By Kim J. Harmon

W

ith 7.4 seconds left on the clock in the finals of the South-West Conference girls’ basketball league, senior Kate Ryan wrote – in simple, easy-to-understand terms – the single best sports story of the year 2000.

A championship story.

With that shot, Ryan helped lift the Newtown High School girls’ basketball team to a thrilling, 45-43 win over New Fairfield in the SWC Finals and handed the Nighthawks their first modern-day championship and first championship of any kind in more than 50 years.

It doesn’t get better than that.

But it did get nearly as good during the rest of the year – Cathy Byrne breaks the all-time strikeout record for the Newtown High School softball team   . . . the Newtown Babe Ruth 11-year-old All Stars win a state championship . . . the Newtown High School field hockey team qualifies for the CIAC Class L state tournament for the second time in three years and only the second time in the last 19 years   . . . the Newtown High School football team reaches the CIAC Class L state playoffs with a stunning win over Masuk the day before Thanksgiving . . .

And more.

Much more.

Take a look -

JANUARY

w The Newtown High School girls’ basketball team lost its first game of the 1999-2000 season, 49-41, to Masuk despite an 11-point, fourth-quarter barrage by Ally Gellert. The girls avenged that loss a couple weeks later,45-43, when Morgan Haines took advantage of a napping defense and tossed in a late bucket off her own missed free throw.

w Greg Simoneau scored 217.75 points in diving, a personal high, as the Newtown High School boys’ swim team crushed the Bunnell/Stratford Co-Op, 116-68. Later on that month, the ‘Hawks defeated arch-rival Weston in a 98-88 thriller.

w Troy Simek of Newtown won a first-place trophy in the 13-expert age division at the President’s Cup BMX competion held at the Ohio Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio.

w The Newtown High School swim team holds its first Swim-A-Thon to help it raise money for a February trip to the US Aquatic Center in Orlando, Florida. Each swimmer attempted to raise $800 to defray the cost of the air fare, hotel, meals, and training center fees.

FEBRUARY

w Janelle Tracy won her fourth consecutive 55-meter dash title at the South-West Conference indoor track and field championship meet at Staples High School in Westport. The Nighthawks failed, however, in their bid to win their third consecutive conference team title. Tracy would go on to the finish third at the CIAC Class L meet and then earned a spot on the All-State Team.

w Mike Kelley and Rich Barillari, the driving forces behind the new lights and new concession stand at the Newtown High School football field, are named the 1999-2000 recipients of The Newtown Bee Sportsmen of the Year award. The two men were nominated by NHS principal Bill Manfredonia.

w Dan Maley and Steve Selezan captured South-West Conference wrestling championships at the SWC Tournament held at Newtown High School. Maley defeated Matt Drew of New Fairfield in a thrilling match at 130 pounds while Selezan crushed Franco Jean of Stratford.

w The Newtown High School Markettes were off to Madison Square Garden in New York City to perform with the Knicks City Dancers during halftime of a New York Knicks’ NBA game.

w The Newtown High School girls’ basketball team captured the Colonial Division title despite losing to Jonathan Law. That’s because New Milford sprang an upset on Masuk, handing the ‘Hawks the title. They would go on – thanks to Kate Ryan’s shot with seven seconds left – to capture their first modern-day conference championship.

w Nick Feola defeated Mark Reher of Jonathan Law for the CIAC Class L 130-pound wrestling title. The win avenges a loss Feola suffered to Reher just a week before in the South-West Conference tournament.

w The Boys’ 5th-grade traveling basketballt eam captured the East Haven Tournament title thanks to performances from such players as Ryan McGrath, Joey Devellis, Joe Bowen, Tucker Kass, Michael Tibbets, Mike Kennedy, Michael Klein, Cody Shpunt and Aron Fay.

