Feinstein, Kerns Among Boys’ Squad Winners

By Kelley Baylis

BETHEL — Panting from his warmup, and rain droplets dripping from his face, Newtown High School boys’ track and field team member John Hampford had a determined and serious look on his face and said, “We are going to win it. This is our year. The rain can’t stop us.”

Although the boys did not win the South-West Conference championships, held at Bethel High on Monday, their third-place finish was not a disappointment. Bunnell of Stratford was first with 108.50 points, New Fairfield second with 98.66, and Newtown was close behind with 97. Hamford was a part of one of two first-place relay teams.

“It’s a lot more exciting being at SWC’s than regular meets. There is so much more motivation to do well here because everyone is watching,” Sam Boland said. “Plus with more kids, it means more competition.”

Coach Dan McIlrath was more than pleased with the results, “As a coach, our expectations are always high and every year the kids do the same thing. They go above and beyond everything you wanted. They did a great job and I’m excited to continue the post season,” McIlrath said.

“Our 4x800 team (Jake Feinstein, Palmer Lintz, Pat Sullivan, Dieter Gutbrod), along with Peter Kerns, John Hampford, Mac Morlock, Spencer Erhardt, and countless others, did a phenomenal job to really put us back on the map in the track and field community,” McIlrath said.

The 4x800 relay team was first overall with a  time of 8:08.22. The boys also took fourth place in the 4x100 relay with a time of 45.66, led by Capaldo, Jason Ferrari, Kerns, and Jimmy Leidlein.

The 4x400 meter relay team of Rob Russo, Kerns, Hampford, and Gutbrod was first.

Hampford earned fourth in the 110 meter hurdles, bringing in points for the boys. He also placed fifth in the 300 meter hurdles. Feinsten finished third in the 1600, and first in the 3200. In the 400 meter dash, Kerns took first place. In the 800 meter, Gutbrod placed third, and Kerns finished fifth in the 200.

On the field, the boys were able to bring in many points for the team as well. Mac Morlock finished second in discus, and second in shot put. Spencer Erhardt placed third in pole vault.

“States is always up the air, we will see what happens and who comes ready to compete. The athletes and myself expect nothing but the best performances as we go forth into the post season. These kids really know how to step it up if they need to. They’ve trained to do nothing less than to push themselves as far as they can. Only time will tell what will happen in the next few weeks,” McIlrath said.

Tyler Gibney suffered an injury early on in the season and has been cheering from the sidelines. “Even though I can’t run in the meets, I still enjoy cheering on my team mates, especially during championship time,” said Gibney, adding that the Hawks are shooting for a top-five finish in the state championships.