By Kim J. Harmon

BROOKFIELD – After five months of performing on the sidelines at football games and basketball games, it was time for the Newtown High School co-ed cheerleading squad to put its routine to the test at the South-West Conference championships.

And with a near flawless routine (one tumbling error), the Nighthawks earned a third-place finish – their best ever at the SWC meet. Perennial power Pomperaug took first-place honors and Bethel – which performed the only flawless routine – finished second.

“We did an amazing job and I was proud of the team,” said co-captain Amber Butler. “We nailed our stunts – even some that we had trouble with in practice. Third is our best and we’ll do even better next year.”

Thirteen teams competed at the SWC championships in Brookfield and the Nighthawks were the 13th to get on the mat. Seating high up in the bleachers, they waited more than 90 minutes and watched potential favorites Pomperaug and Bunnell fail some stunts and figured they had as good a shot as any to win the title.

“I saw a lot of other teams drop some stunts and we nailed all of ours, so I thought we would definitely place in the top three and I’m really excited that we did,” said co-captain Amanda Klabonski, who figured a third-place finish – and not something higher – was because, “I think some of the stunts (Pomperaug) performed were tougher than ours.”

Still, it was a fine afternoon for the NHS co-ed cheerleading team.

The co-ed team includes seniors Adam Konneker and Matt Miller; juniors Amber Butler (co-captain), Amanda Klabonski (co-captain), Stephanie MacKay, Mallory Berko, Alyssa McIntyre, Christina Elsenhans, Lauren Grimaldi, Lisa Grossman, and Taylor Schmidt; sophomores Remy Ball, Christina Matsis, Melissa Shepard, Kate Levasseur, Lauren Egdahl, Lauren Reagle, Bria Innaurato, and Noreen Barrett; and freshmen Nikki Beatty, Lauren Nute, Christina Bell, Leah Fahey, Jessica Shepard.