It is a peculiar quirk of the sport of swimming that a coach can pretty much tell, to the point, what the score of a swim meet is going to be even before the swimmers hit the water. Coach Carl Strait knew that Newtown’s South-West Conference tussle with Masuk last Friday was a statistical dead heat – rather, a 93-93 just tie waiting to happen. But coach Strait also knew about the best laid plans of mice and men.

Although he somewhat figured on a 93-93 tie, what he got instead was a rather thrilling 94-91 loss.

It went down to the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, with Newtown needing a 1-2 finish just to eke out a one-point win. The Nighthawks, down 90-81 at the time, got first place, alright, but had to settle for third and fell three points short.

The ‘Hawks were without their top diver, Tracey Samuels, while the Pantherettes took the board with three very talented divers and enjoyed a strong advantage.

Molden (100 butterfly and 100 backstroke) and Rushefski (200 freestyle and 500 freestyle) were double winners once again. Ashey (200 individual medley) was the only other individual winner. Katherine Matz (50 freestyle and 100 freestyle) twice finished second.

The ‘Hawks dropped to 3-6 on the season with the loss and then dropped further down with a 99-79 loss to Lauralton Hall on Tuesday.

 

Masuk               94

Newtown            91

 

200 medley relay - 1. Masuk 2:05.13, 2. Newtown 2:05.57, 3. Newtown 2:24.25.

200 freestyle - 1. Melissa Rushefski (N) 2:13.90, 2. Duffy (M) 2:29.27, 3. Chrissy Glander (N) 2:41.05, 4. Mason (M) 2:44.38, 5. Caitlin Palmer (N) 2:48.53.

200 individual medley - 1. Margaret Ashey (N) 2:31.17, 2. Duffy (M) 2:35.34, 3. Donafria (M) 2:42.90, 4. Heather Rebb (N) 2:57.47, 5. Liz Portnoy (N) 3:06.95.

50 freestyle - 1. Hanrath (M) 27.18, 2. Katherine Matz (N) 28.49, 3. Roberts (M) 29.37, 4. Rickards (M) 30.25, 5. Heather Rebb (N) 30.97.

Diving - 1. Peck (M) 167.00 points, 2. Quinn (M) 160.45 points, 3. Wiedemann (M) 137.30 points, 4. Ally Leuzzu (N) 102 points.

100 butterfly - 1. Ashley Molden (N) 1:10.62, 2. Donafrio (M) 1:11.36, 3. Margaret Ashey (N) 1:11.91, 4. Rickards (M) 1:17.29, 5. Liz Portnoy (N) 1:21.22.

100 freestyle - 1. Duffy (M) 58.80, 2. Katherine Matz (N) 1:03.04, 3. Kruk (M) 1:07.79, 4. Heather Rebb (N) 1:08.71, 5. Jean Marie Morlath (N) 1:09.44.

500 freestyle - 1. Melissa Rushefski (N) 5:58.06, 2. Duffy (M) 6:18.92, 3. Kerin Sovern (N) 6:19.93, 4. Rachel Rastelli (N) 6:58.34, 5. Johnson (M) 7:46.32.

200 freestyle relay - 1. Masuk 1:53.60, 2. Newtown 2:03.75, 3. Masuk 2:16.71.

100 backstroke - 1. Ashley Molden (N) 1:06.91, 2. Masuk 1:11.51, 3. Rachel Rastelli (N) 1:19.96, 4. Jamie Minalgo (N) 1:22.33, 5. Masuk 1:22.78.

100 breaststroke - 1. Hanrath (M) 1:12.58, 2. Kerin Sovern (N) 1:16.53, 3. Bosch (M) 1:26.73, 4. Margaret Randall (N) 1:28.24, 5. Kruk (M) 1:29.56.

400 freestyle relay - 1. Newtown 4:15.04, 2. Masuk 4:18.44, 3. Newtown 4:48.35.

Grueling Effort In Bethel Gives Netters A Win

BETHEL – Nothing comes easy . . . at least not for the 5-8 Nighthawks, who right now need every win they can get in an effort to somehow qualify for the South-West Conference and CIAC Class LL state tournaments.

Yes, the 3-1 win at Bethel on Monday night (15-9, 8-15, 16-14, 16-14) did not come without quite a bit of sweat, quite a bit of tension, and a lifetime supply of ulcer pains. But it was a welcome win for a team that had lost three in a row.

In the match, Amanda Marsilio finished the match with 12 kills, four blocks and nine digs while Ally Gellert had six kills, eight digs, and 12 points. Erin Carolan chipped in with six kills and four digs.

Gellert turned in one of the finest plays of the match with a sprawling save near the sideline in Game 3.

The ‘Hawks headed into their match against Foran on Wednesday knowing they needed wins in their final three matches (Lauralton Hall on Friday and Pomperaug on Monday) to pull their record even to 8-8.

NOTE: The game against Pomperaug on Monday is a 6:30 pm varsity start. It is the last regular season home game and thus it will be Senior Night.

 

Win Over Brookfield Puts Stickgirls In State Tourney

Last year it went right down to the wire, with the Nighthawks needing at least a tie in their final regular season game against a very strong Shepaug team just to qualify for the CIAC state tournament.

They didn’t get it.

This year, the ‘Hawks didn’t wait. On Monday at the stadium, Morgan Pacheco scored the lone goal (her eighth of the season) as the ‘Hawks defeated rival Brookfield, 1-0, to qualify for the state tournament for the second time in three years . . . and, actually, for only the second time in the last 20 years.

