By Kim J. Harmon

One conference title.

Six individual conference titles.

Two individual state titles.

Wow – and those things are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to somehow illustrating the almost phenomenal success of the 1999-2000 winter season for the athletes and teams at Newtown High School.

Yes, it was a good winter alright and when going over the accomplishments of the past four months, it most apropos to start with the girls’ basketball team, which won its first conference championship in modern basketball history and the first conference championship in 50 years.

It was a remarkeable accomplishment for a sophomore-laden team that had, before the season even started, lost its starting center to an anterior cruciate ligament injury. The sophomores – Lori Iwanicki, Ally Gellert, Morgan Haines, Lisa Masella, and Mary Bell – were thrown into the fire and performed amazingly. Together with a strong junior class – led by Jayme Beckham, Lauren Adamek and Jessica Oswald – and senior Kate Ryan the ‘Hawks won the SWC title with a thrilling victory over New Fairfield. Iwanicki was named to the All-SWC team and deservedly so, leading the team in scoring. Beckham and Ryan were named to the All-Colonial Division team while Haines and Masella were honorable mentions.

On the wrestling mat, Nick Feola finished a stunning season with an incredible 44-4 record (believed to be a record for individual wins in a season) and a CIAC Class L 130-pound state championship. Steve Selezan, who finished 37-3, claimed an SWC championship at 152 pounds with an easy win over Franco Jean of Stratford and Dan Maley captured an SWC championship at 125 pounds with a thrilling win over Matt Drew of New Fairfield.

Both Feola and Selezan will be aiming for their 100th career victories a year from now, during the 2000-2001 season . . . a feat previously accomplished only by Kyle Turoczi and James Monroe.

In the swimming pool, the Nighthawks boasted one of their strongest teams ever and with a 12-4 dual meet record, a third-place finish at the South-West Conference championships, and a fourth-place finish at the CIAC Class L meet, who can argue?

Alyssa von Oy won her second consecutive SWC diving championship and then added her first CIAC Class L championship with a tough win over Kim Grant of Fitch. Kane Kunst won a SWC title in the 100 backstroke, blowing away the field, and then finished fourth at the CIAC Class L meet.

And then there was Ryan Eberts, Tim Lux, Greg Simoneau, Kyle Neidig, Pat Monahan, Matt Fries, Jeff Heller, Joe Blanchard and Karlis Griffiths – a strong front line crew that helped lead the ‘Hawks to their best finish ever.

The boys’ basketball team didn’t fare as well as it might have hoped, but an amazing mid-season turnaround got the ‘Hawks into the SWC playoffs. Courtney Steele had a fantastic season, scoring 332 points, finishing fifth all-time with 859 career points, and claiming a spot on the All-SWC team. John Fiscella led the team with 361 points and has 548 heading into his senior year. Fiscella was named All-Colonial while Rich Engel and Jason Godoy were honorable mentions.

In indoor track, the Lady Nighthawks were finally bested in the South-West Conference when their bid for a fourth-consecutive conference championship was denied. But senior Janelle Tracy continued her domination of the 50-meter dash with her fourth individual championship and Laurie Miller claimed her second consecutive long jump title. As expected, Tracy and Laurie Miller were named to the All-SWC team.

Off the courts, the Newtown High School cheerleaders – who went co-ed this season – finished second in their CIAC state competition and the Markettes earned a chance to perform during halftime of a New York Knicks NBA game at Madison Square Garden in New York.

So many accomplishments, so much success.

It was a great winter at NHS.