By Kim J. Harmon

With one split after another in this season of tri-meets, the Newtown High School swim team has been fighting to keep its head above the water – so to speak. And a visit to Milford last Friday to take on Lauralton Hall would prove to be a distinct challenge to that effort.

A 97-84 loss, however, dropped the Nighthawks to 4-5 on the season.

They were able to make amends for that loss, though, and boost their record to 5-5 with a thrilling 94-91 win over arch-rival Brookfield on Tuesday. Clinging to an 88-83 lead heading into the final event, the 400 freestyle relay, the ‘Hawks had to either win first or both second and third in order to secure the meet.

Second and third, it was.

Amy Robinson (50 freestyle), Melissa Rushefski (500 freestyle) and Kim Mayers (diving) were the only individual winners – in fact, the only winners on the night. But depth – 10 second-place finishes and six third-place finishes – played a huge part in the win.

The ‘Hawks also took seven fourth-place finishes and seven fifth-place finishes out of the 12 events.

Also, the 1-2-3 punch of Mayers, Tierney Carey and Britta Cedergren in diving helped the ‘Hawks turn an early four-point deficit (33-29) into a mid-meet, seven-point lead (42-35).

It all adds up.

Rushefski (200 freestyle), Tierney Carey (diving), Caitlin Malloy (100 butterfly), Margaret Ashey (200 individual medley and 500 freestyle), Robinson (100 backstroke) and Margaret Randall (100 breaststroke) all took individual seconds. The 200 medley, 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle relay teams also took seconds.

In the loss to Lauralton Hall, the Nighthawks did not capture a first-place finish until the final event of the afternoon – the 400 freestyle relay. But Rushefski, Mayers, Malloy, Liz Portnoy, Ashey, Chrissy Glander, Margaret Randall and the 200 freestyle relay team of Malloy, Lauren Kotwicki, Portnoy and Robinson all grabbed important second-place finishes.

The results:

Newtown            84

Lauralton Hall    97

 

200 medley relay – 1. Lauralton Hall 2:00.61, 2. Lauralton Hall 2:09.17, 3. Newtown (Robinson, Randall, Kotwicki, Ashey) 2:13.74. 200 freestyle – 1. Filanowski (LH) 2:09.51, 2. Rushefski (N) 2:10.16, 3. Okoln (LH) 2:11.01, 4. Rebb (N) 2:27.61, 5. Bivona (LH) 2:29.31. 200 individual medley – 1. Dobbins (LH) 2:25.45, 2. Smith (LH) 2:26.09, 3. Ashey (N) 2:32.57, 4. Malloy (N) 2:40.53, 5. Faith (LH) 2:45.00. 50 freestyle – 1. Roche (LH) 26.37, 2. Myers (LH) 27.65, 3. Magura (LH) 28.9, 4. Kotwicki (N) 29.03, 5. Morlath (N) 30.94. Diving – 1. Ryan (LH) 172.28 points, 2. Mayers (N) 156.45 points, 3. Blystone (LH) 145.13 points, 4. Cedergren (N) 120.36 points, 5. Carey (N) 118.13 points. 100 butterfly – 1. Magura (LH) 1:04.71, 2. Malloy (N) 1:12.44, 3. Rushefski (N) 1:14.89, 4. Kotwicki 1:15.17. 100 freestyle – 1. Filanowski (LH) 59.69, 2. Portnoy (N) 1:05.56, 3. Murphy (N) 1:09.61, 4. Morlath (N) 1:10.57. 500 freestyle – 1. McGrath (LH) 5:52.47, 2. Ashey (N) 5:56.77, 3. Hemingway (N) 6:35.59, 4. Hoolehan (N) 7:02.02. 200 freestyle relay – 1. Lauralton Hall 1:48.77, 2. Newtown (Malloy, Kotwicki, Portnoy, Robinson) 1:57.45, 3. Newtown (Murphy, O’Day, McCann, Rebb) 2:09.39. 100 backstroke – 1. Bladek (LH) 1:08.71, 2. Glander (N) 1:21.71, 3. Bowen (N) 1:26.09, 4. Yakush (N) 1:30.14. 100 breaststroke – 1. Roche (LH) 1:11.12, 2. Randall (N) 1:21.64, 3. Remitz (N) 1:24.95, 4. Bailey (N) 1:28.85. 400 freestyle relay – 1. Newtown (Robinson, Rushefski, Hemingway, Ashey) 4:14.46, 2. Lauralton Hall 4:22.38, 3. Newtown (K. McCann, Cupero, Glander, Vacaro) 4:50.51.

Newtown            94

Brookfield          91

 

200 medley relay – 1. Brookfield 2:04.96, 2. Newtown (Ashey, Randall, Kotwicki, Robinson) 2:06.45, 3. Newtown (Bowen, Remitz, Malloy, Morlath) 2:21.36. 200 freestyle – 1. DelCasino (B) 2:09.09, 2. Rushefski (N) 2:09.55, 3. Budewitz (B) 2:22.33, 4. Rebb (N) 2:27.96, 5. Glander (N) 2:37.37. 200 individual medley – 1. Edwards (B) 2:28.76, 2. Ashey (N) 2:31.91, 3. Kentera (B) 2:33.31, 4. Malloy (N) 2:37.45, 5. Hemingway (N) 2:46.58. 50 freestyle – 1. Robinson (N) 27.64, 2. Harris (B) 28.21, 3. Conant (B) 28.9, 4. Kotwicki (N) 29.04, 5. Portnoy (N) 31.04. Diving – 1. Mayers (N), 2. Carey (N), 3. Cedergren (N), 4. Rodgers (B). 100 butterfly – 1. Edwards (B) 1:06.86, 2. Malloy (N) 1:12.70, 3. Conant (B) 1:12.96, 4. Hemingway (N) 1:22.97, 5. Gutbrod (N) 1:25.77. 100 freestyle – 1. DelCasino (B) 1:00.47, 2. Harris (B) 1:04.26, 3. Kotwicki (N) 1:06.19, 4. Randall (N) 1:07.46, 5. Portnoy (N) 1:07.81. 500 freestyle – 1. Rushefski (N) 5:53.35, 2. Ashey (N) 5:54.77, 3. Palmiotto (B) 5:58.96, 4. Buderwitz (B) 6:27.73, 5. Cupero (N) 6:37.74. 200 freestyle relay – 1. Brookfield 1:53.18, 2. Newtown (Morlath, Portnoy,  Kotwicki, Rushefski) 1:59.74, 3. Newtown (Rebb, Treddennick, O’Connell, Cupero) 2:05.69. 100 backstroke – 1. Palmiotti (B) 1:05.87, 2. Robinson (N) 1:10.11, 3. Zenno (B) 1:19.54, 4. Glander (N) 1:21.06, 5. Bowen (N) 1:25.85. 100 breaststroke – 1.  Kentera (B) 1:19.01, 2. Randall (N) 1:19.72, 3. Remitz (N) 1:24.72, 4.  O’Day (N) 1:26.15, 5. D’Aurio (B) 1:29.36. 400 freestyle relay – 1. Brookfield 4:11.53, 2. Newtown (Portnoy, Ashey, Robinson, Rushefski) 4:18.98, 3. Newtown (Hemingway, Murphy, Rebb, Malloy) 4:33.95.