Sports

NHS Boys Cross Country Team Runs Away With SWC Championship

By Andy Hutchison

Published: Oct 15, 2025 7:41 pm

BETHEL — Newtown High School's boys cross country team pulled away from the pack to win the South-West Conference Championship on the scenic trails at Bethel High during 60-degree, breezy conditions on October 15.

The Nighthawks scored 57 points to easily win the title; second-place Pomperaug of Southbury finished with 83. The five fastest finisher placements for each team counted toward the final score.

Led by third-place runner Orion Lowery, who finished in 16:55.9 and seventh-place finisher Duncan Kolb (17:27) the Hawks had five runners among the top 17. The overall race winner was Brookfield's Landon Wall (16:43.6). Newtown's Bryce Taylor was 14th with a time of 17:46.9, Reid Karnas was 16th in 17:52.8, and Ubay Dissa 17th in 17:53.1.

The Nighthawk girls placed fourth with a total of 107; Pomperaug won the meet with a score of 55. NHS was paced by Natalie McLean, who was 14th in 21:56.5 and Keeley Ferriter who came across the finish line in 15th with a time of 22:08.1. Nadia Andrew was 24th in 23:05.5, Anna Parsons came in 27th in 23:20.5, and Audrey McLean came in 32nd in 23:35.4. New Fairfield's Katie McMorrow won the race in 19:15.7.

There will be extensive coverage of the championships in the October 24 print edition of The Bee. For race results click here.

Newtown High's boys cross country team captured the conference championship. —Bee Photo, Hutchison

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Mr. Walczak, I read it multiple times before submitting my letter and again afterward. Nowhere in your letter do you mention Legislative Council. Regardless, you should know that the Board of Education has the greatest influence on budgets that ultimately come before Board of Finance and LC. In addition, I noted that you didn't respond to the more substantive issue highlighted in my letter -- school funding and impact on our residents. Your initial letter seemed to indicate that "Republicans" were misguided in challenging budget requests. Regardless of whether you were talking about LC or BOE, is it your position that 64.8% of every tax dollar is not enough to adequately fund our schools? Are you advocating to spend more money? It feels like your Letter to the Editor is at odds with your campaign pitch of affordability.

Responds To Walczak

It sounds like I hit a nerve! So let’s set the record straight, shall we… True - I did vote in favor of the municipal budget, which was a very reasonable 2.75%. Regarding not opening the BOE budget book in 2024, again, true. But what Chris & Eric failed to point out is that while I listened to all the predictable line items followed by predictable questions followed by predictable answers, and the Democrats predictably voting to give the BOE everything they asked for, I was the only LC member that concentrated on the side of the equation where 700 people in Newtown can’t pay their taxes, 400 rely upon the food pantry to put food on their table, and there are 115 homes that are in foreclosure. And while I am not on the BOE subcommittee, unlike my democratic friends, I made it a point to meet with the superintendent(s) both budget seasons face to face. So, to accuse me of “blindly” cutting the BOE budget is a blatant and despicable lie. What else did they lie about? Twenty-eight school positions were removed; the positions were never filled and the world survived. What else did they lie about? BOE passed in a bipartisan fashion? Half-lie: in 2024 they again tried to jam a 5% BOE tax increase through only to have it rejected at referendum. I proposed a 2.75% compromise that ultimately passed. What else did they lie about? My failure to mention the reduction in state aid and the increase in insurance premiums? Newtown needs to be run like an efficient company to be successful. I am not against education; I just want the school administration to make the most out of every dollar. Right now, $.66 out of every tax collected goes towards the BOE budget. And finally, my failure to offer solutions to raise revenue? I proposed a “Tanglewood model” compromise for 6 Commerce Road that could potentially generate in millions of dollars in revenue for the town. I proposed and am still in favor of an ordinance for peaceful protesting that would save the town potentially $225k in police overtime. My Democratic friends didn’t even want to consider that. And what solutions have C&E offered? Eric wanted to ADD $300K to the BOE budget for a kindergarten class that had no impact on learning Spanish! And Chis wanted the parents to pick up the tab for extracurricular activities THAT THEY ALREADY pay for. Don’t throw rocks if you live in glass houses. One of our main responsibilities on the Legislative Council is advocating taxpayers’ dollars in the best interests of the Town and trying to make it more affordable without degrading services. Unfortunately, the Democrats can’t run on “affordability” since they already jammed the residents of Newtown with a huge tax increase last year, but I still can. I am humbly asking for your support on or before Nov 4th. Thanks to C&E to giving me the opportunity to respond and clear everything up.

Democratic Response To Political Attack Letter

Not one question about the cost of implementing this system. Yes, there is a donation with strings attached. We've been there before and now we're bonding new monies regularly to maintain or repair those 'donations' like the community center. I think Deb is right to say she doesn't have enough information to make an informed decision. I'd like to know what it costs taxpayers to maintain & upgrade this system that seems to be on balance fairly unpopular.

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Mr. Leonardi should read my email again . I was referring to the LC republicans who all voted against the BOE budget.

I disagree. While I understand that many local Democrats are eager for a shift, now is not the time to hand over the town’s leadership to an untested and inexperienced candidate. Newtown faces real challenges — from infrastructure to responsible development — and those require steady, proven leadership, not someone still learning what the job entails. Experience matters. We have a seasoned First Selectman who has demonstrated the ability to manage complex projects, balance competing priorities, and keep the town moving forward with stability and accountability. The Democratic candidate’s only record of political leadership is a series of unsuccessful campaigns — in 2009, 2020, and again in 2023. That’s not experience; that’s persistence without results. Newtown deserves a leader who has already shown the ability to lead, not one who is still trying to prove they can. At a time when we need consistency and competence, let’s not gamble the town’s future on inexperience. Let’s stay the course with a First Selectman who knows the job, understands the community, and continues to put Newtown first.

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NHS Boys Cross Country Team Runs Away With SWC Championship

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