Titles For The Taking – Boys Cross Country, Swimming Get Theirs … Boys Soccer, Volleyball Don’t

By Kim J. Harmon

A CIAC State Open championship and three South-West Conference championships were on the line last week and well within grasp of Newtown High School … but only two of those came home to Newtown as two slipped away.

It was a shocking and not-so-shocking week.

The boys’ cross country team shocked the racing community with its defeat of powerhouses Amity and New Milford at the CIAC State Open meet at Wickham Park while the girls’ swim team shocked no one while capturing its second consecutive SWC championship at Masuk High School in Monroe.

And conversely, the boys’ soccer team was shocked, 1-0, by Joel Barlow in the SWC championship while few people shocked to see No. 1 Bunnell sweep past Newtown in the SWC volleyball championship match.

All in all, though, it was a very thrilling week for Newtown High School sports.

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY

CIAC State Open Champions

It was all a matter of perspective.

The Newtown High School boys’ cross country team went into the CIAC State Open fresh off a fourth-place finish at the Class LL championships and a second-place finish at the South-West Conference championships and knew that a sixth-place finish at the State Open would qualify the team for a trip to the New England championships.

The ‘Hawks have been to the New Englands before ... but even the great teams of the 1980s never won a State Open.

Still, could the Nighthawks do even better than sixth?

“We went in talking top six,” said head coach Dave Foss, “but we were nine points out of second last time and, in the back of our minds, it was so close we thought we could drop some points. Then Alister (Ratcliff) said, ‘if you’re thinking second, why not think first?’ That was a pretty good point.”

Thinking first, they got first as the ‘Hawks stunned powerhouses like Amity and New Milford to capture the State Open championship last Friday at Wickham Park in Manchester. And with that Open title in hand, the ‘Hawks head to Thetford Academy in Thetford, Vermont this week for the New England championship meet.

“I can’t believe it,” said a nearly delirious coach Foss. “I’m stunned.”

Ratcliff was the top Newtown runner, finishing 12th at 16:24 … which was a little less than a minute behind Jay Koloseus of Guilford and about 30 seconds behind Tradelle Ward of Griswold. But behind Ratcliff came Eric McKnight in 19th (16:32), Zach Schwartz in 20th (16:33) and Scott Nichols in 26th (16:49).

“I’d like to have done a little better myself,” said Ratcliff, “but we couldn’t have hoped for more than this. We were awesome.”

Even though Newtown had three runners in the top 25 and Amity had two, the battle between the two was close. With four runners in the chute, the Spartans actually had a slim, 77-78, lead over the Nighthawks.

Then came Matt Cole.

The senior co-captain – who made a visit to his barber last week and lost a few inches of hair -  did not even factor into the scoring at the Class LL championships, but his performance at the State Open made a huge difference. He finished 32nd at 16:54 … nine spots and 15 seconds ahead of Christopher Walsh of Amity.

“Everyone just ran fantastic,” said coach Foss. “Another big difference was Zach Schwartz – last week (at LLs) he was 44th and this week he’s 25th (overall). That’s unfathomable.”

Ratcliff, McKnight and Schwartz all qualified for All-State honors – a feat not accomplished, said coach Foss, “since the glory days.”

Ryan Morrissey, who was so instrumental in the fourth-place finish at the Class LL meet, finished 46th at 17:12 while Jake Sullivan finished 50th at 17:19. Neither factored into the team competition scoring.

TEAMS: 1. Newtown 109; 2. Amity 119; 3. New Milford 126; 4. Norwich Free Academy 152; 5. Glastonbury 152; 6. Griswold 161; 7. Danbury 171; 8. Xavier 240; 9. Weston 247; 10. Simsbury 259; 11. Hall 322; 12. Ridgefield 324; 13. Ellington 338; 14. Guilford 342; 15. Ledyard 353; 16. Staples 380; 17. Thomaston 412; 18. Darien 434; 19. Conard 439; 20. East Hampton 513.

