Newtown High School Recaps

By Kim J. Harmon

Spring break is over, the Newtown High School golf team got out on the course for the first time, and the boys’ track team enjoyed its first competition 14 days after its scheduled season opener – can it be that the 2004 spring sports season is finally hitting its stride?

Oh yeah, the action is starting to heat up.

For instance, the baseball team is showing it has the goods to make a run at South-West Conference and state tournament berths; the girls’ lacrosse team is showing it may be a lot stronger than most people had hoped; the boys’ lacrosse team is only 3-4, but 3-0 in the SWC; the softball team hasn’t lost to anybody but Masuk; the tennis teams haven’t lost since opening day; and the track teams – as usual – are off to a flying start.

With all of that happening just in April, it looks like it could be a very exciting May.

Boys Lacrosse –

It was not an easy start to the 2004 season for the Newtown High School boys’ lacrosse team, which lost four of its first five games and was out-scored by 21 goals in that span.

But last week, the Nighthawks showed that they are still contenders in the South-West Conference – and still in position to defend their conference championship – after edging New Fairfield (5-4) and smashing Brookfield (11-6) to run their record to 3-4 overall, 3-0 in the SWC.

Of course, the ‘Hawks traveled to Redding on Thursday for, perhaps, the biggest game of the season against Joel Barlow. Barlow dropped to 6-1 on Tuesday after getting pounded by Fairfield Prep, 14-4. Currently, the Falcons are ranked fifth in the state in Division I (according to laxpower.com) while the ‘Hawks are ranked 25th.

The ‘Hawks sharpened their skills this past week, though, with a couple of tough opponents.

In the win over New Fairfield, it was a late fourth-period goal by Kyle Kirch that snapped a 4-4 tie, stalled a Rebels rally, and lifted the ‘Hawks to the win.

The ‘Hawks jumped out to a 3-0 lead in this game, finally getting the offense untracked after a scoreless first period. Brendan O’Connor started things off, scoring off the fast break after a tough defensive stop by the ‘Hawks.

Sophomore Grant Speer followed with the first of his two goals, taking a feed from Kirch after a patient offensive set and burying in the top left corner of the net to give the ‘Hawks a 2-0 lead. A few minutes later, Speer scored again off a nice pass down low from O’Connor.

The ‘Hawks were seemingly in control of the game, but things started to turn late in the second period.

The Rebels scored their first goal of the game late in the second off the crosse of Matt Wilson. Then, in the third period, the Rebels scored two more goals – one by Jeff Hopkins and the other by Brandon Semchyshen – to even the game at 3-3.

But the Newtown offense kept plugging away, working the ball around the back of the cage and patiently waiting for the right opportunity to attack the net. It came later in the third when John Oliver, perched at the ‘X’ position behind the cage, flipped a pass out front to Kirch for the go-ahead goal.

The Rebels, though, were determined and tied the score up in the fourth on a hard shot by Semchyshen at the top of the box. Just a few moments later, however, Kirch put the ‘Hawks ahead for good with his second goal of the game.

Chris Body made 10 saves to preserve the win, which snapped a two-game losing streak.

On Tuesday, the ‘Hawks followed up with a more convincing 11-6 win over Brookfield, which had lost only two of its first seven games to that point. Kirch popped in five goals (giving him a team-high 18 for the season) while Oliver chipped in with three. Tyler Law, Jeff Bell and Brendan O’Connor scored one goal apiece. Speer, Oliver, Kirch and Dave Kugielsky all had assists and Body made 13 saves for the win.

The two wins helped the ‘Hawks forget a 10-5 loss to Greenwich last Thursday. Oliver scored three goals while Speer and Bell tallied one apiece. Kirch provided a couple of assists on the afternoon, O’Connor added one, and Body made 11 saves in the cage.

After the game with Joel Barlow on Thursday, the ‘Hawks were set to host Conard on Saturday under the lights at Blue & Gold Stadium (open faceoff at 7 pm) and will host Guilford on Thursday, May 13, on the back fields at Newtown High School. A game with New Milford, postponed on Monday, had yet to be rescheduled at press time.

New Fairfield                 4

Newtown                          5

GOALS: Newtown – Kyle Kirch 2, Grant Speer 2, Brendan O’Connor; New Fairfield – Brandon Semchyshen 2, Jeff Hopkins, Wilson. ASSISTS: Newtown – Oliver 2, Kirch, Speer; New Fairfield – Colasante, Marmaras, Stadnyk. SAVES: Newtown – Chris Body 10; New Fairfield – Sean Bondy 9.

