Djonne Breaks State Mark, Team 11th In Open
Fresh off its fifth-place Class LL state championship meet, which was chockfull of team record-setting performances, Newtown High School’s swimming and diving team made another big splash in the State Open, placing 11th among 54 teams to score points and claiming a state record in diving along the way.
Newtown had 173 points as a team and first-place Darien had 510 to win the clash between schools from each of Connecticut’s four class sizes.
The diving finals took place in Middletown on November 13, and the swimming events unfolded at Yale University in New Haven two days later. Diver Kari Djonne finished third with a score of 497.95, resetting her school record achievement from a week earlier in the LL competition. Djonne’s effort was among a trio that shattered the state record. Top diver Kylie Towbin, of New Canaan, reset the bar at 521.75, and Westhill/Stamford’s Rachel Burston also broke the record, which had stood since 1997, but finished second with a score of 515.60.
Djonne earned 26 points for the Nighthawks and teammate Gillian Eckwall, fifth with a score of 430.75, picked up 24 points.
The Nighthawks set five program swimming records in the Class LL finals; they recorded some fast times but came up short of again breaking the Newtown High marks in the Open.
The 200 yard freestyle relay team, comprising Mary Hufziger, Eliza Eggleston, Amanda Mele, and Amy Martinelli, came in fourth in a time of 1:39.62, scoring 50 points.
In the 200 yard medley relay race, Newtown swimmers Meg McDonald, Annika Fagerholm, Eggleston, and Mele placed 15th in a time of 1:54.29, to earn 24 points.
The 400 relay team of Hufziger, Bridget Duero, McDonald, and Martinelli, came in 20th in a time of 3:45.99, and earned ten points
Mele and Martinelli were 13th and 15th, respectively, in the 50 freestyle race, with times of 24.89 and 25.02, combining for another 26 points. Martinelli placed 19th in the 100 freestyle in a time of 54.90, good for six more points. McDonald came in 18th in the 100 backstroke race, finishing in 1:01.52, for seven points.