Sports

Swim Team’s Hard Work Pays Off With Strong Results In Home Meet

By Andy Hutchison

Published: Oct 03, 2025 6:55 am

Newtown High School’s girls swimming and diving team had a strong showing in a 93-81 loss to visiting Pomperaug of Southbury on September 26.

“We had a good showing against a strong Pomperaug team. We came away with a few individual wins and several best times. The hard work the girls are putting in at practice is paying off with improvements across the board,” Newtown Coach Lisa Irving said.

The 200 yard medley relay team of Ella Murphy, Indigo Land, Maddie Marcisz, and Sierra Marx was second in 2:07.01. Emma Sheehan placed third in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:24.51.

Land won the 50 free racing to the finish in 27.44. Aliyah Reuther was second in the diving competition with a score of 176.95.

Marcisz was second in the 100 butterfly clocking in at 1:05.27, a second behind Pomperaug’s race-winning time. Marx won the 100 freestyle in 58.11.

Pomperaug took the top thee spots in the 500 free and won the 200 free relay to seal the team win, and exhibitioned the final three races.

Newtown was second in the 200 free relay as Marx, Land, Murphy, and Marcisz finished in a time of 1:51.32, only a second behind Pomperaug’s top relay contingent.

Marx was second in the 100 backstroke race, making her final touch in 1:10.45, another race won by Pomperaug with a mere second to spare. Jolene Brackett was third in the 100 breaststroke in 1:30.66. Newtown’s 400 free relay team of Ella Viau, Murphy, Brackett, and Reagan Garvin was third in 4:46.12.

The team’s next meet is a six-team invitational at Conard, held at Cornerstone Aquatics Center in West Hartford on Saturday, October 4 beginning at 1:30 pm. The Nighthawks get back to South-West Conference action on Tuesday, October 7, when New Milford visits at 4 pm.

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

Emma Sheehan and the Nighthawks had some impressive times in a home meet against Pomperaug on September 26. —Bee Photos, Hutchison

Maddie Marcisz and the Hawks will compete at an invitational in West Hartford on Saturday, October 4.

The Way We Were

Endorses Walczak

Encourages Vote For Goodridge

Will Drew: Committed to Newtown’s Future on P&Z

Supporting Peter Schwarz for Planning & Zoning

I've tried that, too. Hwang and Bolinsky do not respond.

Wants To Know Local Candidate Opinions On Federal Administration

Kathy Quinn’s letter rightly calls out the danger of giving in to bullies. But her argument also raises an interesting question. Here in Newtown, we’ve all seen how a large, vocal NIMBY mobcan overrun our local zoning board. Time and again, the board caves to the loudest voices, even when those voices don’t represent the broader community. If that kind of pressure works for a neighborhood issue, why wouldn’t Donald Trump try the same tactic on a national scale? Whether it’s calling for reporters to be jailed or threatening TV stations with license revocations, he’s simply using the same “mob rules” playbook. The lesson is the same in both cases: rights don’t protect themselves. If people stay silent, the loudest and most aggressive voices will dominate. The only real antidote is participation—speaking up, voting, and refusing to let intimidation win.

Elections Have Consequences XV

We love you, Minerva and Marklin, and we wish you all the best. We'll miss you and your delicious food. We have many fond memories of Mexicali Rose, as our children grew up nourished by your food and your love. You've spoiled us--nobody makes mole like you do, and we'll never find chicken-filled chili rellenos like you make anywhere else. Your homemade chips and salsa were expected at gatherings we've had. We look forward to a Mexicali Rose cookbook!

Mexicali Rose — Almost 30 Years Of Meals, Laughs, And Love

Renee, Monica and I worked together for years as Assistant Town Clerks. Together we hoped to provide you with a positive, and even fun, experience and hoped you left satisfied and with a smile on your face. In these sometimes difficult times, please give Renée a chance to bring that back to the Town Clerks Office. Leaving with a smile on your face goes a long way and hopefully gets paid forward. Once again, good luck Renée! It’s time.

Renee Weimann, Preserving The Past While Focusing On The Future

Anne, your first paragraph condemning Charlie Kirk’s murder is commendable and appreciated. Sadly, it needs to be said. Newly on campus, a college student I know found himself surrounded by people who thought Charlie had it coming to him, and this student can’t help but wonder if they’d want him dead, too, for holding similar views to Charlie’s. No, this student isn’t a bigot, intolerant or exclusionary—but quite the opposite, as was Charlie Kirk quite the opposite. It seems that, to paraphrase Ronald Reagan, so much of what you know about Charlie Kirk just isn’t so. It makes me wonder whether you have actually listened to a Charlie Kirk Show or to one of his civil debates. I hear the term “Christian nationalist” bandied about these days. I’m a Christian and I’m a nationalist—that is, I’m devoted to what’s in the best interests of our nation--as was Charlie. Does that make us “Christian nationalists,” which you say is “utterly anti-American”?? Charlie had deeply held Christian beliefs that seemed to shape all his actions and speech. As the devout Christian that he was, Charlie would likely have wanted others to see the joy and salvation of holding similar beliefs. (He’d still be alive today if his assassin had followed Christ and the 10 commandments, including, “You shall not murder.”) But, did Charlie ever say that only Christians are welcome in our country? Certainly not that I’m aware of. You talk about the “separation of church and state” in our founding documents. You must be referring to the U.S. Constitution’s first amendment, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” Did Charlie call on Congress to make a law to establish a state religion or to prohibit people from practicing the faith of their choice? Certainly not that I’m aware of. There seems to be a lot of misinformation about Charlie out there. For example, the NY Times recently had to issue this retraction, "A correction was made on Sept. 11, 2025: An earlier version of this article described incorrectly an antisemitic statement that Charlie Kirk had made on an episode of his podcast. He was quoting a statement from a post on social media and went on to critique it. It was not his own statement." I urge you to not just listen to the propaganda, but actually watch some of Charlie’s videos (unabridged) and see for yourself. You might still disagree with his views, but perhaps you will no longer feel the need to call him a bigot, intolerant, exclusionary and anti-American. Perhaps you’ll see for yourself how Charlie was all about inviting his opponents to a civil debate, not about “disregarding, diminishing, discarding, despising, demonizing” others. Perhaps you’ll see Charlie’s example as a way in which we can all treat one another rather than engaging in name calling, intimidation, or violence.

Being An American Hero

<< Oct 2025 >>
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
28	29	30	1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30	31	1

Log In

Swim Team’s Hard Work Pays Off With Strong Results In Home Meet

Leave a Reply Cancel reply