By Kim J. Harmon

 

Beating Pomperaug out for second place in the South-West Conference championship was not only the perfect way to end a season, it was the perfect way to end a career.

Head coach Rich Pesce – after 20 years, 315 total wins (including an epic 75-meet winning streak) and eight conference championships – has bid farewell to the Newtown High School boys’ cross country team.

During the season-ending banquet a couple of weeks ago, coach Pesce was honored by parents and athletes and presented with two gifts – a scrapbook featuring comments from many present and former athletes; and a quilt sewn together from a host of coach Pesce’s own supply of t-shirt.

“There couldn’t have been two more wonderful gifts for anyone to have received,” said coach Pesce. “It was absolutely beautiful. These will be part of the family forever.”

And to think – Pesce sort of stumbled in the position almost 20 years ago. Former Newtown High School athletic director Bob Sveda hired Pesce on as an assistant to head coach Roger Streeter, who was planning to retire.

But coach Streeter came to school that fall in 1984 and announced he was pretty much already retired.

And the job (in those days, it included both the boys’ and girls’ teams) belonged to Pesce.

“I got thrown right into in,” he said. “I think I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. The position opens up and I get to meet these terrific kids.”

Two of the freshmen on that ’84 team were Joe Smith and Craig McCarthy – two guys who almost didn’t make it through the first week of practice, but would later start Newtown on that remarkable 75-meet winning streak and help bring home two Western Connecticut Conference championships and one state championship.

The streak started in 1986 with a 12-0 campaign, lasted for seven seasons and featured – as an added bonus – six WCC championships and three state championships. The names on those amazing teams included Joe Smith, Craig McCarthy, Marcus Love, Mike Willis, Dave Uhrlass, Jeff Bazinet, Andy Harrington, Eric Zolner, Paul Beddue-Stephens, Dan Shea, Kevin Bunt, Todd Blake, Jason Zimmerman, Eric Johnson, Bobby Snyder, Terry McGovern and Dave Foss (all of them All-Conference).

Although the boys’ program never again approached that legendary level of success, it remained eminently successful. Newtown was undefeated in 1995 (17-0) and 1996 (16-0), winning the South-West Conference championship in ’96 and coming in second at the CIAC Class L meet that same year.

In Pesce’s 20 years at the helm of the boys’ team, Newtown won 10 or more meets 16 times. In Pesce’s 15 years at the helm of the girls’ team (before Marsha Caine took over in 1999), Newtown finished second in the conference four times and finally broke through for an SWC championship in 1995 after the girls finished 15-0 during the regular season. Oddly enough, the girls won a state title before they won a conference title – finishing first in the state in 1992 (with runners like Maureen McGovern, Kim Haggerty and Sarah Zimmerman).

With all that success behind him (and no doubt more to come), coach Pesce nevertheless started to get the feeling a couple of years ago that it was time to move on … although he never could bring himself to pull the plug.

He very nearly did it following the 2002 season.

“We had low numbers last year,” said coach Pesce, “so I thought we would be down. There was a lot of uncertainty and we were a little disappointed with the way we finished, so maybe that’s why I decided to stay on (for 2003).”

When he saw the crop of runners at his disposal for 2003, he was glad he stayed on. But he made it known right away that 2003 would be his last year and so the captains set about to help him make it a memorable one.

“Once I made the decision (to retire),” he said, “it was a relief.”

Newtown suffered just one loss during the regular season … to Pomperaug. And since New Milford was putting together its own historic campaign, the ‘Hawks were gunning for just one thing at the SWC championships.

Second place.

“There was no question we were there to beat Pomperaug,” said coach Pesce. “It really was a wonderful way to finish the season.”

And a career.