Color Guard Teams Continue To Shine; Varsity Prepares For National Competition

It was a perfect season for The Newtown National Scholastic A Varsity and Scholastic AAA Junior Varsity Winter Color Guard teams. Both went undefeated in Musical Arts Conference (MAC) competition this season and took home gold during The March 27 MAC Championships held at Trumbull High School. The Junior Guard added to its award list by placing second in the championships, earning silver for its unit with a score of 86.1 for the “Journey to Friendship” show about finding acceptance on a school playground.

The Varsity won its seventh MAC Championship in a row after performing its show “Stargaze” to an enthusiastic audience, and the team was awarded a season-high score of 90 in its class to beat closest competitor, Arlington, by a wide margin of 3.7 points.

The Junior Varsity wowed the crowd once again with their spirited performance of the pirate-themed “Quest for Gold” — a quest they met with ease, defeating Shelton by 5 points to earn a Scholastic AAA class season-high score of 91.9 points. Instructed by Color Guard Director Bob Findley, Janos Pergely and Varsity Captains Nicole Scalora and Sarah Smith, the Scholastic AAA members are: tenth-grader Becca Tobin; seventh-graders Sarah Braga, Nina Bonvini, Kenzie Casey, Courtney Datin, Kayleigh Granville, Maddie Hintzen, Caitlin Jones, Aly Montague, Kelsea Morshuk, Bridgett O’Donnell, and Brittany Violet; and sixth-graders Camryn Gaudett and Becky Romano.

Findley was pleased with the season both the AAA and the Junior Guards had, especially given the fact that many members of the AAA and all of the Junior guard members were new to Color Guard competition. 

“These kids gave 100 percent and surprised us with their talent and how quickly they learned new skills. I look forward to seeing what they can do next year,” he said. 

The Junior 2010 Junior Winter Guard members are: fifth-graders Kristina Assner, Lizza Calabrese, Michelle Destefano, Lauren Granville, Allison Hsu, Erin Kelly, and Emma Maki; and fourth-graders Lincoln Gray and Jo Risko. In addition to Findley, they are instructed by Varsity Guard members Missy Metcalf and Alyssa Wade.

During the weekend of March 20-21, the Nighthawk SNA Varsity Guard won first place at the WGI (Winter Guard International) regional competition in South Brunswick, New Jersey. The team outperformed 23 guards from the Eastern United States to win the first ever WGI Regional Championship for Newtown.  The Varsity Winter Guard is ranked ninth in the world and will travel to Dayton, Ohio to compete in the WGI World Championships April 7-10.

The 2010 Varsity Guard members are Newtown High School Juniors Metcalf, Scalora, Smith and Wade along with Victoria Braga, Melissa Charles, Olivia DeWald, and Sarah Walton; Sophomore Sara Hetzer and Grace McKinley; Freshmen: Brianna Bauch, Cherokee Belval, Melissa Christiano, Caitlin Fitz Gerald, Brandon Ghent, Victoria Hanulik, Grace Hubbard and Meaghan Kelly and Newtown Middle School eighth grader Paige Thanasoulis. Staff members are Findley, Pergely, Michele Liscio and Victoria Whittington.