Date: Fri 08-Sep-1995

Publication: Bee

Author: KIMH

Illustration: I

Quick Words:

Boys-Swimming-History

Full Text:

Boys' Swim History

Theirs is a story of a meteoric rise into Western Connecticut Conference

domination and of an unending free fall into a decade-long period of . . .

well, the blahs.

The Newtown High School boys' swim team hit the pool for the first time during

the 1970-71 season and it was just five years later that the Indians became

better than all the rest, finishing the 1975-76 season at 16-0 with a WCC

championship to their credit.

Through the '70s, the Indians compiled a 105-59 record, right before things

started to slide until, in the last few years, the Indians began pulling

themselves out of the deep end of the pool.

Through the 1980s, the Indians enjoyed just one winning season (a 7-5 record

in 1982-83) and things only just starting turning back around during the

1991-92 season, when John Abrami took over for one year and guided Newtown to

a 6-5 mark.

Now, with coach Brian Rieff at the helm, the Indians have run their streak to

four consecutive winning seasons and a 24-11 over the last three, challenging

each year for the WCC title.

Coach Tom Roberts had the good fortune to lead a program that got off the

ground with a great deal of enthusiasm. Nearly 30 swimmers turned out for the

initial season in 1970-71 and despite the inexperience, the Indians went 7-10

with athletes like Tom Saint, Hal Barth, and Bob Sullivan. The team slipped a

notch, dropping to 6-11, in the 1971-72 campaign, but started rolling after

that . . . nine winning seasons in the next nine years.

In 1974-75, the Indians were 13-5 and gave the school the idea that something

was going to happen soon. Bob Morgan, John Hiteshew (who later set a record of

56:60 in the 100-yard backstroke that still stands), Kevin Sullivan, Scott

Barth, Mark Atkinso, Steve Gold and Matt Karpasz (all of whom came off an 8-7

team the previous year) represented Newtown in regional competition.

Then - in a season not equalled since - coach Roberts led the Indians to a

16-0 record and Western Connecticut Conference championship in the 1975-76

season. Scott Kamrath set a school record (22:50) and Dave Sullivan set a pool

record (22:70) in the 50-yard freestyle, both of which stand today, while

Larry Newquist's diving mark of 247.50 points lives on. John Hiteshew, Mark

Atkinson, Bob Morgan and Dan Hallabeck were four of the other top swimmers on

that team.

In the 1976-77 season, the Indians did not go undefeated, but a swimmer by the

name of Dave Hiteshew made his presence very well known. Hiteshew would, in

the next couple of years, set four school records Á the 200 free (1:50.8), the

200 individual medley (2:02.17), 100 butterfly (56:60), and 500 freestyle

(5:00.75) - that have yet to be broken.

For the 1977-78 season, the Indians finished 10-4 with the 200 medley relay

team of Dave Hiteshew, Dave Van Epps, Dave Sullivan and Greg Dainak setting a

school record of 1:46.5. The pool record of 1:47.3 was set by Hiteshew, John

Korhoffer, Dainak, and Sullivan. Both are still standing.

The Indians were piling up the victories and, at the same time, were making

state teams take notice. Newtown finished third in the state in 1978-79 and

fourth in 1979-80. Sullivan, Hiteshew, Mike Gay and the 400 free relay team

were setting records that stand 15 years later.

The loss of Dave Hiteshew appeared to be debilitating. With his graduation,

the Indians floundered in the 1980-81 season, the first of eight losing

records in the next nine seasons. The only winning year in that string, 7-5 in

the 1983-84 season, was Tom Roberts' last as coach.

The Indians limped through the 1980s, struggling to keep their heads near the

surface of a .500 record. Marc Gardner, who still owns the 100 freestyle

record of $9;(3 he set in 1990, appeared at the end of the decade and was

perhaps the most accomplished swimmer to come out of the decade.

The 1991-92 season saw the Indians start their streak of winning campaigns,

when Abrami took over and led the team to a 6-5 mark. Tony Panigutti, Larry

DeMeo, Drew Corgan, and Scott Finney were there to get things started.

And it was Panigutti and Bryson Filbert who were there for coach Brian Reiff's

first season in 1992-93 and those two, along with Christer Rundloff, Sean

Martins, and Matt Burns, led Newtown to a 9-2 mark, its finest finish in 15

seasons.

Coach Reiff thought he was all done for the 1993-94 campaign, after losing an

enormous chunk of his team to graduation, but with the big three of Martins,

Rundlof and Burns mixed in with Brian Monahan and newcomer Terry McGovern, the

Indians finished 8-3 and second in the WCC behind Pomperaug.

Coach Reiff lost another huge chunk of swimmers to graduation, but with

Monahan and McGovern leading the way, and a fresh influx of new swimmers, the

Indians finished 7-6 and kept their streak alive.