INDIVIDUALS (Overall): 1. Jay Koloseus (Guilford) 15:33; 2. Tradelle Ward (Griswold) 15:49; 3. Donald Cabral (Glastonbury) 15:52; 4. Alec Carlson (Ellington) 15:58; 5. Robert Dugger (Glastonbury) 16:06; 6. William Griffin (East Catholic) 16:09; 7. Adam Vess (Xavier) 16:11; 8. John Loeser (Weston) 16:17; 9. Christopher Croff (Griswold) 16:18; 10. Chris Bussiere (Canton) 16:19; 11. Joshua Roberston (NFA) 16:20; 12. Dan DeCrescenzo (New Milford) 16:23; 13. Andy Watson (New Milford) 16:24; 14. Alister Ratcliff (Newtown) 16:24; 15. Willie Ahearn (Danbury) 16:26; 16. Alex Peck (Bacon Academy) 16:26; 17. Michael McSherry (Amity) 16:27; 18. David Macklem (Tolland) 16:28; 19. Ryan Lane (Weston) 16:28; 20. Matt Terry (Danbury) 16:29; 21. Dave Bent (Cromwell) 16:29; 22. Kyle Friedman (NFA) 16:31; 23. Wesley Halstead (Amity) 16:31; 24. Eric McKnight (Newtown) 16:32; 25. Zach Schwartz (Newtown) 16:33; 36. Scott Nichols (Newtown) 16:49; 44. Matt Cole (Newtown) 16:54; 67. Ryan Morrissey (Newtown) 17:12; 77. Jake Sullivan (Newtown) 17:19.

NOTE: Some of the individual competitors do not figure into team scoring, which causes runners to score fewer points than their actual place finishes.

SWIMMING

SWC Champions

Right from the beginning, it was theirs to lose.

Surprising almost no one, the Newtown High School girls swim team – which the week before had extended its unbeaten dual meet win streak to 32 – captured its second consecutive South-West Conference championship while easily out-pacing Pomperaug and Lauralton Hall.

Newtown – with six first-place finishes – scored a massive 469 points while Pomperaug finished with 354.5 and Lauralton Hall finished with 338.

Freshman Dana Gnerre was named the Most Outstanding Swimmer of the meet after capturing both the 50- and 100-yard freestyles and anchoring the first-place 200 medley relay team. Abby Atkinson (200 individual medley) and Maricate Conlon (100 backstroke) both registered individual wins while also helping lead the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay teams to first-place finishes.

It was a thoroughly dominating performance for the Lady Nighthawks. On top of those six first-place finishes, Jaclyn Van Waalwijk (50 and 100 freestyles) and Sally Tabler (200 individual medley and 100 butterfly) registered fifth- and sixth-place finishes to pick up key back-end points.

Divers Melissa Metzger and Shannon Kennedy got the ‘Hawks off to a marvelous start last Wednesday by finishing second and third to Carolyn DiMarco of Weston. DiMarco scored 350.15 points and while Metzger was just 26 points off that pace, Kennedy was just 29 points off.

Meanwhile, Nicole Borrusso helped the Newtown cause by finishing sixth with 289 points.

An SWC title was just the first step for the ‘Hawks, however. After finishing second to Ridgefield at the CIAC Class L championships a year ago, the girls have their sights set on a state title. Diving trials and finals were Wednesday at Hamden High School while the swim trials will be Saturday at Cornerstone Aquatics Center in West Hartford.

The Class L finals will be held Tuesday, November 15, at Wesleyan University in Middletown.

TEAMS: 1. Newtown 469, 2. Pomperaug 354½, 3. Lauralton Hall 338, 4. New Fairfield 282, 5. Weston 265½, 6. Brookfield 259, 7. Masuk 204, 8. Bunnell 198, 9. New Milford 150½, 10. Barlow 108, 11. Stratford 58.

