NEW HAVEN — Sparked by some standout individual and relay running performances and impressive jumps and throws, Newtown High School’s girls’ indoor track team captured the South-West Conference championship at Floyd Little Athletic Center on Saturday night, February 5. The Nighthawks scored 85.33 points; runner-up Weston had 77. The Nighthawks dethroned a Weston program that had won the last eight conference crowns.

“They are beyond excited,” Newtown Coach Becky Bourret said of her team members, adding that her seniors were in tears following the triumph.

The boys, led by Caleb Smith’s first-place result in the high jump competition, tied for fifth as a team with Stratford, as both teams scored 44 points; New Milford was first with 95. Bethel and Weston tied for second with 73, and Joel Barlow of Redding was fourth with 63.5.

Although the first- and second-place event efforts were certainly key to the girls coming out on top, so too, was Newtown racking up points with multiple top point-earning efforts in numerous events.

“It was a joint effort started four years ago. My seniors and I knew we needed talented depth. You can’t just have one good athlete; you need a handful. We recruited in the school and found that depth. Weston took first in shot-put but we took third, fourth, and fifth, which outscores them in the end,” Bourret said.

“My relays were amazing today. It’s hard when other teams know they can’t win so they stack certain relays for better times going into states,” the coach added.

Girls’ Team Results

In the sprint medley relay race, Rachel Albrecht, Ella Hall, Sophia Guevara, and Ally McCarthy were first in a time of 4:31.69.

The 4x200 relay of Amelia Daly, Hall, Eva Barricelli, and Elise Barricelli was second in a season best time of 1:53.75.

In the 4x400 relay event, McCarthy, Guevara, Daly, and Hannah Snayd was second in 4:19.65.

Newtown’s 4x800 team of Riley Powers, Ryann Heim-Sherwood, Emily Litke, and Snayd was second with a school record-setting time of 9:59.65.

Powers was second in the 600, clocking in with a personal record time of 1:41.31. Snayd was third in 1:42.04, Sophia Guevara came in sixth in a season record time of 1:47.10, Rachel Albrecht was seventh in a PR 1:49.06, and Ryann Heim-Sherwood was eighth in a PR 1:49.71.

Barricelli came in fourth in the 55 dash with a season record time of 7.73 seconds, and Katelyn Zaniewski was ninth in a PR time of 7.98.

McCarthy was third in the 1000, clocking in at 3:11.09, a second record time.

Adams earned fifth in the 55 hurdles in a personal record time of 9.89 seconds; Madison Singlak was sixth in 9.95 and Kayleigh Troy ninth in 10.30 — both also PR times.

In the 1600, Clara D’Amico finished eighth in 5:56.20.

Powers and Barricelli gave NHS a three-four finish in the 300 dash with times of 43.85 (PR) and 44.07 (season record), and Amelia Daly came in ninth in 45.48.

In the high jump competition, Newtown finished sixth through eighth; Jaime Adams cleared the bar at 4-10, Troy at 4-08, and Grace Miller at 4-06.

Newtown’s Lola Kessler tied for sixth in the pole vault competition, getting over the bar at 7 feet, a personal best.

In the long jump event, Miller was eighth with a jump of 14-08.50 and Zaniewski came in tenth with a PR 14-06.50.

In the shot-put competition, Kaelin Rising was third with a throw of 29 feet, Shayna Millard was fourth with a PR 28-02, and Zaniewski was fifth with a PR 27-11.75.

Boys’ Team Results

The boys had some standout performers. Caleb Smith was first in the high jump event, clearing the bar at a PR 6-01.

Kevin Murray was second in the shot-put event with a PR throw of 43-09.25.

Oliver Guzy came in third in the 55 hurdles with a PR time of 9.05 seconds, and Jayden Taylor was eighth in the event in 9.81.

The 4x800 relay team of Aidan Budge, Colby Harrell, Soheib Dissa, and Cameron Whorf was second in a season best time of 8:39.79.

Newtown’s 4x200 team of Brock Dukate, William Elkins, Victor Souza, and Smith was third in a season-record time of 1:39.14

In the boys’ long jump competition, Guzy was tenth with a leap of 17-05.25.

In the 55 meter dash, Dukate came in fifth in a PR time of 6.96 seconds; Smith was sixth in 6.97; and Victor Souza was ninth with a PR of 7.05.

Budge placed fifth in the 1000 in 2:50.66, and Soheib Dissa came in eighth in 2:51.52.

The 600 had some strong NHS finishers. Whorf was seventh in 1:34.47, Colby Harrell came in eighth in a PR time of 1:34.93, and Dissa was ninth in 1:36.96.

Newtown’s 1600 sprint medley relay team of Miguel Gutierrez, Dustin Goss, Souza, and Harrell was seventh in 4:14.45.

The 4x400 team of William Elkins, Sam Staubly, Goss, and Gutierrez was sixth in 4:01.41.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.