By Kim J. Harmon

By KIM HARMON

Published: May 29, 2001 12:00 am

By Kim J. Harmon

MILFORD â The Newtown High School girlsâ track team did not have a lot to shoot for last week at the South-West Conference championships â nope, no title would be in the offing â but they darned near did something spectacular anyway.

The 4x800 relay team of Sarah MacKnight, Melanie Murphy, Brittany Rayzor and Allison Frobey obliterated (by more than 13 seconds) a five-year-old school record when it cruised to the finish line in an amazing 9:59.9 â which would have stood as the meet record had Masuk not finished first at 9:59.4.

âIt was such an incredible race,â said head coach Marsha Caine. âI had no idea they were capable of going that fast.â

The âHawks were forced to narrow their focus a bit in the SWC championships because they were without two of their top scorers â Cara Delvecchio and Caitlin Elf, both sidelined by injury.

So, admitting they had little chance to beat Joel Barlow and Masuk for the team championship was the first step. Putting together the right foursome â which had not run the event together all season â was the second step.

âWinning that race and setting a school record were our big goals,â said coach Caine.

And the âHawks nearly pulled both of those things off. Masuk and Newtown quickly left the rest of the field behind. Neither school was ahead by more than a second or two through the first 2,400 meters and things got a whole lot tighter in the final 800.

âI had the same kind of tension I feel in the 4x100,â said coach Caine, âbut this lasted for 10 minutes.â

A half second. That was all that separated Masuk and Newtown at the finish. Even though the race didnât end in a title for the âHawks, they still managed to shatter the school record of 10:13 set back in 1996.

The rest â after that â was gravy.

Brittany Rayzor turned in one of the best individual performances for the âHawks, coming in third in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter races. She came in third because of Annie and Katie Duffy of Masuk, who run first and second in virtually every race in which they compete.

Rayzor was third in the 1,600 at 5:26.9, fewer than three second behind the winning pace (set by Annie Duffy). In the 3,200, Rayzor was third in 12:00, just four seconds off the winning pace (once again, Annie Duffy).

Whitney Blanchard also had one of the Nighthawksâ top finishes of the afternoon as she claimed third in the discus with a throw of 97-7, about nine feet short of the first-place throw by Alison Bradshaw of Pomperaug.

Newtownâs other top-six finish came from Melanie Murphy in the 800 meters. Murphy finished fifth at 2:33.0, fewer than four seconds behind Katie Duffy of Masuk. The 4x400 relay team of MacKnight, Murphy, Frobey and Katie Lahey came in fourth at 4:20.9, fewer than five seconds behind first-place Weston.

Joel Barlow won the team championship with 92 points while Masuk came in second with 80 points.

TEAM SCORES

Joel Barlow 92, Masuk 80, Weston 57, Stratford 47, Jonathan Law 42, Bunnell 40, New Milford, 34, (tie) NEWTOWN and Pomperaug 32, Bethel 29.5, New Fairfield 22, Brookfield 14.5, Lauralton Hall 5.

TRACK EVENTS

4x800 relay â 1. Masuk 9:59.4, (meet record) 2. Newtown 9:59.9, 3. New Milford 10:17, 4. Joel Barlow 10:23, 5. Lauralton Hall 10:25, 6. Weston 10:27.

4x100 relay â 1. Stratford 52.1, 2. Jonathan Law 52.3, 3. Weston 52.4, 4. Bethel 52.6, 5. Bunnell 52.8, 6. Joel Barlow 52.9.

400 meters â 1. Stratford 58.7 (meet record), 2. Marisa Micik (Weston) 60.4, 3. Audrey Bertolovitz (New Fairfield) 61.9, 4. Erin Williams (New Milford) 62.4, 5. Tai McCord (Jonathan Law) 62.7, 6. Katie Makai (Brookfield) 63.1.

110 meter high hurdles â 1. Rebecca MacLean (Joel Barlow) 15.2 (meet record), 2. Jessie Helwig (Bunnell) 17.0, 3. Cara Loux (Stratford) 17.2, 4. Trinira Martine (Weston) 17.5, 5. Jess Weidmann (Masuk) 17.5, 6. Perry Young (Weston) 17.5.

