The defending South-West Conference champion Newtown High School gymnastics team is preparing for what Coach Keirsten Raccio and her competitors hope will be another successful season.

The Nighthawks lost just one senior, Leah Wallace, and not only bring back a wealth of talent but also bring in some newcomers who bring plenty of skill to the uneven bars, balance beam, vault, and floor.

Newtown has a dozen team members and the Nighthawks will be led by junior Kaitlyn Tumney on the vault, senior all around competitor Elisha Wilson, and senior beam standout Daisey Zheng, Raccio said.

“I am excited to see what the new freshmen will bring to the team,” the coach added.

Seniors Meagan Foy and Jennifer Indelicato, juniors Alana O’Donnell and Anna Jannott, and sophomore Cameron Vasquez are the other returning team members. Newcomers Ashling Sugarman, Samantha Olah, Samantha Gilbert, and Sarah MacMullen add depth to the lineup. Captains were to have been selected at the end of this week.

 After winning the SWC title, Newtown went on to place fifth in the Class L state championships.

The Nighthawks, who practice and host meets at Kinetic Kids in Oxford, will have a pair of home competitions: January 10 against Southington and February 21 when Trumbull and Staples of Westport visit. The meet schedule gets going with the January 4 Pomperaug Invitational in Southbury.

“All of the girls are working very hard to make sure they have the skills they need. We hope to have a successful season as we did last year winning the SWC championship, as well as have as much fun as we did last year,” Raccio said.