MARCH

w The stunning undefeated season of the Newtown Middle School girls’ basketball team came to an end in the final game, a 38-34 loss to Monroe. Kelley Haines and Julie Iwanicki, now freshmen members of the Newtown High School varsity, were leaders on that team.

w The Newtown High School boys’ basketball team saw its season come to an end in a 60-58 loss to Masuk in the first round of the CIAC Class LL state tournament. The ‘Hawks finished up at 11-11 despite the efforts of their top scorers – John Fiscella (361 points for the year) and Courtney Steele (332 points).

w The Newtown High School girls’ basketball team saw its magical season come to an end with a 55-38 loss to New Britain in the second round of the CIAC Class LL state tournament. Lisa Masella led the way with 10 points as the ‘Hawks finished their best season ever at 21-4.

w Alyssa von Oy claimed the CIAC Class L state diving title with 366.85 points, edging Kim Grant of Fitch by 17 points. The Newtown High School boys’ swim team, meanwhile, which went 12-2 during the regular season, finished fourth overall.

w Heather Gunn of Newtown, a graduate of Newtown High School and former basketball player, earned the right to sing the national anthem at new SAFECO Field in Seattle, Washington after a competition at the Danbury Fair Mall sponsored by the Seattle Mariners’ minor-league affiliate, the New Haven Ravens. Gunn, at the time, was a second-semester student at the American Musical Dramatic Academy in Manhattan, New York.

w The Newtown High School co-ed cheerleading team finished second at the CIAC state championships.

w John Larkins, assistant football and baseball coach, was introduced as the new head coach of the Newtown High School baseball team, succeeding former coach Dan Winsett.

w The Strikers (Boys U14) and Nightmare (Girls U13) captured State Indoor Soccer Tournament championships over Guilford and Norwich, respectively. Lots of the players on those teams went on to the Newtown High School soccer programs and one, Chelsea Morin, was actually a leading goal-scorer for her team.

w The Suns (girls) and the Bulls (boys) captured the Intermediate Division championships of the Parks and Recreation basketball league. The Nighthawks (girls) and the Knicks (boys) captured the Junior Division championships.

APRIL

w Alyssa von Oy signed a letter of intent to attend Southern Connecticut State University and dive with its swim team.

w Pink Power captured the championship of the Senior Girls Division of the Parks and Recreation Basketball League with a victory over the Ruff Ryders. Meanwhile, the Violators defeated the Lakers to capture the Senior Boys Division championship.

MAY

w Sean Raby of the Newtown High School boys’ lacrosse team scored seven goals in a 13-9 loss to Fairfield Prep. It was the best single-game effort in four years.

w Cathy Byrne of the Newtown High School softball team whiffed 14 batters in a 1-0 win over Masuk and passed Kim DeCarlo on the all-time strikeout list. The 14-strikeout performance gave Byne 523 for her career and set her on a path towards besting the all-time record of 599 set by her sister, Samantha, which she did later in the month in a win over Kolbe-Cathedral.

w Jon Read, a freshman at Newtown High School, finished first in the Greco-Roman division and second in the freestyle division at the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Tournament. Read was competing with the Connecticut National Wrestling Team.

w Caitlin Collier of the Newtown High School girls’ lacrosse team scored her 100th career goal in a 15-10 loss to Staples. Collier scored six goals in the loss and joined Charlie Heinzer as the only NHS lacrosse players (at the time) to have crossed the 100-goal plateau. Sean Raby would, later on, score his 100th career goal in a 21-9 win over East Lyme.

w Janelle Tracy won two individual titles (100- and 200-meter dashes) and anchored two first-place relay teams (4x100 and 4x400) at the South-West Conference track and field championships. Freshman Caitlyn Elf, meanwhile, set a new school record in the 400-meter race. The girls finished fourth overall while the surprising boys finished third as Kyle Tobin hurdled his way to individual titles in the 110- and 300-meter hurdles.

