By Kim J. Harmon

 

Even for local sports fans who HATE winter (boy – that first week of December was a doozy, huh?), this is going to be a good season at Newtown High School.

There will be a lot of excitement on the basketball floor as Andrew Fiscella and Kelley Haines are both approaching the 1,000-point plateau (Fiscella about five games away and Haines about seven games away) and both are well in range of breaking career scoring records.

Then there are the swimmers, who look to be one of the top three teams in the South-West Conference again; the wrestlers, who have more athletes than ever before; the indoor track teams, which look vastly improved; and hockey, which is always exciting whether or not the team may be in a rebuilding mode.

Read on –

Do you want the good news or the great news?

Well, the good news is that the Newtown High School girls’ basketball team finished 21-4 in 2002-03 and captured its first Colonial Division championship with a 17-1 record in the South-West Conference.

And the great news is all the players from that phenomenal team – save one – are back.

New coach Tim Salem has found himself in a wonderful situation.

“The work ethic has been sensational,” he said, “and the senior leadership has been phenomenal. I’m very pleased with how we’re progressing. The girls work hard and play very, very well together.”

The shining star on the team – unquestionably – is senior Kelley Haines, who stands on the brink of a season where she will eclipse the 1,000-point barrier and should break the Newtown High School career scoring record. Haines canned 472 points last year (second-most in school history) and has already signed a Letter of Intent to attend the University of New Hampshire.

But Haines (19.7 points per game in 2002-03 with a school-record 52 three-pointers) is not the only weapon at the disposal of coach Salem … only the most impressive. Stephanie Logan (9.1 ppg), Ashley Larocque (8.9 ppg), Julie Iwanicki (7.7 ppg) and Jacky Curran (5.4 ppg) can all score when called upon. And then there is Tori Filler (1.7 ppg), Siobhan Cooper (2.3 ppg), Katie O’Connor (2.2 ppg) and newcomer Sarah King who can contribute.

On top of all that, the ‘Hawks were great from the foul line, shooting 67.8 percent (300-of-442).

The only roster casualty from 2002-03 was Meghan Kelley, who transferred to Immaculate. But should the ‘Hawks need more players to bolster their bench, coach Salem can look to Jess Palermo, Carly Curran, Ciara Simek, Kacy Foehrenbach, Tara Gaston, Christie Iwanicki, Darcy Fiscella, Jill Logan and Erica Vacaro.

Yes, the ‘Hawks are a great team. But they are a great team in a conference brimming with great teams – like old nemesis Masuk and former conference doormat Kolbe-Cathedral, the Nighthawks’ season-opening opponent on Thursday night.

Oh, the ‘Hawks will win a bunch of games – but whether or not they will be able to win another SWC championship remains to be seen.

Schedule –

December 11 versus Kolbe Cathedral, 7 pm; December 13 versus St. Joseph’s, 5 pm; December 16 versus Stratford, 7 pm; December 18 versus Brookfield, 7 pm; December 26 at Simsbury (Masuk Holiday Tournament), 6 pm; December 29 at TBA (Masuk Holiday Tournament), 7 pm.

January 3 versus Immaculate, 7 pm; January 6 at Notre Dame, 7 pm; January 9 at Kolbe Cathedral, 7 pm; January 13 versus New Milford, 7 pm; January 16 versus Pomperaug, 7 pm; January 20 at New Fairfield, 7 pm; January 23 at Bunnell, 7 pm; January 27 versus Foran, 7 pm; January 29 versus Bethel, 7 pm.

February 3 at Lauralton Hall, 7 pm; February 6 at Joel Barlow, 7 pm; February 10 at Jonathan Law, 7 pm; February 13 versus Weston, 7 pm; February 18 at Masuk, 7:30 pm.

Already weakened with the loss of Mike Troy (ninth on the all-time scoring list) to graduation, the Newtown High School boys’ basketball team will be limping into the 2003-04 season next week.

Marcus Tracy – perhaps the best guard in the South-West Conference – is still recovering from an MCL (medial collateral ligament) sprain, calf contusion and cracked fibula suffered during the soccer season and will be out until at least early January. Also gone is Brian Smith, who suffered a wrist injury and will be out himself until early January.

“I came in with a lot of optimism,” said head coach John Quinn, who guided his team to a 17-7 record in 2002-03, “but we have been hit hard by the injury bug. We’ll make the best of it.”