INDIVIDUAL EVENTS

200 medley relay – 1. Newtown (Maricate Conlon, Abby Atkinson, Sally Tabler, Dana Gnerre) 1:56.30; 2. Lauralton Hall 1:56.97; 3. New Fairfield 1:59.06; 4. Brookfield 1:59.35; 5. New Milford 2:00.83; 6. Bunnell 2:01.26.

200 freestyle – 1. Dana Vernal (Lauralton Hall) 2:01.87; 2. Virginia Bette (Pomperaug) 2:02.25; 3. Brittany Honrath (Masuk) 2:06.97; 4. Heather Librizzi (Brookfield) 2:07.26; 5. Corrissa Norton (Pomperaug) 2:07.28; 6. Emma Kelly (Barlow) 2:07.63.

200 individual medley – 1. Abby Atkinson (Newtown) 2:14.30; 2. Katie Lang (Masuk) 2:16.18; 3. Jennifer O’Neil (Lauralton Hall) 2:19.15; 4. Lauren Border (Weston) 2:20.66; 5. Lauren Pappas (Bunnell) 2:20.98; 6. Sally Tabler (Newtown) 2:21.21.

50 freestyle – 1. Dana Gnerre (Newtown) 25.41; 2. Teresa Garrity (Pomperaug) 26.01; 3. Beth Magin (Brookfield) 26.11; 4. Sarah Chmielewski (Bunnell) 26.26; 5. Jaclyn Van Waalwijk (Newtown) 26.58; 6. Brianna Cihi (Lauralton Hall) 26.64.

Diving – 1. Carolyn DiMarco (Weston) 350.15; 2. Melissa Metzger (Newtown) 324.25; 3. Shannon Kennedy (Newtown) 321.30; 4. Jessica Membrey (Weston) 306.85; 5. Ashley Dittmar (Weston) 291.70; 6. Nicole Borruso (Newtown) 288.95.

100 butterfly – 1. Katie Lang (Masuk) 1:00.72; 2. Karah Hurd (Lauralton Hall) 1:03.69; 3. Heather Librizzi (Brookfield) 1:03.88; 4. Teresa Finnerty (New Fairfield) 1:04.23; 5. Sally Tabler (Newtown) 1:04.59; 6. Lauren Border (Weston) 1:05.42.

100 freestyle – 1. Dana Gnerre (Newtown) 55.20; 2. Kate O’Leary (Brookfield) 55.88; 3. Sarah Chmielewski (Bunnell) 56.67; 4. Teresa Garrity (Pomperaug) 57.03; 5. Julie Mesavage (Bunnell) 57.74; 6. Jaclyn VanWaalwijk (Newtown) 58.37.

500 freestyle – 1. Dana Vernal (Lauralton Hall) 5:25.20; 2. Lauren Pappas (Bunnell) 5:25.87; 3. Brittany Honrath (Masuk) 5:30.58; 4. Virginia Bette (Pomperaug) 5:30.80; 5. Teresa Finnerty (New Fairfield) 5:41.79; 6. Jessica Broderick (Pomperaug) 5:44.81.

200 freestyle relay – 1. Brookfield (Beth Magin, Heather Librizzi, Gabby Wortman, Kate O’Leary) 1:44.54; 2. Newtown 1:46.56; 3. Pomperaug 1:46.70; 4. Masuk 1:48.07; 5. Weston 1:48.95; 6. New Fairfield 1:49.01.

100 backstroke – 1. Maricate Conlon (Newtown) 1:03.77; 2. Julie Mesavage (Bunnell) 1:04.29; 3. Kristen McKnight (Weston) 1:04.44; 4. Laura Bladek (Lauralton Hall) 1:06.03; 5. Deidra Golina (Lauralton Hall) 1:06.44; 6. Beth Magin (Brookfield) 1:06.47.

100 breaststroke – 1. Ashley Stockman (New Fairfield) 1:09.75; 2. Jennifer O’Neil (Lauralton Hall) 1:09.83; 3. Kate O’Leary (Brookfield) 1:10.25; 4. Abby Atkinson (Newtown) 1:10.49; 5. Jenny Fitzmaurice (Lauralton Hall) 1:12.33; 6. Kristen Malski (Lauralton Hall) 1:13.06.