JUNE

w The Strikers (boys U14) and the Rockets (girls U12) captured championships at the annual Memorial Day Kick-Off Soccer Tournament sponsored by the Newtown Soccer Club. The Vipers (boys U10) won the unofficial championship in their division.

w John Perachio of the Newtown High School boys’ tennis team, captured the second-singles championship at the Sou0th-West Conference tournament. Perachio breezed through his freshman season with the Nighthawks, not losing a single set.

w With an 85, Mike Rostafin of the Newtown High School golf team, finished third at the South-West Conference golf tournament at Ridgewood Country Club in Danbury. The Nighthawks, as a team, finished fourth.

w Akash Lamba and Deborah Eddy won singles championships at the annual Newtown Open Tennis Tournament, sponsored by the Newtown Tennis Association. For Lamba, it was his second title in a row and second time in a row he had to defeat Ritush Venugopal to win it.

w Sergio Ribeiro won the annual Rockin’ Rooster Run – which starts at finishes at the Newtown Middle School – for the third time. Todd Burns, a former swimmer at Newtown High School, came in second and gave Ribeiro a bit of a challenge. Mark Cinquegrana was the boys’ 13-and-under division winner.

w April Scheuerell took first place in the girls 12-14 age division at Major League Soccer Dribble/Pass/Shoot competition during the Newtown Soccer Club’s annual Memorial Day Tournament. With the win, Scheuerell advanced to the sectionals.

w Janelle Tracy is announced as the first winner of the Newtown High School Athlete of the Year Award, sponsored by The Newtown Bee.

w Union Savings Bank (American League), Orange Crush (National League) and Drug Center (AAA) won their respective division titles in Babe Ruth League baseball. Meanwhile, Bus #22 (Junior Division) and Walker Industrials (Senior Division) captured their respective championships in the Newtown Youth Softball League.

w Newtown’s Pete Zingoni was drafted 231st overall by the expansion Columbus Blue Jackets in the National Hockey League’s 2000 entry draft. Zingoni, who was on his way to Providence College, to start his collegiate career nevertheless opted to make himself eligible for the draft.

JULY

w In Babe Ruth baseball action, Emmett & Glander captured the 14-15 Division title, Tendler Real Estate captured the 13 Prep Division title, the 11-year-old All Stars defeated South Meriden to capture the Bethel Tournament championship, and the 12-year-old All Stars defeated Bethel, 8-2, to capture the Newtown Invitational Tournament at Glander Field.

AUGUST

w Lisa Morgan of Newtown boasted a 29-2 record and an 0.87 earned run average in helping lead the Connecticut Charmers softball team to a 69-5 record. Kelley Haines of Newtown helped lead the Connecticut Starters to a fifth-place finish at the AAU National Tournament in Florida.

w The Newtown 11-Year-Old All Stars captured the state championship with a thrilling, 5-4 win over South Meriden in South Meriden and had to survive a sixth-inning where South Meriden had the bases loaded and only one out.

w Ed Sidlowsky, Sherri Buczek, Scott Grant, Ian Mason and Connor Mason all won club championships at the annual Newtown Country Club tournament. Sidlowsky and Buczek were the Men’s and Women’s champs while Grant, Mason and Mason were the junior champs.

w Lindell Hertberg, Emie Farrell,  Linda Dirga and Laura Oberstadt were all announced as the 2000 inductees into the Newtown Sports Hall of Fame.

w Michael Kennedy, Chris Meier, Kristen Gucciardo and Stephanie Logan all took home titles from the annual Coopersmith Tennis Tournament for junior players, sponsored by the Newtown Tennis Association.

w Ben Bagaglio, Matt Myslewski, Ron Shimko and Joe DeFeo helped lead the AAU Connecticut Wolfpack baseball team to a second-place finish at the AAU National Tournament in Fort Myers, Florida.

SEPTEMBER

w St. John’s captured the Rising Stars Summer Basketball League championship with a 50-47 win over Boston College, thanks in large part to a 31-point effort by Andrew Fiscella, now with the Newtown High School boys’ basketball team.

w Bob Elliott and Julie Stern captured the singles championships at the Newtown Tennis Association’s annual Bertram Stroock Tennis Tournament.

w A new scoreboard, donated by Pepsi, was unveiled at the Newtown High School football field.

w JP Maguire defeated Hurd Construction, 22-14, in the Sunday Slo-Pitch Softball League championship at Dickinson Park.