The best of it starts with senior Andrew Fiscella, who scored a team-high 458 points (19.9 per game) in 2002-03. Fiscella is an incredible outside-inside threat who canned a team-high 47 three-pointers and took a team-high 172 free throws after many of his patented baseline drives. Fiscella is just 88 points shy of eclipsing the 1,000-point barrier and 369 points shy of overtaking Steve Kordish (Class of ‘1979) as the Newtown High School all-time leading scorer.

Providing a lot of support will be Dave Anderson, a strong outside shooter who canned 11 three-pointers last year while scoring at a 6.9 per game clip. Outside of Anderson, though, the only other returning players with varsity experience (at least until Tracy and Smith come back) are Ronnie Shimko (2.2 ppg), Devon Manfredonia (1.5 ppg) and John Oliver (1.3 ppg).

Coach Quinn does have a big body to move around underneath the basket (newcomer Josh Rouse) and has some talented role players (Anthony Santella, Kyle Lyddy, Dave McLaughlin, Adam Drummond and Kevin Quinn) who will get a chance to help the team out.

The junior varsity has got some talent, too, and that bodes well for the future. Drew Adamek, Stephen Kean, Brian Shimko, Josh Tenenbaum, Ryan McGrath and Kevin Regan will take their licks on jayvee this year.

But with a tough early season schedule, the injury bug will really test the Nighthawks’ mettle.

Schedule –

December 17 versus Platt Tech, 7 pm; December 20 at Southington, 3 pm; December 27 at Staples, 7 pm; December 30 versus Kaynor Tech, 7 pm.

January 3 at Immaculate, 7 pm; January 6 versus Notre Dame, 7 pm; January 9 versus Kolbe Cathedral, 7 pm; January 13 at New Milford, 7 pm; January 16 at Pomperug, 7 pm; January 20 versus New Fairfield, 7 pm; January 23 versus Bunnell, 7 pm; January 27 at Foran, 7 pm; January 29 at Bethel, 7 pm.

February 3 versus Brookfield, 7 pm; February 6 versus Joel Barlow, 7 pm; February 10 versus Jonathan Law, 7 pm; February 13 at Weston, 7 pm; February 20 versus Masuk, 7 pm; February 23 at Stratford, 7 pm; February 25 at Brookfield, 7 pm.

The word appears to be out.

The Newtown High School wrestling team performed so well last year – finishing third at the South-West Conference tournament – that more athletes than ever before have come out for a chance to participate in 2003-04.

“We have 33 kids,” said head coach Alan Potter, “and it looks as if they are all going to stay. It’s a beautiful thing. We have a good thing going here and the kids want to be a part of it.”

The Nighthawks are being forced to move on without Jon Read, a CIAC Class L champion who rose to second place (behind James Monroe) on the all-time career wins list. The loss of Justin Alter (heavyweight) and Ron Isler will be problematic, as well.

But returnees such as Dan McIlrath, Edmund Breitling, Alex Read, James Terhaar, Steve Giacalone, Justin Bass and Brandon Thomas will keep this young team (more than 10 freshmen and only four seniors) competitive.

“We called ourselves a ‘journeyman’ team last year,” said coach Potter, “and that’s pretty much what we are this year. Our goal is to win a conference championship every year, of course, but we really think we have a shot at that next year. We should be in the top five this year.”

Schedule –

December 17 at Pomperaug, 6 pm; December 20 at Guilford Tournament, 9 am; December 22 at Foran, 7 pm; December 27 at Danbury Tournament, 9 am; December 29 versus Stratford, 10 am.

January 3 at Bristol Central Tournament 9 am; January 7 versus Weston, 7 pm; January 10 at Maloney and Bethel, 11 am; January 14 versus New Fairfield, 7 pm; January 17 at Staples, Masuk and Montville, TBA; January 21 at Jonathan Law, 6 pm; January 24 at Morgan Duels, 9 am; January 28 versus Bunnell, 7 pm; January 31 at Enfield, Conard and Newington, 11 am.

February 4 at New Milford, 6 pm; February 7 at New Fairfield Duels, 9 am; February 11 at Brookfield, 7 pm.

It sure is nice to see Al Mazur back on the ice for the Newtown High School hockey team – only, now he’s an assistant coach.

