They Do It Again ... Color Guard Teams Win Competition

The three Newtown Winter Guard divisions turned in outstanding performances to each take first place at the Musical Art Conference (MAC) Color Guard Competition, hosted by Brookfield High School, on February 13.

True to form, the Newtown High School Varsity Winter Color Guard continued its first-place stronghold in MAC competition, earning the top spot after performing its show “Stargaze,” besting Scholastic National A competitors from Danbury, Shelton and Arlington, NY.

Varsity Guard captains are Newton High juniors Nicole Scalora and Sarah Smith. The 2010 guard members are juniors Victoria Braga, Melissa Charles, Olivia DeWald, Marissa Metcalf, Alyssa Wade, and Sarah Walton; sophomores Sara Hetzer and Grace McKinley; freshmen Brianna Bauch, Cherokee Belval, Melissa Christiano, Caitlin Fitz Gerald, Brandon Ghent, Victoria Hanulik, Grace Hubbard, and Meaghan Kelley; and eighth-grader Paige Thanasoulis. The staff is comprised of Bob Findley, Janos Pergely , Michele Liscio, and Victoria Whittington.

The Newtown Junior Varsity (Scholastic AAA) Guard was also awarded first place, topping Shelton by seven points with its performance of “Quest for Gold,” a pirate-themed show that features the sabre and rifle line of seventh-graders Sarah Braga, Courtney Datin, Maddy Hintzen, Aly Montague, and Kelsea Morshuk, along with sixth-grader Cammie Gaudett. Flag mastery was demonstrated by sixth-grader Becky Romano, seventh-graders Nina Bonvini, Kenzie Casey, Kayleigh Granville, Caitlin Jones, Bridget O’Donnell, Brittany Violet and tenth-grader Becca Tobin.

The Newtown Winter Guard Junior Division took an appreciative audience on a “Journey to Friendship” and was awarded first place, four points ahead of second-place finisher Beecher. Featuring rifle and sabre tosses by fourth-grader Lincoln Gray, the Junior Winter Guard members include fourth-grader Jo Risko, and fifth-graders Kristina Assner, Lizza Calabrese, Michelle Destefano, Lauren Granville, Allison Hsu , Erin Kely, and Emma Maki.

Newtown Varsity Guard has been the South-West Conference champions 4 years in a row, MAC champions 6 years in a row and was WGI (World Guard International) World Championship semifinalists in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

On Saturday, February 6, the varsity guard took second place, just one point behind Mineola, NY in the WGI Regional event at Trumbull High School. The Nighthawk Varsity Guard will travel to Dayton, Ohio in April to compete in the WGI World Championships.