OCTOBER

w Brian Reiff announced his retirement as Newtown High School boys’ swim coach, the second time he has retired from coaching. But a month later, NHS athletic director Gregg Simon would ask Reiff to come back to guide the team for one more season.

w With a win over Brookfield, the Newtown High School field hockey team qualified for the CIAC Class L state tournament for the second time in three years and the first time under coach Kathleen Davey.

w It was announced that the Newtown Girls Youth Softball Association would become a member of the National Babe Ruth Softball League.

w At the South-West Conference cross country championships, the Newtown High School girls finished fourth and the boys finished sixth. Erin Kostecki was the top finisher for the girls while Jeff Heller was the top finishers for the boys.

w In the biggest girls’ soccer game of the season, Newtown tied Lauralton Hall, 2-2, at Newtown High School. Chelsea Morin and Colleen Davis scored the goals for the Nighthawks.

NOVEMBER

w Kyle Tobin rushed for a season-high 265 yards and three touchdowns as the Newtown High School football registered its most important victory of the season, a 34-20 decision over Immaculate. With the performance, Tobin was named Madison Square Garden Offensive Player of the Week.

w The Newtown High School boys and girls soccer teams were both stopped in the semi-finals of the South-West Conference Tournament. The girls were beaten, 2-1, by Masuk while the boys lost, 3-0, to Joel Barlow.

w The Newtown Pop Warner Junior Pee Wees and Pee Wees both lost in the semi-finals of the Candlewood Valley Pop Warner football league.

w The Newtown High School field hockey team lost, 1-0, to No. 1 Simsbury in an epic, five-overtime battle in the first round of the CIAC Class L state tournament. The Nighthawks had reached the first round with a 1-0 win over Windsor in the qualifying round.

w The Newtown Rockets (girls U13) won the CJSA State Cup championship with a 3-0 over Farmington. Siobhan Cooper scored two goals and Mary Anders scored one in the win.

w The Newtown High School boys soccer team was defeated by New Milford in the CIAC Class L state tournament while the girls soccer team was defeated by Simsbury in the CIAC Class LL state tournament.

w The Newtown High School football team held on to The Boot with a 30-14 win over New Milford.

w Brian McGovern of Newtown, attending Fairfield Prep, won his second consecutive New England cross country championship in Thetford, Vermont. This came after McGovern also won a CIAC Class L state title and a State Open title.

DECEMBER

w The Newtown High School football team routed Masuk, 38-20, in the annual Thanksgiving Day football game (held the day before Thanksgiving this year) to push its record to 9-1 and earn a spot in the CIAC Class L state playoffs. Kyle Tobin rushed for 215 yards in the win while Rich Petretti was 7-of-12 for 197 yards. The following week, the Nighthawks were defeated by Fitch of Groton in the state semi-finals.

w Colleen Davis of the Newtown High School girls’ soccer team and Andrew Smith and Matt Pachniuk of the Newtown High School boys’ soccer team were named to the CIAC All-State teams. Matt McCarthy of the Newtown High School football team was also honored.

w The girls’ eighth-grade traveling basketball team won the New Canaan Tournament with four wins in a row. The team is coached by Ken Good, an assistant with the Newtown High School girls’ basketball team.

w Jayme Beckham scored 13 points, Lisa Masella added 12, and Lori Iwanicki chipped in with 11 as the Newtown High School girls’ basketball team defeated Norwalk, 60-52. Norwalk came into Newtown as the defending FCIAC and CIAC Class LL champion, boasting a 27-0 record during the 1999-2000 season.

w Matt Sullivan of the Newtown High School wrestling team won the 119-pound class championship at the annual Guilford Wrestling Tournament in Guilford.