400 freestyle relay – 1. Newtown (Maricate Conlon, Jaclyn VanWaalwijk, Sally Tabler, Abby Atkinson) 3:50.81; 2. Pomperaug 3:52.30; 3. Bunnell 3:54.98; 4. Masuk 3:55.72; 5. New Fairfield 3:56.35; 6. Brookfield 4:00.76.

BOYS SOCCER

Joel Barlow 1, Newtown 0; Newtown 4, New Milford 3

Through the first 15 games of the season, on into the South-West Conference playoffs, the Newtown High School boys’ soccer team allowed just six goals while registering 12 shutouts.

Although certainly not as explosive a team as the one that captured a SWC and CIAC Class LL state championship in 2004, the Nighthawks – with Mike Vontobel in the back and Louis Ritzinger in the net – were misers on defense.

But the ‘Hawks were victimized – twice - on defense in the SWC tournament. They survived the first with a thrilling, 4-3 shootout win over New Milford but could not survive the second in a 1-0 loss to Joel Barlow in the conference championship.

Ball possession and crisp passing were not enough last Saturday night at Pomperaug High School in Southbury as the Falcons – who took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Chris Liotta with 17:19 left in the first half – settled back in the box, clogged things up, and allowed freshman goaltender Cody Hickok to make 11 saves to preserve the dramatic upset win.

Even when a shot did get behind Hickok – as one did with 2:42 left to play – the defense was there to clear it.

The ‘Hawks outshot the Falcons, 23-6.

In the SWC semi-finals last Thursday, the ‘Hawks took a 2-0 lead on New Milford with goals by Chris Hoagland and Brian Conroy, but a first-half goal started a three-goal rally that saw the Green Wave take a surprising, 3-2, lead with 19:12 left to play.

With time running out, Nick Sando set a gorgeous cross to Hoagland for the equalizer with 7:04 remaining.

That set the stage for overtime and in the first 10-minute session the Green Wave nearly sent the ‘Hawks home but a point-blank shot on an essentially open net went wide left. The ‘Hawks had a couple of chances in that session and the second 10-minute overtime, but the game remained deadlocked and headed to the penalty kick shootout.

The ‘Hawks finally grabbed the win in the second round of kicks when Noah Kugielsky nailed a shot past goaltender Micah Lamb.

The SWC tournament ended in disappointment, but the ‘Hawks remain the defending CIAC Class LL champions and they got that tournament off on the right foot on Tuesday with a 4-0 win over Southington. Hoagland scored a pair of goals while Kugielsky and Tony Magliocco scored solo goals. Alex Meisel, Justin Miller, Marc Doherty and Magliocco all registered assists as Newtown out-shot Southington, 21-3.

With the win, the ‘Hawks headed into a Thursday showdown with Staples of Westport – the team the ‘Hawks smashed, 7-1, in the Class LL semifinals a year ago.

Joel Barlow 1, Newtown 0

GOALS: Joel Barlow – Chris Liotta. ASSISTS: Joel Barlow – Jonathan Edwards. SHOTS: Joel Barlow – 6; Newtown – 23. SAVES: Joel Barlow – Cody Hickok 11; Newtown – Louis Ritzinger 4. CORNER KICKS: Joel Barlow – 3; Newtown – 6.

Newtown 4, New Milford 3 (SO)

GOALS: Newtown – Chris Hoagland 2, Brian Conroy; New Milford – Hunter Watts 2, Matt Maher. ASSISTS: Newtown – Aron Fay, Justin Miller, Nick Sando; New Milford – Hunter Watts, Doug Kitchens, Grant Schneider. SHOTS: New Milford – 13; Newtown – 20. SAVES: New Milford – Micah Lamb 8; Newtown – Louis Ritzinger 4. CORNER KICKS: New Milford – 3; Newtown – 8.

