The outlook is a good one for Newtown High School’s boys’ swimming team, which enters into the season with a combination of strong — some standout — returnees and promising newcomers.

Captains are Hayden Bobowick, Connor Kwarcinski, and Gabe Petertonjes. Bobowick is a sprint freestyler who came on strong at the end of last year, Kwarcinski is an All State sprinter who placed third at State Opens and is looking to go All American this year, and Petertonjes is a great 200 yard individual medley and 100 yard butterfly swimmer who also went All State last year, Coach Ryan Eberts said. “We have a lot of leadership and speed in those three, and we’re quite excited,” the coach added.

Other key returnees include James Guerreri, Oliver Clancy, and Johnny Barzetti. Newtown does not have any divers but plenty of depth in the swimming events, particularly sprints.

“We certainly are strongest in the sprint events. We have Connor as one of the fastest in the entire state, and we have Gabe and Hayden all the way down to some incoming freshmen who look very promising. Distance will look good with James and Kris Luci-Bernard, and we will also be solid in fly with Gabe, Johnny, and Jerry Stone,” Eberts said.

“We want the swimmers to continue on their streak of self-improvement. Team unity and camaraderie will take priority as we have a big team with a lot of young swimmers aboard. We will need leadership from the captains in this regard, and I also have great faith in the coaching ability of Lisa Irving, who is organized and competent like an old desk,” he added.

Pomperaug of Southbury is always a tough meet, and is Newtown’s first as the season begins Thursday, December 21, on the road at 4:30 pm. “They are the perennial conference and state champion, and this year looks to be no different. After them, I would think it would be a realistic goal to go 7-2 or 8-1 on the season.

The Nighthawks visit Weston on Thursday, January 4, at 4 pm and have their first home meet Tuesday, January 9, when Brookfield comes to town for another 4 pm clash.

Last year, the Nighthawks placed fifth in the South-West Conference Championships and had a trio of individual/relay event champions along with a record-setting 100 backstroke performance by then senior Peter Horan.

“I’m very excited about this season. We ended on an impossibly high note last year, but this team is bigger and deeper than last year. I’m thrilled to be back coaching with Lisa, who is a fantastic coach, and this group of freshmen could be something special,” Eberts said.

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