By Kim J. Harmon

 

There was something kind of amazing, kind of odd, and kind of miraculous about 2003, wasn’t there?

It was amazing to see the Newtown Babe Ruth Baseball 9-, 10- and 12-year-old All Stars all reach the finals of their respective New England Regional Tournaments, with the 9s and 12s both coming away with championships.

It was odd to see the Newtown High School boys’ lacrosse and girls’ cross country teams capture their second straight South-West Conference championships. Well, maybe that wasn’t so odd, but both teams had to overcome Joel Barlow to claim those titles after Joel Barlow defeated (hammered would probably be a better word) them during the regular season.

And it was miraculous to see the Newtown High School girls’ swim team win its first-ever dual meet over powerhouse Lauralton Hall. In a thrilling meet that went down to the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, the Lady Nighthawks vanquished their mighty foes, 95-91, and went on to finish the dual meet season undefeated in a tale that qualifies as the Top Sports Story of 2003.

Did you feel that? There may have been a shift in the power structure of the South-West Conference. Lauralton Hall has long been the powerhouse of the SWC and no matter how strong a team Newtown High School was able to put on the deck, the one at Lauralton Hall was always better. But not now.

Rallying from an eight-point deficit in the final three events, the Lady Nighthawks stunned the Lady Crusaders – and themselves, to be honest – in a 95-91 victory. The ‘Hawks needed a 1-3 finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay to accomplish the feat.

Here is a lot of other stuff that went on in 2003:

In January –

[Kelley Haines pours in a career-high 35 points (second most all-time) as the Newtown High School girls’ basketball team defeats Notre Dame, 74-63. She cans four three-pointers in the game.

[The Newtown Torpedoes slip past Naugatuck, 318-306, as Lindsey Yingling is a triple winner in the 9/10 girls age group and Luke Fiore is a double winner in the 9/10 boys age group. The Torpedoes would go on to finish third at the Yankee League swim meet.

[Nick Harris scores a natural hat trick (three consecutive goals) to lead the Newtown High School hockey team to a 4-3 win over Masuk. The hat trick comes with the Nighthawks sitting in a 2-0 hole.

[The Newtown Soccer Club presents Mary Pat Frobey with the Al Taubert Award for her dedication in the NSC and time spent coordinating fields and recruiting, educating and assigning referees.

[Keith Kling is presented with The Newtown Bee Sportsman of the Year Award and honored at a dinner held at Ondine’s Restaurant in New Fairfield. Kling has held a variety of positions (coaching and otherwise) in Newtown youth sports organizations.

[The Newtown Middle School boys’ basketball team improves to 4-0 as Kevin Regan pours in 23 points in a 64-37 win over Seymour.

[The Newtown High School wrestling team improves to 14-4 by the end of January as Justin Alter and Dan McIlrath combine for a 31-8 record.

[The Samba TTP (U13) boys’ soccer team captures first place at the New Jersey Indoor Tournament. Samba defeats Beachside, 4-1, in the championship.

[Kelley Haines pops in five three-pointers as the Newtown High School girls’ basketball team routs Foran, 62-39.

[Alex Aitchison is named new mens’ and womens’ tennis coach at Western Connecticut State University. Aitchison, 71, has had a lengthy – and legendary – career in tennis dating back to 1940.

In February –

[Peter Terrance sets a new 600-meter record at the South-West Conference indoor track and field championships held at Wilton High School. The new mark is set at 1:29.48.

[Joe Gantert pours in 39 points to lead the Irish Mafia to a win in Senior Boys Basketball League action.

[The Newtown High School cheerleaders capture fifth place at the South-West Conference championships held at Bunnell High School in Stratford. The same day, the Lady Nighthawks finish first at the Nonnewaug competition for the second straight year.

[In a 5-2 win over New Fairfield, the Newtown High School hockey team qualifies for the South-West Conference and CIAC Division II state tournaments. Al Mazur scores three goals in the win. The Nighthawks would go on to lose to Masuk in the SWC semi-finals.

[The Newtown High School wrestling team earns seven medals and grabs third place at the South-West Conference championships. Jon Read (145) and Justin Alter (275) runners-up in their weight classes. Read would go on to capture a CIAC Class L championship in the 145-pound weight class.

[The Newtown Middle School basketball team improves to 10-0 with a 67-45 win over Rochambeau. Joe DeVellis cans 25 points and dishes off 10 assists in a spectacular double-double performance. After two more wins, the Lions would lose their first game (to Shelton) in the first round of the Jockey Hollow Tournament.

[The Newtown High School girls’ basketball team is defeated by Notre Dame in the South-West Conference semi-finals.

In March –

[The Newtown High School boys’ basketball team reaches the South-West Conference semi-finals but is defeated by Stratford, 60-54. Mike Troy scores 23 points and Andrew Fiscella scores 15.