Yes, Mazur (and his team-high 49 points) are gone from a team that finished 10-11-1 and qualified for the South-West Conference and CIAC Division II tournaments in only its second year. And without guys like Mazur (27-22-49), Mike Skiba (4-6-10), Dan Mallen (8-14-22), Matt Glander (0-3-3), Tim Hoeffel (5-7-12) and Greg Korotash (0-2-2) the ‘Hawks have shifted into a rebuilding mode.

At least the ‘Hawks head into this mode with two of their top four scorers from a year ago – juniors Nick Harris (20-13-33) and Sean LaPorta (10-5-15). And then there is Harrison Kass (2-8-10), Corey Regensburger (3-4-7) and Blaise LaPorta (2-4-6) to provide some support.

“We are prepared to play aggressively this year against a tough opponent every night,” said head coach Paul Esposito, who will patrol the bench with Mazur and goalkeeper coach Jeff Regensburger – but not Ken Kantor, who is hurt and out indefinitely. “Bethel, New Milford, New Fairfield, Masuk and an improved Barlow team will definitely be tooth and nail games for us.”

Coach Esposito has some solid returnees at his disposal (Steve Vichiola, Justin Pacheco, Stephen Borchetta, Grant Speer, Joe Brewer, goaltender Peter Oggeri, Nick Magoulas, Bryan Walsh, David Haladjian and Tony Kmetetz) and will be looking to a host of talented newcomers (Travis Speer, Seth Hull, Zach D’Agostino, Kris Kraft, Pat Daly, Mike Conroy and Mike Jurasec) for some strong minutes.

“Although the team is rebuilding,” said coach Esposito, “we are setting high goals: to make the SWC and Division II state tournaments. The team is looking better than expected and shows huge potential.”

Schedule –

December 10 versus Joel Barlow, 6 pm; December 13 at Masuk, 8:30 pm; December 17 versus Bethel, 4:30 pm; December 20 versus Notre Dame, 4:10 pm; December 23 at Housatonic Valley, TBA; December 27 versus New Fairfield, 2 pm; December 30 versus East Lyme, 4:30 pm.

January 3 at New Milford, 1:15 pm; January 7 versus Milford, 6:30 pm; January 10 versus Wilton, 3:10 pm; January 14 versus Watertown, 8:10 pm; January 17 at Watertown, TBA; January 21 versus Housatonic Valley, 8:10 pm; January 24 versus New Milford, 5:20 pm; January 31 versus Fairfield, 4:10 pm.

February 4 versus Masuk, 8:40 pm; February 7 versus Bethel, 1 pm; February 11 versus Joel Barlow, 8:50 pm; February 14 versus New Fairfield, TBA; February 20 at Wilton, 4 pm.

While third was good enough for the Newtown High School swim team last year, it is looking for something more in 2003-04.

“Last year we were third at the SWCs,” said head coach Rory Perry, “and that was good. But I’d like to get to second (this year). Brookfield and Pomperaug are still strong, but if we could sneak past one of them it would be great.”

The Nighthawks lost three strong swimmers in Tim Robinson, Eric Taylor and Paul Ashey. There was a lot of versatility in that threesome and coach Perry knows the losses are going to hurt.

Taking the sting out of that pain, though, will be some talented returnees. Leading the charge will be the captains – Andy Heller (butterfly, individual medley), Chris Jacobs (sprint freestyle), Jim Morlath (distance freestyle, butterfly), Steve Truitt (diving) and CJ Maurer (diving).

Maurer and Heller both earned second-place finishes at the South-West Conference championships last year.

Dave LaMarche, Zach Moliver and Jake Maher provided some punch for the ‘Hawks last year, qualifying for the SWCs and states. Coach Perry expects even better performances from them in 2003-04 and hopes to get some good races from swimmers like Dave Modzelewski, Scott Whalley, Caio Kowarick, Joe Pisacreta, Dave Rothiger, Nick Maurer, Taylor Mammen and newcomers Sean Reilly and Mike Parker.

“The kids are training well,” said coach Perry.

Schedule –

December 17 at Masuk, 4 pm; December 23 versus New Milford, 4 pm.