300 meter intermediate hurdles â 1. Rebecca MacLean (Joel Barlow) 46.9 (meet record), 2. Katie Whitlock (Bethel) 49.8, 3. (tie) Sonia Marins (Masuk) and Perry Young (Weston) 50.0, 5. Stratford 50.2, 6. Tasia Mikan (Bunnell) 50.7.

1600 meters â 1. Annie Duffy (Masuk) 5:24.2, 2. Katie Duffy (Masuk) 5:24.8, 3. Brittany Rayzor (Newtown) 5:26.9, 4. Annie Tunderman (Joel Barlow) 5:29.7, 5. Ashley Ryan (New Milford) 5:30.2, 6. Tina Senfi (Bunnell) 5:31.7.

100 dash â 1. Lauren Miller (Jonathan Law) 12-9, 2. Dana Lamendola (Weston) 13.3, 3. Williams (New Milford) 13.3, 4. Mandee Crumb (Bunnell) 13.3, 5. Sherry Pattterson (Jonathan Law) 13.4, 6. Kristen Kelly (Weston) 13.7.

3200 meters â 1. Annie Duffy (Masuk) 11:56, 2. Katie Duffy (MHS) 11:57, 3. Brittany Rayzor (Newtown) 12:00, 4. Anne Tundermann (Joel Barlow) 12:02, 5. C. Dugan (Joel Barlow) 12:06, 6. A. St. Pierre (Joel Barlow) 12:14.

800 meters â 1. Katie Duffy (Masuk) 2:30.4, 2. Annie Duffy (Masuk) 2:30.7, 3. M. Gill (Bethel) 2:30.9, 4. Templeton (Pomperaug) 2:31.6, 5. Melanie Murphy (Newtown) 2:33.0, 6. S. Smith (Lauralton Hall) 2:33.2.

4x400 relay â 1. Weston 4:16.2, 2. New Fairfield 4:16.9, 3. Barlow 4:20.7, 4. Newtown 4:20.9, 5. Stratford 4:24.0, 6. Masuk 4:26.0.

FIELD EVENTS

Javelin â 1. Annie Roehm (Weston) 121-0, 2. Yari Bletsos (Joel Barlow) 106-4, 3. Kerri Kaylor (Bethel) 105-0, 4. Jen Albrecht (Bunnell) 104-8, 5. Karianne Butt (Brookfield) 93-3, 6. Mary Guman (Bunnell) 88-6.

Long jump â 1. Lauren Miller (Jonathan Law) 16-5, 2. Christie Czernik (Joel Barlow) 15-21/4 , 3. Guman (Bunnell) 14-71/2 , 4. Kristin Doeberl (Joel Barlow) 14-6, 5. Zaria Williams (Stratford) 14-31/4 , 6. Megan Bloyd (Brookfield) 14-21/2 .

Discus â 1. Alison Bradshaw (Pomperaug) 106-6, 2. Mary Guman (Bunnell) 102-6, 3. Whitney Blanchard (Newtown) 97-7, 4. Butt (Brookfield) 96-2, 5. Elaine Marra (New Fairfield) 95-9, 6. Marissa Micik (Weston) 87-2.

Shot put â 1. Alison Bradshaw (Pomperaug) 37-101/2Â (meet record), 2. Alesha Boanes (Masuk) 33-103/4 , 3. Courtney Balzer (New Fairfield) 33-41/2 .

Triple jump â 1. Rebecca MacLean (Joel Barlow) 33-51/4 , 2. Emma Templeton (Pomperaug) 32-4, 3. Stratford 31-10, 4. Sabia (Joel Barlow) 31-71/2 , 5. Micole Powder (New Milford) 31-4, 6. Bloyd (Brookfield) 31-11/2 .