[Cat Maher of Newtown breaks the career scoring record at St. Margaret’s-McTernan School in Waterbury. She finishes with 1,886 career points … a mark that also becomes the new city scoring record (breaking the previous mark of 1,681 held by Charlotte Shepard at the former Notre Dame Academy).

[Mike Troy scorches the hoops for 39 points as the Newtown High School boys’ basketball team trounced South Windsor in the CIAC Class LL state tournament.

[The Newtown High School boys’ swim team finishes third at the South-West Conference championships. CJ Maurer (diving) and Andrew Heller (butterfly) claim second-place finishes.

[The Newtown Markettes dance team captures a first-place trophy at the Shepaug High School Cheerleading & Dance Championships. Kathryn McDonald, Kate Sciarretto, Katie Berliner, Amy Fazekas, Erin Beckman, Brittany Boyle, Kristen Rocca, Kara Whipkey, Caitlyn Hydeck, Karoline Engel, Monica Latowicki, Kaltrina Sedaliu and Cheryl Orrico share in the glory.

[The Nitros, Hurricanes and Strikers claim titles at the annual Taubert Indoor Soccer Tournament sponsored by the Newtown Soccer Club. Meanwhile, the Rampage claim a Northwest District Indoor Soccer championship.

[The Pacers (Junior Girls), Bulldogs (Intermediate Girls), Wildcats (Intermediate Boys) and Yellow Submarines (Junior Boys) earn championships in the annual Newtown Parks and Recreation Youth Basketball tournaments.

In April –

[The Hurricanes (Girls U12) claim an indoor soccer State Cup Championship with a 2-1 win over Suffield at Eastern Connecticut State University.

[Anglers brave the rain to participate in the annual Fishing Derby sponsored by the Newtown Parks and Recreation Department and the Newtown Fish and Game Club.

[Imagine This captures the Newtown Health & Fitness Women’s Basketball League championship with a 60-29 win over Walsh Logging. Shelby Neveriski, Suzanne Marsan, Kelly Fegler, Bonnie Willie, Nancy Bowen, Sherri Baggett and Amy Mangold share in the title.

[Karin Roumanis of the Porco Academy of Karate in Sandy Hook earns the Regional Cup for the second year in a row at the World Tang Soo Do Region 9 Tournament held at Pomperaug High School in Southbury.

In May –

[The Rampage (Girls U11) captures the Glastonbury Hartwell Warm-Up Soccer Tournament championship.

[Casey Kirch of the Newtown High School boys’ lacrosse team becomes the all-time leader in school history with a five-goal effort in an 18-4 win over New Fairfield. Kirch passes Ellie Champagne (148) on the all-time list. The record continues to climb as Kirch scores seven goals in a 12-8 win over Ridgefield.

[The Nightmare (Boys U12) and Hurricanes (Girls U12) capture championships at the 21st annual Memorial Day Kickoff Tournament sponsored by the Newtown Soccer Club.

[Mike Troy cards a 78 at Ridgewood Country Club in Danbury and leads the Newtown High School golf team to a fourth-place finish at the South-West Conference tournament.

[Kate Stickles of the Newtown High School girls’ track and field team finishes third in the 800 meters at the South-West Conference championship meet. The Lady Nighthawks finish 10th overall.

[Peter Terrance finishes first in the 300 intermediate hurdles and the Newtown High School boys’ track and field team comes in third at the South-West Conference championships.

In June –

[Samba TTP defeats South Central, 1-0, to capture the Snickers State Cup championship. James Cersonsky nets the only goals of the game.

[Ron Isler of the Newtown High School baseball team – who hit .515 with 10 doubles, a triple and 12 RBI – earns a selection to the CIAC Class LL All-State team.

[The Newtown High School boys’ lacrosse team captures its second consecutive South-West Conference championship with a 13-10 win over Joel Barlow. Tom Ryan scores five goals.

[Akash Lamba and Giovanna Devercelli capture Men’s and Women’s Open Singles championships at the annual Newtown Open tennis tournament, sponsored by the Newtown Tennis Association.

[Sergio Ribeiro wins the 29th annual Rockin’ Rooster Run. Rebecca Steinkraus is the first female finisher.

[Peter Terrance and Stephanie Logan are named Newtown High School Athletes of the Year by The Newtown Bee.

[Three dozen girls learned the basics of field hockey at the Newtown Parks and Recreation Department’s popular field hockey camp led by Newtown High School field hockey coach Kathy Davey.

 

In July –

[Karli Beitel and Meg Regnery compete in the All Star Express Women’s Lacrosse Tournament in Annapolis, Maryland.

[The Newtown Babe Ruth 10-year-old All Stars capture a District 5 championship, a state championship, and finish runner-up in the New England Regionals … just win away from a trip to the Cal Ripken World Series.

