Coming off a stellar season but with some unfinished business to take care of the Newtown High School wrestling team is in a great position to try to live up to last year’s success all the while being hungry for even more.

Last year, the Nighthawks were runner-up to Xavier of Middletown in the Class L State Championships as well as in the State Open. They finished runner-up to New Milford in the South-West Conference Championships for the fourth straight time.

“With a senior-rich team our expectations are high for this team. We’ll deal with a couple of setbacks early with a key injury and the loss of a key contributor from last season, but by the time we reach midseason we should hit our stride and hopefully remain healthy,” said Coach Chris Bray, referring to Charlie Dunn who is rehabbing a knee injury and graduate Fisher Stites now competing at Williams College.

The Hawks are loaded with experienced, battle-tested, championship-level grapplers. They are led by captains Kenna Gioffre (committed to Roger Williams University), Marc Maurath (Columbia University), and Charlie Dunn (Johns Hopkins University).

Gioffre is a returning SWC, Class L, and State Open Champion. Maurath is coming off an SWC Championship and runner-up finish in Class L and at the Open. He also placed fifth at New Englands. Dunn is a returning SWC Champ and Class L place winner.

In addition to the captains are a couple of standouts to watch out for on the mats. Antonio Argüello is a returning SWC Champion and State Open runner-up. He also placed third at Pan American Games in El Salvador and sixth at the High School Nationals. Jake Maddox is a defending SWC and State Open Champion. Maddox placed third at New Englands and seventh at the High School Nationals.

The Nighthawks have a strong returning class of seniors including Shaun Daoust, Grayson Renkert, Andrew Corey, Thomas Morgan, and Brayden Ayles. Underclassmen looking to make their mark this season include Ty Jorgensen, Rafe D’Agostino, Dante Ames, and Andrew Gegelishvili.

NHS has six wrestlers named in preseason rankings across six states and 170-plus schools: Maurath No. 3 in the 165 pound weight division; Argüello No. 3 at 150 pounds; Maddox No. 4 at 157; Dunn No. 11 at 190; Morgan No. 14 at 215; and Gioffre No. 15 at 120.

To test themselves the Hawks have scheduled tough competitions against top-ranked Xavier, No. 3 Fairfield Warde, and No. 4 East Hartford, in addition to facing perennial fellow SWC powerhouse and No. 6 New Milford.

The Hawks also travel across the region to wrestle in large tournaments. They compete at the Lowell Holiday tournament, which features over 150 teams. Last year, Newtown was the first Connecticut team to win the tournament in the event’s 55-year history. NHS also wrestles at the Eastern States Tournament, which is regarded as one of the hardest tournaments in the country. These events are for the Hawk wrestlers to compete against the best outside of the state and to get exposure to college coaches.

“Defending our Lowell title will be a priority. Class L States as well as an Open state title are within reach if everyone does their job. We underperformed in the SWC tournament last year; we will also expect to correct that,” Bray said.

Newtown coaches expect the freshmen, sophomores, and juniors to make a big impact. The future of the program continues to look bright with a fantastic feed program loaded with more than 125 wrestlers in grades K through 8.

The Hawks, following the December 18 season-opener at Pomperaug of Southbury, will compete in the Lowell tourney the weekend before Christmas and will host some of the top teams from around and out of the state in a tourney on December 28.

“The guys have been working very hard in the offseason. I think it’s safe to say, they are anxious to correct some of our shortcomings from last season and achieve some individual State and New England titles, as well as the team titles. If we wrestle to our capabilities we can accomplish those goals,” Bray said.

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