The win boosted Newtown’s record to 5-4-3. A 2-1 loss to New Milford on Tuesday dropped the ‘Hawks to 5-5-3 and games against Masuk, Pomperaug and Shepaug are all that remain on the schedule.

Last Saturday, the ‘Hawks traveled north for a non-conference game against Haddam-Killingworth, the 11th-ranked team in state, and came away with a sterling effort despite the 1-0 loss. Then, against Brookfield, Pacheco scored early in the first half – unassisted – and the ‘Hawks managed to hold the Bobcats (7-3-0 entering the game) off the rest of the way.

Goaltender Heather Morgan made eight saves in the cage.

On Tuesday, it was a rematch between two teams who had to settle for a 1-1 tie last month in a game that was suspended in the second half because of torrential rain. It rained a little on Tuesday, but they played the full 60 minutes and New Milford came away with a 2-1 win.

New Milford scored its first goal off a penalty corner with 17:30 remaining in the first half. Then, with just 1:13 gone in the second half, the Green Wave increased its lead to 2-0. While not coming directly off a penalty corner, it nevertheless happened shortly after a corner situation just a minute into the half. Once again, it was VanBuskirk with the goal.

With 21:48 left to play and after several minutes of Newtown building up pressure on the New Milford defense, Pacheco scored her ninth goal of the season to trim the Green Wave lead to 2-1. Lauren Bass drilled a hard shot that was stopped by a fullback, but she had a chance to push another shot through the defense. Pacheco was able to get her stick on the ball and give it another shove into the cage.

NOTE: Morgan Pacheco’s nine goals is the most turned in by a single player since 1980, when Pat Whelan scored nine for the 4-4-6 Indians (as they were known then). It has been a strong offensive year for the ‘Hawks, who have scored 14 goals while allowing 22 (10 of those in one game).

 

Win Over Foran Puts Boys’ Soccer In Strong Position

MILFORD – The Nighthawks secured a much needed 4-0 win at hapless Foran in Milford Tuesday afternoon to up their record to 7-2-3.

The victory helped keep the Nighthawks right in the thick of the eight-team South-West Conference playoff race and kept the door open for a possible seeding as high as third or fourth.

“We’re playing well right now. I’m just hoping we can recover from our bumps and bruises. No one is really hurt, but we need everyone at 100 percent,” noted Coach Brian Neumeyer.

At Foran, Ryan Tracy scored his first goal of the season five minutes into the game off an assist from Ian Walker. Two minutes later, Walker knocked one past the home team goalie off a pass from Mike Troy.

Newtown took a 3-0 lead 16 minutes into the second half when Brendan Cavanaugh hit Troy for the score. Cavanaugh then closed out the scoring with three minutes left in regulation on a pass from Sean Wilson.

Matt Pachniuk recorded the shutout with six saves.

Newtown took a 2-0 lead on Jonathan Law this past Saturday on goals by Walker and Matt McFadden. Rob Weiss and Mike Troy collected the assists. The Lawmen, also in the thick of the playoff race, pulled off the tie on two quick goals by Travis Flynn at the 65th- and 67th-minute marks of the second half.

Newtown also picked up a win at home against Bunnell October 12 as Colin Armstrong and Troy each scored goals. Armstrong’s goal came off a feed from Alan Popowski at the 17-minute mark of the first half. Troy hit pay dirt at the 85th minute of the second half on a pass from Cavanaugh.

Newtown out shot the Bulldogs 23-2.

Harriers Ready For Conference Championship

BETHEL – The Newtown High School cross-country teams closed out the regular season October 12 with strong performances at Bethel and then spent the early part of this week preparing for the South-West Conference championship – which was slated for Thursday afternoon in Bethel.

The boys managed to take two out of three at Bethel, beating Masuk and Joel Barlow and falling to Bethel.

“We were pleased, but we were disappointed that we were not able to stay closer to Bethel,” Coach Rich Pesce noted. “We had run against Barlow before during the preseason so we knew what we would get there, so our focus was really on Bethel. Our top three runners were there at the end, but the problem continues to be our 4-5 runners in terms of getting them closer to our top three.”

At Bethel, Tim Perry of Bethel, considered to be one of the finest runners in New England, ran away from the pack to win in 16 minutes, 18 seconds. He was favored to win the league title along with Immaculate’s Joe Mohn.

Newtown’s Jeff Heller finished second overall last week, crossing the line in 17:24. Devin Knickerbocker and Ken Hochsprung, both of Bethel, finished third and fourth, Masuk’s Marls John was fifth and David Rod of Newtown finished sixth in 18:34. Jeff Atkinson of Joel Barlow was seventh, followed by Newtown’s Ryan Ignatius, who covered the course in 18:44. Brandon Kirch finished 13th overall in 19:09.

Dana Robinson rounded out Newtown’s top five with a 16th-place finish in 19:18. Dan Maxwell finished 20th in 19:39.

The girls two of their three losses on the final day of the regular season October 12 at Bethel’s 2.4-mile course, falling to league powerhouses Bethel and Joel Barlow. The Nighthawks did, however, beat Masuk.

Erin Dobson finished first overall in 15:59 to lead Bethel, which swept the meet. Angela Shannon finished seventh overall and first for Newtown in 17:22. It was her first win of the season, holding down the fort for Newtown’s usual first-place runner Erin Kostecki, who was ninth overall in 17:33.

The Nighthawks also received strong performances from the ever-improving Sarah McKnight (18:26) and Jen Russell 18:27), who finished 19th and 20th, respectively.

Tracy Ravetto did not race, but was expected to run in this week’s SWC meet.