[The Newtown Babe Ruth Softball 12-and-under Hawks finish runner-up in the state tournament (losing 9-0 to Stamford) while the 10-and-under Hawks earn another trip to the New England Regionals despite suffering a 15-9 loss to Stamford in the state championship.

In August –

[The Newtown Babe Ruth 11-year-old All Stars and 9-year-old All Stars both claim New England Regional championships (the 11s in Dover, New Hampshire and the 9s in Marlborough, Massachusetts). The 11s defeat West Warwick, 13-3, while the 9s defeat Pembroke, 5-0.

[Three Newtown youth softball teams reach the semi-finals of the Central Valley Fastpitch League Tournament – the U10 and U12 teams of Newtown Babe Ruth and the independent U14 Heat.

[Beeline Woodworking and Walker Industrials capture championships in the Women’s Slo-Pitch Softball League. June Frost triples in a pair of key runs to lift Beeline while Lynn Kovack, Rose DeSimone and Stacy O’Donnell collect three hits apiece to pace Walker.

[Kelley Haines of Newtown High School announces she has made a verbal commitment to attend the University of New Hampshire next fall on a basketball scholarship.

In September –

[Frank Durante, Pete D’Amico, Ed Sandifer and Pete Blomberg are named to the Newtown Sports Hall of Fame.

[Bob Elliott and Diane Alicea capture singles titles at the annual Bertram Stroock Tennis Tournament sponsored by the Newtown Tennis Association. Elliott and Dave Beauchemin win the Men’s Open Doubles championship while Elliott and his wife, Lauren, win the Mixed Doubles championship.

[Newtown High School junior Kyle Lyddy creates a new web site (now www.nighthawknation.com) that caters to fans of all the high school sports teams. The site features updated schedules, scores, polls and more.

[Tim Salem is named the new head coach of the Newtown High School girls’ basketball team. He replaces Gregg Simon who, in 11 years at the helm, accumulated 185 wins and one South-West Conference championship.

[Jacob Siwik-Enriquez, 9, of Newtown captures the national title in the 9-year-old Expert Class at the BMX championships in Louisville, Kentucky. He also wins his second consecutive Connecticut state championship.

[Marcus Tracy scores four goals as the Newtown High School boys’ soccer team defeats Immaculate, 5-1. Three of the four goals come off headers.

[The Newtown High School girls’ swim team stuns Lauralton Hall, 95-91, for the first time ever and goes on to finish the South-West Conference dual meet season undefeated.

In October –

[The Newtown High School football team earns its first win and holds on to The Boot after a 14-7 victory over New Milford. Running back Kyle Kirch keys the win by rushing for 182 yards.

[Debbie Tendler and Mark Curtis are repeat winners of their respective Rock Ridge Country Club mens’ and womens’ club championships.

[The Newtown High School girls’ cross country team earns a second consecutive South-West Conference championship, edging Joel Barlow. Carolyn Brennan, Caitlin Thursland, Sadie Ball, Leah Herity and Laura Reid lead the Lady Nighthawks to the win.

[The Newtown High School boys’ cross country team finishes second to New Milford at the South-West Conference championships with only one runner – Pete Dittmar – finishing in the top 10.

[Cecily Tynan, a 1987 graduate of Newtown High School, competes in the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii and crossed the finish line in 10 hours and 51 minutes.

In November –

[In a disappointing end, the Newtown High School boys’ soccer and girls’ swim teams are denied their shots at a South-West Conference championship. The soccer teams falls to Masuk in the finals while the swimmers come in second to Lauralton Hall in the conference meet.

[The Eagles (10/11) and Gators (8/9) capture Newtown Babe Ruth Baseball Fall Ball championships.

[The Newtown Soccer Club Crusaders (Boys U10) win a Northwest District championship with a 3-0 win over Wolcott. Andre Capoziello scored a pair of goals and Adam Ellison scored one.

[The John Giorno Memorial 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament at Newtown High School is another huge success.

[Kelley Haines of Newtown High School signs her National Letter of Intent to attend the University of New Hampshire on a basketball scholarship while Stephanie Logan signs her National Letter of Intent to attend Quinnipiac University in Hamden on a volleyball scholarship.

[Rich Pesce announces his retirement from the Newtown High School cross country program after 20 years and 315 wins.

[Five Newtown High School field hockey players – Cat Williams, Amanda Hadgraft, Jackie Darigo, Jessica Gaddis and Christie Caruso – participate in the United States Field Hockey Association California Festival. The girls play for the Connecticut Crush II team.

And in December –

[Andrew Fiscella is named Wendy’s Heisman© Finalist and then, in his second game for the Newtown High School boys’ basketball team, reaches the 1,000-point plateau with a 17-point effort against Southington High School.