January 6 at Pomperaug, 4 pm; January 9 versus Shepaug,, 4 pm; January 12 versus Bethel, 4 pm; January 20 versus Bunnell/Stratford, 4 pm; January 27 versus Brookfield, 7 pm,

February 3 versus Weston, 7 pm; February 10 at New Fairfield, 4 pm; February 24 versus Foran, 7 pm.

NOTE: The Nighthawks will also – once again – be participating in the annual Wappingers Falls Swimming Invitational in Newburgh, New York.

The Nighthawks are going to go the distance in 2002-03.

With a bevy of runners fresh from a phenomenal cross country season (the girls earned their second consecutive championship and the boys finished second, behind eventual New England champion New Milford), the Newtown High School indoor track team appears rock solid in their distance events.

But everything else looks pretty good, too.

On the girls’ side, head coach Dave Foss is looking for Carolyn Brennan, Caitlin Weber, Quincey Blanchard and Leah Herity to set the tone. Lending a lot of support will be juniors Katie Fullman, Caitlin Thursland, Jessica Gaddis; sophomores Sadie Ball, Alexa Feldman, Sarah Gutbrod, Becky Huot, Sarah McSweeney, Emelye Neff, Kate Sullivan, Teresa Taylor, Jenna Van Waalwijk, Lindsay Weber and Alicia Woolf; and freshmen Whitney Allison, Michelle Brennan, Moira Collier, Julie Landin, Paige Meehan, Kristie Uniacke and Sarah Greenfield.

“The girls should have a stronger showing at the SWCs in February,” said coach Foss, who led the team to a seventh-place finish. “Distance will be a force and that, along with some strong sprinters, will lead to some solid relay teams.”

The girls also look pretty good in the hurdles with Caitlin Weber, Neff and Huot. Weber, Herity and Blanchard will power the sprints while Blanchard (long jump), Herity (vault) and Taylor (throws) also provide some strength at other key positions, as well.

On the boys’ side, coach Foss has Peter Dittmar leading a strong distance corps of Jon Larson, Alister Ratcliff, Eric MacKnight, Scott Nichols, and Matt Cole. The hurdles will be strong with Tim Carlisle and John Kostecki fighting to be near the top in the 55 while Dan Gindraux, Dan Tichon, Carlisle and Kostecki will fire up the sprinters.

“The boys should also have a solid season,” said coach Foss. “As always, we should have solid relay teams and we have some promising young blood in all events.”

Also looking to contribute will be Liam Cawley, Scott Shpunt, Will Jacob, Peter Kim, Mike Mangarella, Chris Nuelle, Edie Small, Jim Wilkins, Tyler Law, Ryan Clark, Scott Nichols, Kevin Donahue, Greg Hill, Bobby Schwarz, Scott Shannon, Billy Sims and Evan Arnold.

Now it’s getting down to crunch time.

After spending the fall working out and cheering on the football team, the Newtown High School cheerleaders are heading into their competition season. Judging from their work in the off season, they are more than ready.

The Lady Nighthawks (20 strong after spring tryouts) participated in the Southern Connecticut State University UCA Cheerleading Camp this summer and won first place in both the Cheer and Dance categories, second place in the Home Pom category, and tons of Superior ribbons. On top of all that, juniors Amber Butler, Amanda Klabonski and Mallory Berko were honored as All-Americans.

The ‘Hawks hope to approach the level of success they reached a year ago (and maybe reach higher). In 2002-03, the ‘Hawks finished first at the Nonnewaug High School competition, first at the UCA New England competition at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, second at the SCSC competition, and fifth at the South-West Conference competition.

“They created large shoes for this squad to fill,” said coach Heather Bernhart this past fall. “We look forward to re-claiming our titles from last year and earning some new ones. The squad will be investing a lot of time into building solid stunts, funky dances and awesome tumbling.”

And the best part is - there are no seniors!

In the winter, the cheerleading squad becomes co-ed. Members include Christina Elsenhans, Mallory Berko, Lauren Grimaldi, Lisa Grossman, Stephanie Mackay, Alyssa MacIntyre, Remy Ball, Noreen Barrett, Lauren Egdahl, Bria Innaurato, Kate Levasseur, Christina Matsis, Lauren Reagle, Melissa Shepard, Nikki Beatty, Christina Bell, Leah Fahey, Lauren Nute, Jessica Shepard, Adam Konneker, Matt Miller, JD McGrath and Taylor Schmidt.