Girls’ Cross Country—

New Look Squad Tries To Win Another SWC Crown

By Andy Hutchison

Success is relative, and there is clearly no exception with the Newtown High School girls’ cross country team. Just take a look at the past results and new goals of the Nighthawks. The Hawks are going after their seventh straight South-West Conference championship, but are also seeking to improve on last year’s finish by qualifying for the New England Championships as a team. The Nighthawks went undefeated in the regular season and placed seventh in the State Open, narrowly missing qualifying a year ago (the cutoff is sixth place).

The returning members of the squad believe they have a lot to prove and are targeting that New England qualifier prize, but achieving the goal means some runners will have step up to fill the shoes of key graduates from a year ago.

And there are a lot of shoes.

Five of the top seven runners graduated; among them New England individual qualifier Elise DeRoo.

In many ways this is a rebuilding year but, at the same time, the team is reloaded with a wealth of strong returnees.

“The attitude, the commitment of this group of girls this year is excellent. They all work hard — it’s a great group,” Head Coach Doug Russell said.

Despite all of the hits the team took from graduation, watch out, says senior captain Kelley Anne Carney.

“People should definitely expect the unexpected. We’re as strong as ever,” she said.

In addition to Carney, Erin Nemeth and Keegan Frobey are captains who provide leadership for the new-look Nighthawks.

Confidence Surfaces

Nemeth is battling back from a leg injury and will miss the start of the season, leaving the Hawks a little more shorthanded than they would like, but confidence remains high at the start of the year.

“I think it’s going to do very well. We have so many strong runners,” Nemeth said.

Among them are seniors Natalie Villa, Emily Weber, and Steph Mitchell; junior Scarlett O’Sullivan; and sophomores Anne Martino, Mara Scallon, Kaitlyn Kakadeles, and Megan Preis. The team also boasts a strong freshmen contingent, including Erin Begg, who ran in the middle school program and is a prospect for the top seven.

“I have confidence in them. I think we’ll do well,” Frobey said of the newcomers.

Newtown has lost only one regular season meet in the last four years (a one-point nail-biter to New Milford) since Russell took over as head coach. The parity in the league this year leaves carrying over last season’s unbeaten ways and SWC title run in jeopardy. Immaculate, New Milford, Joel Barlow, Brookfield, and Pomperaug all join Newtown as good candidates to win it this fall, according to the coach.

“I think our conference is going to be a lot more competitive this year,” Russell said. “It’s going to really be a crapshoot this year.”