A win in the Class LL state championship certainly did a lot to ease the pain of narrowly missing out on a South-West Conference title last winter. But while the Nighthawks may be on top of things and be the hunted in the state, they are every bit as much hungry for success and the hunters in the conference.

“We’re absolutely not hiding from anybody right now, so that means everybody’s going to come at us harder,” Coach Chris Bray anticipates. “Everybody here has a good understanding of what they need to do.”

And that is train hard in practice to give the Nighthawks their best chance of success during competitions — throughout the regular campaign and on into the postseason.

Bray’s number one goal, after seeing New Milford come from behind to win to capture the SWC crown yet again last winter, is to finally dethrone the 11-time conference champions. Although the Nighthawks also would like to retain their state championship, an SWC triumph, given their long history with New Milford, might be that much sweeter.

The Nighthawks return plenty of experience and skill to the mats, but will have to overcome three big losses to graduation from a team that went 14-2 in dual meets and earned the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference’s Wrestling Team of the Year award: Greg LaRussa, who was a SWC champ and placed third in Class LL; Ryan Wagner, who was second in the SWC and fifth in LL; and Mike Long who came in third in the SWC. Long returns as a coach to assist second-year leader Bray this winter.

Newtown’s captains are Luca Crudo (113 pound weight division), Matt Gonzalez (132), James Leuci (138), and Connor LeMay (160).

Leuci was an SWC runner-up, Class LL champ, and placed fourth in the State Open. Other key returnees include sophomores Ed Lovely (a 126 pound grappler who was runner-up in both the SWC and LL finals) and Anthony Falbo (a 170 pound wrestler who was SWC, LL, and State Open champion, and came in third in New England).

Bray notes that his team was well within reach of winning the SWC team title last winter. In addition to holding a two-point lead heading into the final match, Newtown was hurt by the fact New Milford earned several early points the Nighthawks didn’t, in preliminary-round bouts.

In addition to seeking a conference crown and keeping a hold on the state title, Bray would like to see his team make a run at a State Open championship.

New Milford, which also won the Class L state title, is again among the top teams on Newtown’s schedule. The Nighthawks will visit New Milford on January 21. Newtown will tangle with some tough competitors from out of the conference, including Danbury (State Open champ and New England runner-up), Fairfield Warde (Class L runner up), as well as other notables such as Bristol Eastern and Trumbull. These are all top-ten teams in the state, Bray notes. Newtown’s first home meet will be on January 7 when Masuk of Monroe visits for a 7 pm clash.