In the gymnasium on the bottom floor of Edmond Town Hall, there are dozens of youth athletes jumping rope, warming up, then tangling on the mats. It’s preseason practice time for the upcoming Newtown Youth Wrestling Association (NYWA) season, and these late November nights are a time for hard work in practice that the participants hope will pay off in the form of championships later this winter and, perhaps, more titles once they move on to the high school level in the years to come.

There was a new race course for the The C. H. Booth Library’s 10th Anniversary Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning.

They say defense wins championships. On Thanksgiving Eve, it was Newtown High School's D that helped ensure, if there is a pinnacle game for the Hawks, that the road to a state title will begin on their home turf. The Nighthawks defeated host Masuk of Monroe 17-2 to clinch a first-round state playoff game.

Newtown Police said that road closures during the 10th Annual Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot will be in effect between 7:30 am and approximately 8:30 or 9 am as the race concludes.

Tori Gioiele, of Newtown, scored the game-winner in Canterbury School’s 1-0 victory over St. Luke’s of New Canaan in the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council Girls' Soccer Tournament championship at Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Mass. on November 17.

Newtown High School’s girls’ swimming and diving team competed in the Class LL state championships with the diving competition in Middletown on November 13 and the swimming events at Wesleyan University in Middletown on November 19. Newtown placed 11th with 206 points. Cheshire won the competition with 655.

A close game midway through the second quarter changed quickly thanks to a clutch fourth down conversion and first-ever touchdown by Newtown defensive end James Knox. Leading just 10-7 in the second quarter, the Nighthawks converted a fourth and long, scored one play later, then went up 23-7 on a Knox strip, fumble recovery, and return for a score — his first TD at any level — sending Newtown High's football team on its way to a 44-10 triumph over host Joel Barlow on November 15.

Newtown High School's field hockey team gave everything it had but for the first time this season couldn't break through with a goal in a 1-0 decision against Norwalk in the Class L state tournament quarterfinals, at Blue & Gold Stadium, on November 15.

Top-seeded Newtown High School, blanked No. 17 Hamden 6-0 in the first round of the Class L state field hockey tournament, at Blue & Gold Stadium, on November 13.