Newtown 4, Southington 0

GOALS: Newtown – Chris Hoagland 2, Noah Kugielsky, Tony Magliocco. ASSISTS: Newtown – Alex Meisel, Justin Miller, Tony Magliocco, Marc Doherty. SHOTS: Southington – 3; Newtown – 21. SAVES: Southington – Dave Taricani 6, Mike Ciaburri 2; Newtown – Louis Ritzinger 2. CORNER KICKS: Southington – 4; Newtown – 10.

VOLLEYBALL

Bunnell 3, Newtown 0

As nice as its record looked and as well as it played this year – with and without Diana Grimaldi – a Newtown win over Bunnell in the South-West Conference volleyball championships would be akin to David slaying Goliath with a slingshot.

The Lady Nighthawks were 16-3 after reeling off 13 consecutive wins (10 via the sweep) and yet Bunnell was still, without question, the No. 1 team in the conference at 19-1. The Lady Bulldogs further justified all that with a 25-15, 25-22, 25-18 sweep of the ‘Hawks last Friday at Pomperaug High School in Southbury.

“Bunnell didn’t make any mistakes,” said head coach Tom Czaplinski, “and they capitalized on all of ours.”

Judging from the way the match started, it looked as if it would be quick. The ‘Dogs jumped out to a very quick 4-1 lead before the ‘Hawks started fighting back. But even with a couple of kills and a block from Grimaldi, the ‘Dogs were soon ahead 11-6. That lead expanded to 21-10 as Maite Mendizabal began to take charge up front.

But then the ‘Hawks rallied. It was only a brief rally, but a nice bump by Jill Logan and a nifty block by Grimaldi helped bring the ‘Hawks a little closer and give them a spark for the second game.

“The way we ended the first game,” said coach Czaplinski, “gave us a lot of confidence (heading into Game #2). The feeling definitely was that we could play with them.”

But the second game started out even worse than the first game with the ‘Hawks falling into a 6-0 hole. A nice service ace by Morgan Knees touched off a rally, though, and with Grimaldi (two blocks, one kill, one ace) and Jenna Van Waalwijk (two blocks, one ace) starting to heat up the ‘Hawks managed to sneak out on top, 11-10.

It was Newtown’s only lead – save for a 1-0 lead in Game #1 – in the entire match.

The ‘Dogs went on a 9-0 tear to take a 19-11 lead and re-exert their control. The ‘Hawks fought back on the efforts of Grimaldi (one kill, one ace), Van Waalwijk (one kill, one block) and Logan (one block) and pulled to within two, 23-21. Van Waalwijk posted a nifty dink inside the side line to keep the game going, but a typical front line smash gave the ‘Dogs a 2-0 lead in the match.

Now, it had been a raucous crowd from the start, but the 2-0 advantage had the Bunnell fans hooting even louder.

“The Bunnell crowd is always loud,” said coach Czaplinski, “and it can definitely take a team out of its game.”

The third game started much like the first two, with Newtown falling into a hole right away. But a Becky Huot dink started a little rally that saw the ‘Hawks tie the game, 4-4. But once the ‘Dogs got their rhythm back, the locals could not get any closer than four points the rest of the way.

Even though Christie Iwanicki had a marvelous crosscourt kill and, like Miranda Rucinski, a superb back court save to keep a volley going the ‘Hawks could not string any points together as Bunnell pulled away for the win.

“The girls all tried their hardest,” said coach Czaplinski. “And maybe nerves got the best of them.”

Grimaldi finished with six kills, four blocks and three service aces while Van Waalwijk finished with nine kills, four digs and a service ace.

The 16-4 ‘Hawks – ranked eighth – received a bye for the CIAC Class LL tournament and opened with second-round action on Wednesday against South Windsor. A win would likely pit the locals against No. 1 Shelton on Saturday.

GIRLS SOCCER

Bunnell 1, Newtown 0

Honestly, the numbers just don’t compute.