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The editorial took no position on the budget going up or down so you're reading things into the editorial that simply aren't there. The turnout is tied to the lack of passage, in that people who came out to vote last time did not this time, indicating a lack of support on their part. Perhaps it wasn't spelled out clearly enough, but that's what the editorial was driving at, people showing lack of support by not casting a vote. The editorial did address likely concerns among voters that may have led to lack of support and lack of turnout. This lower turnout also follows increasing turnout over the past four referendums in three years (meaning it is an aberration from that), and increased turnout is something that I do push for regularly in editorials. Any disappointment you might be seeing is at the break in that trend, not at whether the budget passed or not. I'd rather see more people come out and vote "no" then not vote at all.

Lower Turnout Results In Two Budget Defeats

Clearly, property owners no longer want to bear the burden of expenses while the state does not meet it’s responsibilities. Rising costs must be addressed by actions that do not include yearly increases of property owners’ taxes. The state of CT must meet its share of the educational costs, and other costs.

Town And School Budgets Fail At Referendum

This feels like an oddly misleading headline and narrative, particularly coming from the Editorial Board. The headline "Lower Turnout Results in Two Budget Defeats" pushes a misleading narrative regarding voter turnout, and then seeks to tie the outcome of the referendum to that misleading narrative. Sure, voter turn out for this year's referendum, 18%, was lower than last year's. However, last year's turnout, 25.4%, represented the highest turnout in the most recent 10 budget referendums. If you take the time to examine turnout percentages between 2017 and 2026 (2017: 19.9, 2018: 15.7, 2019: 17, 2020: 0, 2021: 8.98, 2022: 7.7, 2023: 8.8, 2024: 15.1/17.49, 2025: 25.4, 2026: 18), this year's turnout was actually the third highest in the past 10 cycles. Perhaps the headline of this article should say "Lower Voter Turnout Than Last Year", which is more accurate, rather than creating an impression that this year's turnout is some type of aberration - a narrative that the turnout numbers, in all their binary glory, simply do not support. Further, the headline of this article appears to tie the "lower turnout" to the defeated budgets. Sure, that could be true. But, perhaps, its more likely that Newtown residents are feeling the squeeze of multiple economic influences. In Newtown, we've experienced property revaluations and increased municipal spending. Eversource continues to raise rates. The state legislature gives PURA the authority to impose Public Benefit charges that benefit a tiny percentage of the public (and subsequently burdening the rest of us). At the national level, inflation has run rampant for years and many of those costs remain high to this day. In short, the data tells a far less dramatic—and far more honest—story than the headline suggests. This wasn’t an electorate vanishing in apathy; it was a fairly typical turnout delivering an verdict that, perhaps, some at the Editorial Board didn't like. At some point, it’s worth considering that residents aren’t confused, disengaged, or misled by turnout; they’re simply doing math at their kitchen tables and concluding that “no” is the only responsible answer left.

Enjoyed the forum which only confirmed my support for Brandon Moore as the Democratic candidate to run for the state representative position. Brandon Moore did not waiver about his duty to all the people, if elected, when an issue presents itself that requires that he voice a difference of opinion for the wellbeing of Newtown residents. If Michelle Ku’s 16 years have led to her loyalty being to other elected officials, as she implied, then Newtown is going to continue to witness actions that do not protect its residents. She could not unseat republican, Mitch Bolinsky, during a Blue Wave, and once again, will not do it now. Winning that seat is critical for all. That explains why her previous campaign committee now campaigns for Brandon Moore. It explains all the endorsements he has received from local elected democratic officials. It’s why we need Brandon Moore to be the democratic candidate to run for state representative.

Second Newtown DTC, League Of Women Voters Candidates Event Planned

Appreciated the opportunity to hear from both candidates as we were present for the College Dems forum but only heard from Brandon Moore. It was an opportunity to see who can unseat the Republican incumbent and there is no doubt that Brandon Moore should be the Democratic candidate. One concerned parent posed a question about discrimination unaddressed by the school district and interestingly enough, Michelle Ku, who proudly speaks of her Board membership years, said little, while Brandon Moore passionately addressed the issue along with his experience as an Apache Helicopter Commander. This family is supporting Brandon Moore. We need change and someone who is not afraid to disagree, especially about the rising costs of living in Newtown.

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