Newtown High School’s indoor track teams had their first developmental meets against half of the South-West Conference teams, at Bethel High on January 6.

Despite an abbreviated meet due to the snow storm in which three events were missed — sprint medley relay, 300 meter, and the 4x400 relay — the girls took home 18 new SWC qualifiers, eight new state qualifiers, and 22 personal records.

Aashni Shetty had a great meet, PRing in the 55 hurdles with a time of 9.20, winning the meet and finishing only .01 off the national qualifying time. She also broke the 17-year-old long jump school record with a jump of 16-9.25 which also won the meet. Shetty was not able to compete in her final event, the 300, due to the snow.

Captains Ella Hall and Grace Lyons went second and third in the 55 dash.

Leah Morris, sophomore outdoor standout in her first indoor season, won the 600 with a time of 1:47.08 qualifying her for states. Joining her at states is junior captain Rachel Albrecht (1:48.72). Nighthawk lacrosse and field hockey standout Brook Bulkley had a PR of 1:53.58, qualifying her for SWCs.

The mile saw four Nighthawks qualify for the conference meet. Captain Keira Budge led the group in 5:47.5; Clara D’Amico, Annabelle Foley, and Grace Chiriatti followed.

The team’s jumpers had an outstanding meet. In long jump Ella Hall qualified for states with a PR jump. Rookie Violet Assante-LaBash missed qualifying for states by .1 but made SWCs and will be joined by Olivia Doersch. First-year competitor Kayla Locke will join them in long jump and also qualified in hurdles.

Pole vault saw returners Bridget Gioffe and Ryan Los qualify for SWCs. Los also qualified in high jump.

In the shot-put event, NHS went 1-2-3 with returnee Amanda Reyes winning the meet with 29-05, a PR sending her to states, along with first-year track competitor/softball stud Brianna Pellicon who saw a 6 inch PR from her first meet in December (29-00). Captain Isabel Khazadian followed in third, bettering her seed for states with a throw of 28-10.75.

The varsity standouts race at the prestigious Yale Invite on Friday and Saturday, January 12-13. This invite has not run since the 2020 season, prior to COVID. While some race there, the rest of the team will face another round of SWC rivals at Bethel on Saturday, January 13.

On the boys’ side, Newtown had a first-place finish from Derek Jopp in the 55 hurdles.

NHS got a first-place finish from a 4x200 relay team which made several last minute adjustments due to injuries the day before. Elias Brady, Gabriel Appiah, Grady Marks, and a last minute heroic performance from Zachary Clouden, contributed to the relay’s victory.

Newtown has the top freshman thrower in the SWC in Billy Massett, who tossed 25 feet in the shot-put competition.

The team earned third- and fourth-place place finishes from Elias Brady and Grady Marks in the 55 dash.

Tanner Smith and Reid Karnas broke new ground in a new event for the runners. Both ran great races in the 600 and have potential for state qualifiers in the coming weeks.

Ubey Dissa had a good opener with a fourth-place finish in the 800. Ubey’s older sibling and captain Soheib Dissa and senior captain Noah Massota were first and third in the 1000.

Gabriel Appiah won the long jump with a distance of 19-10.

“Overall a strong performance. A very small but mighty team with a lot of heart,” Coach Charlie Taubl said.