By Kim J. Harmon
By Kim J. Harmon
There is no denying that Newtown High School has had an almost inordinate amount of success over the last few years and, in 2006, fared pretty well with a few more South-West Conference championships, new school records, and a couple more athletes signing on to play at major Division I schools.
But the top story in 2006 would have to be that of the Newtown Blaze 12-and-under All Star baseball team, which qualified for the Cal Ripken World Series for the second time while setting a standard that may never be met in the annals of New England baseball.
The Blaze â while putting together an almost unfathomable 50-7 record in four years of Ripken-sanctioned tournaments â won four consecutive state championships and four consecutive New England Regional championships.
Winning the Regional title this past July was particularly dramatic, despite the fact that the Blaze swept through the tournament. Down 10-7 with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth against Cranston, Rhode Island, slugger Oliver Powers smashed a 2-0 pitch into the trees to put the Blaze up for the first time in the game and deny Cranston a chance of unseating the reigning champs.
The win put the Blaze in the World Series in Aberdeen, Maryland, and though they didnât get out of pool play they formally established an amazing legacy and gave Newtown its top story of 2006.
Here are a lot more highlights from the year that was â¦
JANUARY
Dave McLaughlin banked in a layup with 5.1 seconds left to lift the Newtown High School boysâ basketball team past Staples, 53-52, in the consolation game of the Staples Holiday Tournament ⦠Donna and Rich Van Waalwijk received a service award from the Newtown Babe Ruth Softball League board of directors during the league dinner ⦠Darien puts a halt to the 17-game win streak of the Newtown seventh-grade boysâ travel team ⦠Kim Solheim of the Newtown High School wrestling ream was named Webster Bank Scholar/Athlete of the Week ⦠Mark Feltch was named The Newtown Bee Sportsman of the Year ⦠Ishan Tatake drained five three-pointers to lead the Newtown boysâ seventh-grade travel team past Danbury PAL ⦠Sara Kelley scored 30 points â 17 in the fourth quarter alone â but the Newtown Middle School girlsâ basketball team fell to Jockey Hollow.
FEBRUARY
The Newtown High School girlsâ indoor track and field team finished third at the South-West Conference championships with Sadie Ball earning the only individual first-place finish in the 1,600-meter race. The boys finished fifth as Zach Schwartz finished second in the 1,000- and 3,200-meter races ⦠Colby Chilson of Newtown competed in the Aquafina Team Challenge amateur gymnastics meet at Western Connecticut State University ⦠A plaque in memory of former Newtown High School swimmer Greg Chion, who passed away from leukemia in 2000, was formally dedicated at the Newtown pool during the Newtown-Brookfield meet ⦠Stefan Toi set a new pool record in the 200 individual medley in the Newtown High School swim teamâs loss to Brookfield ⦠The Newtown High School wrestling team finished fourth at the South-West Conference tournament as senior Jeff Lipnick finished runner-up at 130 pounds ⦠The Newtown High School girlsâ basketball team rode the highs and lows of the South-West Conference tournament, defeating Kolbe in overtime before falling to Pomperaug in the semi-finals ⦠The Newtown High School cheerleaders competed at the UCA National Cheerleading Championships in Orlando, Florida, for the second year in a row ⦠The Newtown Middle School boysâ basketball team closed out the 2005-06 season with a Jockey Hollow Tournament title as George Zaruba scored 20 points and Ralph Sergiovanni scored 19 more in a win over Brookfield ⦠Josh Freitas of Newtown scored four goals and assisted on another as the Junior Rangers won seven games at the Championnats Mondiaux Hockey Tournament in Quebec, Ontario, Canada.
MARCH
Stefan Toi finished first in the 100-yard butterfly as the Newtown High School swim team finished fourth at the South-West Conference championships ⦠the Newtown Middle School seventh-grade basketball team finished the 2006-07 season undefeated at 7-0 ⦠the Newtown Youth Basketball seventh-grade boys and seventh-grade girls captured Fairfield County Basketball League (FCBL) championships (with the boys boasting a 32-4 record) ⦠Lisa Masella of Newtown concluded a wonderful basketball career at Western New England College, finishing with 1,289 points after WNEC fell to Emmanuel in the ECAC Division III championship game and being named second team All-GNAC ⦠The Knicks, Deamon Deakins, Huskies and Da Bears all captured Newtown Youth Basketball League championships in a wild weekend ⦠The Newtown High School boysâ swim team set a new team record in the 400 freestyle relay, going 3:22.02 in the CIAC Class L championships (the Nighthawks finished fifth as a team) ⦠Grant Braun and Colleen Cunningham, seventh graders at St. Rose School, were honored at the Danbury Parochial League Tournament â Braun earning the Patty LiVolsi Memorial Sportsmanship Award and Cunningham earning a spot on the All-Tournament team ⦠Tori Anderton scored 34 points as Alpine Realty defeated Walsh Logging, 67-59, to captured the championship of The Gym at Newtown Womenâs Basketball League.