“I still can’t figure it out,” head coach Rupert de los Reyes said two days after the Newtown High School girls’ soccer team was stunned, 1-0, by arch-rival Bunnell in the semi-finals of the South-West Conference tournament.

Coach de los Reyes is not alone.

The Lady Nighthawks out-shot the Lady Bulldogs 26-2 and had an incredible 15-0 advantage in corner kicks and somehow were unable to put a ball into the back of the net. Give credit to Bunnell goaltender Devan Alusik for making 14 saves to preserve the shutout, but coach de los Reyes can’t help thinking about – among other things – an open-net chip shot in the second half that popped off the cross bar.

The ‘Hawks had semi-final flops before (i.e., the 2004 match versus Immaculate) but this did not seem like one of them. Bunnell came into the match riding the momentum from a 1-0 upset of Joel Barlow, but the ‘Hawks pressured the ‘Dogs early and often and notched 18 shots in the first half alone.

They just could not score.

The lone goal of the game came at 27:37 of the first half when Chrissy Calabrese knocked in a shot off a pass from Virginia Hyman. It was the first of only two shots – and the only one on net – the ‘Dogs would register all game.

The ‘Hawks – ranked fifth – received a bye in the CIAC Class LL state tournament and opened on Wednesday with second round action against Hall of West Hartford (9-2-6). A victory would likely pit the locals against No. 4 Cheshire (13-2-0) on Friday.

Bunnell 1, Newtown 0

GOALS: Bunnell – Chrissy Calabrese. ASSISTS: Bunnell – Virginia Hyman. SHOTS: Bunnell – 2; Newtown – 26. SAVES: Bunnell – Devan Alusik 14; Newtown – Emily Kluga 0. CORNER KICKS: Bunnell – 0; Newtown – 15.

FOOTBALL

Newtown 27, Immaculate 11

Control the clock, control the game.

Facing one of the most prolific passers in the South-West Conference in Matt Westervelt (1,160 yards), the Newtown High School football team knew ball possession would be vital if it would escape Homecoming with a victory.

And vital, it was.

Joe DeVellis scored three touchdowns and Grant Speer ran back a 74-yard interception for another touchdown to lead the Nighthawks to a 27-11 win over Immaculate last Friday and allow the locals to improve their record to 5-3 overall.

Aside from the three touchdowns by DeVellis, the most telling drive of the night may have been the one that kicked off the second half as Newtown clung to a 14-11 lead … a 15-play drive that resulted in no points, but chewed up some seven minutes of the clock.

And after Immaculate went three-and-out on its ensuing drive, the ‘Hawks all but finished off the quarter with a 55-yard drive that ended with a 13-yard run by DeVellis. All that was left was for DeVellis to snare a 25-yard touchdown pass from Tucker Kass midway through the fourth quarter to give the ‘Hawks their final margin of victory.

DeVellis first scored in the second quarter on a four-yard run, but it was Speer’s interception with six minutes gone in the first quarter that set the tone for the ‘Hawks.

Now the locals will take their 5-3 record into New Milford on Friday for the annual Boot Trophy game. All that remains after that is the traditional Thanksgiving matchup with arch-rival Masuk.

Newtown 27, Immaculate 11

First Quarter

N – Grant Speer 74 interception return (Nelson kick)

Second Quarter

I – Grant Cody 25 field goal

N – Joe DeVellis 4 run (Nelson kick)

I – Tyler Archer 29 pass from Matt Westervelt (Cody kick)

Third Quarter

N – Joe DeVellis 14 run (Nelson kick)

Fourth Quarter

N – Joe Devellis 25 pass from Tucker Kass (run failed)

Individual game statistics were unavailable at press time.

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY

11th at CIAC State Open

As stunned as people were when the Newtown High School boys’ cross country team captured a CIAC State Open championship last week at Wickham Park in Manchester, that’s how stunned local fans were over the performance of the girls’ cross country team.

