Newtown High School’s girls’ and boys’ cross country teams are looking forward to getting the season started this fall.

“Very excited about all of the new runners that came out to join our family — there’s a lot of talent there,” said Christina Caron, coach of the girls.

Caron has captains Chloe Karnas, Ella Hage, and Emily Litke leading the way. Clara D’Amico and Alexa Norton are among the returnees.

The girls graduated four of their top seven from a year ago, so they will look to the rise of returnees and the emergence of newcomers to the lineup. Caron said this is a bit of a rebuilding year for her Nighthawks, but there is no telling which teams will have standouts from season to season or where the Hawks will end up among the South-West Conference mix.

“I’d like to see them be a competitive team in the SWC,” Caron said.

On the boys’ side, Coach Carl Strait is looking for his squad to be among the best in the conference.

“With the right training and pieces of the puzzle falling into place, if everything comes together, we can challenge for top three, top two,” Strait said.

The boys have 14 captains who will keep the team members training together in small groups to give this large team a small feel. The captains are Aidan Budge, Andy Zhang, Anthony Manca, Collin Kelley, Daniel Sibley, Emery Tullis, Ethan McGinnis, Evan Smith, Jeremy Pankow, Kyle Strait, Louis Cocozza, Mitchell Schrader, Sam Staubly, and Saahil Ray.

New Milford and Joel Barlow are among the teams anticipated to be the toughest in the conference, Strait said.

Staying healthy and avoiding the injury bug will be key for teams as the season unfolds.

The season begins Tuesday, September 14 at Brookfield, against the host Bobcats as well as Immaculate of Danbury and Masuk of Monroe; the boys start at 4:30 pm with the girls to follow at 5 o’clock.