APRIL
The Newtown High School baseball team enjoyed a nice trip to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, with a 3-2 non-league win over rival Pomperaug ⦠Kristen Grabowski of the Newtown Flash 12-and-under girlsâ travel soccer team earned the Sportsman of the Year award at the Newtown Soccer Club banquet ⦠Team Solid defeated the Blue Bengals to capture the Newtown Youth Basketball Senior Girls League championship. Amy Kelley scored 12 points and Melissa Mason dished off 10 assists ⦠The Newtown Power girlsâ 12-and-under and Newtown CFC Gunners girlsâ 14-and-under travel teams captured titles at the Glastonbury-Hartwell Spring Warm-Up Soccer Tournament.
MAY
The Newtown High School girlsâ tennis team finished 16-1 and won the South-West Conference championship with a 4-3 win over Pomperaug.Kristene Salbu (No. 3 singles) and the tandem of Jenna Moser and Katie Serock (No. 2 doubles) would go on to win individual titles ⦠Jenna Legros fired a two-hitter as the Newtown High School softball team bounced arch-rival Lauralton Hall out of the South-West Conference tournament for the second straight year ... Rich âGooseâ Gossage spoke at the Newtown Babe Ruth Baseball League banquet at the Waterview Inn in Monroe ⦠The two-time defending South-West Conference champion Newtown High School girlsâ track and field team was finally de-throned despite a record-setting performance in the 4x100 relay and two wins by senior Alex Konneker ⦠The Roadrunners (Girls U13), Flash (Girls U12), Cobras (Boys U11) and Jaguars (Girls U10) all captured titles at the 24th annual Newtown Soccer Club Memorial Day Kick-Off Tournament.
JUNE
Brian McGovern of Bonita Springs, Florida (formerly of Newtown) and Norma Crom of New Fairfield were the top male and female finishers at the annual Rockinâ Rooster Run at Reed Intermediate School ⦠The Newtown High School girlsâ lacrosse team captured its third South-West Conference championship and second in a row with a 14-10 win over Brookfield. Karli Beitel scored one goal and assisted on six others while Lauren Ciccomascolo scored six goals. Beitel finished the season with a school-record 62 assists and became only the second player (first female) to register a 100-point season ⦠No. 1-seeded Bob Elliott defeated No. 2-seeded Al Turner to capture the Menâs Open Singles title at the annual Newtown Open Tennis Tournament sponsored by the Newtown Tennis Association ⦠Alex Konneker and Marc Ingerman were named The Newtown Bee Athletes of the Year. Konneker would head off to Manhattan College to play soccer while Ingerman would head off to Towson State University to play lacrosse.
JULY
Kate Bowen fired a perfect game as the Newtown Hawks 14-and-under softball team nipped Prospect, 1-0. The Hawks would go on to defeat Norwalk in the state tournament and qualify for the U14 Nationals in Varina, Virginia ⦠AERCO (14/15) and BASE Technologies (U11) won Babe Ruth Baseball League division championships ⦠The Newtown Blaze 12-and-under travel team captured its fourth straight state championship with an 11-10 win over Norwalk at Glander Field in Newtown. A week later, the Blaze â on a fifth-inning grand slam by Oliver Powers â captured their fourth straight New England Regional championship to earn a trip to the Cal Ripken World Series in Aberdeen, Maryland ⦠Mike Phenix of Sandy Hook won a Dream Vacation when his ticket was pulled in the Newtown Blue & Gold Booster Club raffle ⦠Junie Ingram, Joe Lanoutt and Bud Holland used a frozen pheasant breast to land an 11-pound flounder off the coast of Block Island.