After winning their fourth consecutive South-West Conference championship and after finishing third at the CIAC Class LL state championships, the Lady Nighthawks stumbled to a 13th-place finish at the State Opens.

Elise DeRoo was the top Newtown finisher, coming in 38th in team competition (60th overall) at 17:03. Michelle Brennan finished 58th at 17:26 and Moira Collier finished 64th at 17:31. But Sadie Ball, who was undefeated during the SWC regular season, finished a disappointing 71st at 17:38.

Sarah Pollock rounded out the scoring for the Lady Nighthawks, coming in 79th at 17:45. Jenn Brill (84th – 17:52) and Carolyn Gingras (131st – 19:04) competed, but did not factor into the scoring.

The results –

TEAMS: 1. Ridgefield 108; 2. Lyman Memorial 128; 3. Glastonbury 135; 4. Simsbury 148; 5. St. Bernard 148; 6. Guilford 161; 7. South Windsor 263; 8. Mercy 285; 9. East Lyme 289; 10. Wilton 294; 11. Newtown 310; 12. EO Smith 336; 13. Cheshire 346; 14. Amity 353; 15. Griswold 354; 16. Hand 362; 17. Norwich Free Academy 369; 18. Manchester 386; 19. Litchfield 416; 20. Darien 440; 21. Hall 461; 22. Nonnewaug 500.

INDIVIDUALS (Top 25): 1. Kelly Sorrell (Lyman Memorial) 15:13; 2. Kristin Mitchell (Glastonbury) 15:15; 3. Emma Perron (Conard) 15:22; 4. Jessica Keener (Mercy) 15:32; 5. Kerri Lyons (Wilton) 15:36; 6. Anna Shields (Lewis Mills) 15:42; 7. Jamie Olson (Glastonbury) 15:47; 8. Courtney Dinnan (Hamden) 15:50; 9. Amie Schumacher (Holy Cross) 15:52; 10. Dana Troy (Lyman Memorial) 15:52; 11. Christina Wells (Shepaug) 15:54; 12. Alasia Griebel (Bristol Central) 15:56; 13. Caitlin Cannon (Conard) 16:01; 14. Heather Stephens (Ridgefield) 16:04; 15. Leah Rosenfeld (Ridgefield) 16:05; 16. Stacy Carlson (Simsbury) 16:06; 17. Stacey Marion (Simsbury) 16:07; 18. Katherine Beam (South Windsor) 16:08; 19. Katherine Bossardet (Ledyard) 16:08; 20. Stephanie Slonski (Griswold) 16:10; 21. Caroline Riley (St. Bernard) 16:10; 22. Sarah Ports (Lyman Memorial) 16:14; 23. Gillian Pissler (St. Bernard) 16:17; 24. Irene Kalbian (Cheshire) 16:19; 25. Kishori Mahulikar (Hand) 16:22.

FIELD HOCKEY

Newtown 1, Shepaug 0

Just two days after being blanked by powerhouse Pomperaug, 4-0, in the South-West Conference semi-finals the Newtown High School field hockey team was able to wrap up its 2005 regular season against Shepaug.

Lisa Alberico scored the lone goal off an assist from Lauren Babbage last Thursday at Danbury High School as the Lady Nighthawks defeated Shepaug, 1-0, to improve to 10-4-2-1 heading into the CIAC Class L tournament.

The No. 6-ranked ‘Hawks hosted No. 11-ranked Staples (10-6-0-0) on Wednesday at Blue & Gold Stadium and the winner of that game awaits the winner of the game between No. 3 Simsbury (10-1-2-0) and No. 14 Mercy of Middletown (9-6-1-0).

Newtown 1, Shepaug 0

GOALS Newtown – Lisa Alberico. ASSISTS: Newtown – Lauren Babbage. SHOTS: Newtown – 5; Shepaug – 3. SAVES: Newtown – Alissa Gross 3. PENALTY CORNERS: Newtown – 4; Shepaug – 4.