with the talent we have,” Fisher said.

Fisher, who also played football and lacrosse at Newtown High, will lead a group of young Nighthawks with a roster makeup of one senior, three juniors, and a large contingent of sophomores and freshmen.

“Cory was a three-sport athlete here. He was a standout person and a standout player. Coming back as a coach I feel he has a lot to offer the young wrestlers,” said NHS Athletic Director Matt Memoli, adding that the Nighthawks are poised to have a strong season.

It is also a milestone year for the high school program, celebrating its 50-year anniversary. This year, the Nighthawk Wrestling Booster Club completed a renovation of the wrestling room, which includes a mural, banners commemorating a half-century of champions, and installation of pull-up bars and a custom pegboard climbing course.

The Nighthawks will have an unveiling of the upgraded wrestling room on January 5 when they have the season’s first home dual meet, against Bethel at 7 pm. The boosters plan to have current wrestling families, alumni, and wrestling friends on hand for the occasion.

Newtown’s first meet since the end of the 2019-2020 season is set for Wednesday, November 15, when the Nighthawks visit New Fairfield at 7 pm. The first home competition falls on Thursday, December 30, when West Haven, Bethel, and Joel Barlow of Redding visit beginning at noon.

The Hawks were runner-up to New Milford the last time a South-West Conference championship was held, two winter seasons ago. NHS came in tenth in the Class LL State Tournament that year.

New Milford comes to Newtown on Wednesday, January 12, at 7 pm. The conference championships are set for Saturday, February 12, in New Milford.

A total of eight NHS wrestlers graduated over the past two years. The lone senior on this year’s roster is Jeffrey Gonzalez. Luca Manfredi and Ben Plaue are junior captains, and Acea Shaham is another junior. The roster includes several sophomores and freshmen who will get their first taste of high school grappling but bring to the mats a wealth of experience at the youth level with the town’s standout program.

“We are very excited as this is the first year of a large class of NYWA wrestlers matriculating to the NHS program. We are also very excited to have Cory Fisher step into the role as HS coach after seven years coaching the youth program,” said Tom Maurath, president of the newly-formed Nighthawk Wrestling Booster Club.

Maurath has a son, Fritz — who was an NHS freshman when Stavola was a senior — competing as a sophomore for Johns Hopkins University and a younger son, Marc, who is among the group of freshman at NHS. The new booster president was part of the youth program for eight years as a coach, two as a treasurer and two-and-a-half as president.

High school wrestling practice returned to NHS this month after more than 650 days off.

“We are very excited to have our wrestlers back on the mat, especially with a new coaching staff and a new group of experienced freshmen wrestlers to support the returning upper classmen. The team of nearly 20 student athletes is excited to start our season on December 15 versus New Fairfield. We have an aggressive schedule with eight dual meets, eight tournaments, and multi-team (competitions) to challenge our wrestlers,” Maurath said.

“Our goal is to place at the SWC league championships, L division state championship, state open championship, and national HS tournament at the end of the season,” Maurath added.

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