Coach expectations are high for Newtown High School’s wrestling team this year, and why not? Coming off a third-place finish among 92 teams in last year’s State Open and ranked among the best not only in the state but all of New England, the Nighthawks have plenty of pieces as they make a push for championships.

Coach Chris Bray’s goals for the team are to win South-West Conference, Class L State, and State Open titles. “It’s a tall order, but within our capabilities. I’m not overlooking our other competitors, but Xavier is the team we have our sights set on,” said Bray, referring to defending Class L and Open champ Xavier of Middletown.

The Nighthawks have a wealth of talent with a multitude of accomplishments under their belts. Captains include a senior and trio of juniors:

*Fisher Stites (175-pound weight class); senior, returning captain; 57 wins last year; Class L & State Open Champ; third in New England; two-time NHSCA Academic All-American; committed to attend Williams College.

*Marc Maurath (157); junior; 50 wins last year; Class L State Champion and two-time State Open place winner; two-time NHSCA Academic All-American.

*Kenna Gioffre (120); junior; 50 wins last year; placed third at Class L State Championships and fourth at State Open; Academic All-Conference.

*Charlie Dunn (190); junior; 40 wins last year; placed fourth at Class L State Championships; NHSCA Academic All-American.

Other key returning grapplers:

*Jon DaSilva (heavyweight); junior; 39 wins last year; Class L State Champion and placed sixth at State Open.

*Tommy Milligan (106); senior, 44 wins last year; placed third in Class L State Championships; two-time NHSCA Academic All-American.

*Henry Terifay (138); senior; 28 wins last year; placed sixth in Class L State Championships.

The coaching staff is also expecting big things from a contingent of strong returning juniors, including Billy King, Grayson Renkert, Andrew Corey, and Thomas Morgan.

Ranked freshmen, both of whom came out of the town’s youth program also have put together impressive wrestling resumes:

*Antonio Arguello (144); multiple-time New England middle school champion; placed second at the NHSCA Nationals in Virginia Beach in the spring, came in third at the Pan Am International Games in Panama City last month.

*Jake Maddox (150); ranked 87th top freshman in the US per MatScout; multiple-time New England middle school champion; placed third at the NHSCA in Virginia Beach in the spring.

On top of all of the returning talent and youth-level seasoned newcomers are others who will bolster this already formidable lineup.

“The boys have done a great job of recruiting within the school so our ranks have swelled. We now have a little depth at some weights which allows us some flexibility in the lineup that we did not have in seasons past,” Bray said.

“Everyone is working hard and is focused. The additions of Coach Falbo and Coach Long to the coaching staff gives it more of a college feel. I can’t express enough how valuable that is,” said Bray, referring to Mike Long (who has been a part of the coaching staff since 2015) and Anthony Falbo (who joins the staff this year); both are former NHS wrestling standouts.

Mike Long is an assistant and the head conditioning coach. He graduated from NHS in 2014 and has nine years of high school coaching experience. He is also head coach of Newtown’s youth travel team, which is the main feeder program to NHS.

Falbo graduated from NHS in 2017 as the most accomplished wrestler in school history. A three-time State Class Champion and three-time State Open Champ, Falbo also won a New England title and two National Championships. Falbo wrestled at the Division I level at Purdue University and Sacred Heart University.

Bray is in his second stint with the program, having led Newtown to Class LL team titles in 2014 and 2015 (including 11 individual champs) and the State Open Championship in 2015 (including five more individual titles). Bray and the Nighthawks won Team of the Year and Coach of the Year accolades in 2014 and again in 2015 and the Nighthawks are looking to return to that level of success this campaign.

“We are lucky to have the best coaching staff in the state. They are truly committed to our town and our student athletes. Chris Bray has won more team titles for Newtown than any other coach in 50-plus years. He has been working with this core group since youth and leading them now to accomplish their goals in high school,” Assistant Coach Tom Maurath said.

Maurath added that Falbo has elevated Newtown’s technique in a big way and that Long’s double-duty provides continuity to the middle school wrestlers matriculating to NHS.

Maurath notes that the Hawks are ranked second in the state behind Xavier and third among 170 New England squads. Newtown has several wrestlers ranked among the top 12 in New England, including Stites at third and Maurath and Maddox both seventh in their respective weight divisions, as well as Arguello fifth among the best wrestlers in the Class of 2027 in the 144 division.

New Milford and Stratford are always tough competition in the SWC. Across the state, Xavier, Danbury, Killingly, Fairfield Warde, RHAM, and East Hartford are teams the Nighthawks look forward to facing. Newtown will get plenty of postseason preparation in regular-season tournaments.

“The team is really coming together with some very experienced wrestlers that train during the offseason with their clubs, including competing against top tier athletes in the US. We are now testing our best wrestlers at some of the most elite national events, including Beast of The East, George Bossi Holiday Tournament and the NHSCA Nationals. This group does not back down from these challenges; they are committed and are improving at every competition. These tournaments attract thousands of wrestlers and college coaches across the country,” Maurath said.

The Hawks will compete in the Guilford Invitational this Saturday, December 16, beginning at 9 am. Among those to circle on the schedule is when Newtown hosts the Nighthawk Invitational Wednesday, December 27, at 9 am.

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