AUGUST
Oliver Powers and Will Arndt whacked home runs, but the Newtown Blaze 12-and-under baseball team dropped three of four games in pool play during the Cal Ripken World Series in Aberdeen, Maryland. It was the second trip for the team to the Cal Ripken World Series; they first qualified as 10-year-olds in Vincennes, Indiana two years ago ⦠ Tim Kerr (Ridgewood Country Club) and Ben Gersten (Rock Ridge Country Club) competed in the72nd Connecticut Open at Ridgewood Country Club in Danbury, but failed to make the cut ... Amanda LaPorta of Newtown, a senior at the Canterbury School, was a member of the Mid-Atlantic team at the 12th annual Girlsâ Summer Showcase at Hockey Night in Boston ⦠James Marusi, Josh Nickerson Reiss and James Nickerson Reiss were the top finishers at the Newtown Country Club junior championships ⦠Ashley Mele of Newtown won a gold medal in figure skating at the annual Nutmeg Games and that qualified her for the 2007 State Games of America in Colorado Springs, Colorado ⦠Caitlin Smiley, Katie Datin, Nicole Alberico and Hannah Tenenbaum helped lead the CT Revolution field hockey team to a gold medal at the Nutmeg Games ⦠Beeline Woodworking and Newtown Exxon captured Newtown Womenâs Softball League championships at Treadwell Park ⦠The Newtown Nighthawks 14-and-under travel team earned a third-place trophy at the 2006 Babe Ruth U14 Softball National Invitational Tournament in Varina, Virginia ⦠Kevin Woessner concluded a summer umpiring in the independent Northwoods League.
SEPTEMBER
Kevin Hoyt of Newtown and Sarah Muhlbradt of Piermont, New York, were the top finishers at the first Newtown Road Race benefiting Newtown Youth Services â¦Villanova slipped past Syracuse, 50-46, to earn the Rising Stars Summer Basketball League championship. Max Paynter scored 14 points and Sam Kerr added to lead the Wildcats ⦠Bob Elliott earned his eighth consecutive Menâs Open Singles title with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Tim Hanley at the annual Bertram Stroock Memorial Tennis Tournament ⦠Kristi Nowak, a senior at Newtown High School, made a formal commitment to play soccer at Virginia Tech in 2007 ⦠The Newtown High School girlsâ swim team saw its 33-meet winning streak come to an end with a loss to rival Lauralton Hall ⦠Kyle Vignone rushed for 300 yards and three touchdowns as the Newtown American Youth Football eighth-grade team smashed Ridgefild, 24-0.
OCTOBER
Porcoâs Construction defeated Hurd Construction, 15-8, to capture its third championship in four years in the Newtown Sunday Slo-Pitch Softball League. Porcoâs banged out 19 hits with Chris Dennis going 3-for-3 with eight RBI ⦠Nearly 30 teams and 350 players arrived in Newtown to participate in the annual 7v7 Lacrosse Tournament at Treadwell Park ⦠The Newtown Roadrunners girlsâ 14-and-under travel soccer team earned the title at the Cape Cod Harvest Cup Tournament ⦠The Newtown High School boysâ cross country team snapped New Milfordâs 75-meet regular season winning streak as the girlsâ cross country team concluded its second consecutive undefeated season while winning its fifth straight South-West Conference championship ⦠Former Newtown High School teammates Casey Frobey of Fairfield University and Alex Konneker of Manhattan College met on the soccer pitch again with Frobey scoring twice to lead the Lady Stags to a 5-0 win over the Lady Jaspers ⦠The Newtown High School girlsâ soccer team defeated Bethel, 1-0, to advance to the South-West Conference championship for the first time ever.
NOVEMBER
The Blue Devils defeated the Green Machine, 9-2, to captured the Newtown Babe Ruth Baseball League U10/11 fall championship ⦠Mike Troy of Newtown scored the winning goal to lead the Fairfield University menâs soccer team past St. Peterâs, 1-0, for the MAAC conference championship ⦠Senior Ryan McGrath signed his National Letter of Intent to pitch for the Wake Forest University baseball team in 2007-08 ⦠The Newtown American Youth Football fourth-grade team earned a trip to AYF National Tournament with a 27-7 win over Norwalk in the CVFL championship game ⦠Kim Lowell of Newtown High School was named Assistant Coach of the Year by the Connecticut Field Hockey Coaches Association ⦠The Newtown High School field hockey team was presented with a South-West Conference Sportsmanship Award.
DECEMBER
Marcus Tracy of Newtown helped lead the Wake Forest menâs soccer team into the NCAA Division I semi-finals where the Demon Deacons lost in a penalty kick shootout to the University of California at Santa Barbara ⦠Newtown High School head football coach Ken Roberts decided to step down from his post to spend more time with his family and landscaping business ⦠The Newtown American Youth Football fourth-grade team captured an AYF National Championship by defeating the Central Florida All-Stars in a best-of-three series ⦠Newtown High School sophomore Tania Domingos earned a spot on the All-New England team.