Brookfield                        6

Newtown                        11

GOALS: Newtown – Kyle Kirch 5, John Oliver 3, Tyler Law, Jeff Bell, Brendan O’Connor; Brookfield –B. Magh 3, M. Sackerson, Isaacs, D. Hall. ASSISTS: Newtown – Grant Speer, Oliver, Kirch, Dave Kugielsky; Brookfield – S. Tarant. SAVES: Newtown – Chris Body 13; Brookfield – B. Holmes 10.

Girls Lacrosse –

A four-game winning streak (in which they out-scored their opponents by 44 goals) should be enough to open some eyes around the South-West Conference, but Newtown High School girls’ lacrosse head coach Sara Strait last week was trying to remain cautiously optimistic.

The Lady Nighthawks crushed Notre Dame (19-2) and pounded Trumbull (12-4) to run their record to 5-1. But what was expected to be the toughest test of the 2004 season came on Thursday (after press time) when the ‘Hawks hosted New Milford on the back fields at Newtown High School.

A win there would do more than open some eyes.

It would pop ‘em out.

After a 12-8 loss to Cheshire back on April 10, the ‘Hawks – led in large part by Meg Regnery, but also a host of other players – have run roughshod over their competition. A 20-5 pounding of Lauralton Hall started the current winning streak, which built up a head of steam following a 10-6 win (possibly the first ever, but at least the first in several years) over Mercy of Middletown.

In the win over Notre Dame last Thursday, Regnery and Kate Fenton scored three goals apiece and assisted on one other to lead the attack. Heidi Ekstrom had two goals and two assists while Louisa Yemc, Kimberly Solheim and Rachel Maley scored two goals apiece. Kelly Collier, Moira Collier, Jackie Darigo, Karlie Beitel and Rachel Eastman also scored.

In the win over Trumbull on Tuesday night, Regnery scored three more goals and lifted her team-leading total to 23. Karli Beitel added a pair of goals, giving her 15 for the season, while Fenton and Kelley Collier added two apiece. Solheim, Casey Frobey and Darigo also scored while Beitel and Fenton provided the assists.

The ‘Hawks scored six goals in the first half to take hold of the game and added six more in the second half to put the game away. The ‘Hawks took an early lead, but Trumbull snuck back into the game briefly.

Newtown outshot Trumbull 30-6. Kerrie Canavan made five saves in the cage after making just two saves in the win over Notre Dame.

Following the game against New Milford on Thursday, the ‘Hawks will travel to Redding on Tuesday to take on Joel Barlow before returning home on Thursday, May 6, for a game against Brookfield on the back fields at Newtown High School.

Notre Dame                     2

Newtown                       19

GOALS: Newtown – Meg Regnery 3, Kate Fenton 3, Louisa Yemc 2, Kimberly Solheim 2, Heidi Ekstrom 2, Rachel Maley 2, Karli Beitel, Kelly Collier, Moira Collier, Jackie Darigo, Rachel Eastman. Notre Dame – Michelle Tenna, Erin O’Connor. ASSISTS: Newtown – Ekstrom 2, Lindsey Coyle 2, Regnery, Fenton, Darigo, Maley, Katie Sudbey. SAVES: Newtown – Kerrie Canavan 2; Notre Dame – Ally Gombar 13.

Newtown                       12

Trumbull                          4

GOALS: Newtown – Meg Regnery 3, Karli Beitel 2, Kate Fenton, 2, Kelly Collier 2, Kimberly Solheim, Casey Frobey, Jackie Darigo; Trumbull – Kate Cunningham 2, Kristen Brown, Betsy O’Brien. ASSISTS: Newtown – Beitel, Fenton; Trumbull – Nina Souvannalay. SAVES: Newtown – Kerrie Canavan 5; Trumbull – Alyson Agler 11.

Softball –

A disappointing loss to Masuk back on April 19 might have stung, but it didn’t seem to slow down the Newtown High School softball team at all.

Two days after that loss (the second to the Lady Panthers in seven days), the Lady Nighthawks blanked Pomperaug (3-0) and two days after that hammered Immaculate (8-3) to run their record to 5-2, 3-1 in the South-West Conference.

Lisa Morgan continued to sparkle on the mound for the ‘Hawks.

She scattered three hits and struck out 11 batters in the win over Pomperaug and then scattered five hits and struck out seven in the win over Immaculate. In 46 innings of work this season, Morgan has allowed only 17 hits while striking out 73.

The offense – nonexistent in the loss to Masuk – started to get untracked last week.

Trina Ramsdell collected a pair of hits while Morgan doubled and Jenna Van Waalwijk drove in a run in the win over Pomperaug last Wednesday. Two days later, the ‘Hawks collected nine hits in the win over Immaculate – four of them doubles off the bats of Christina Wolf, Erin Murdoch, Ramsdell and Van Waalwijk.

The ‘Hawks scored three runs in the top of the first inning and – while nursing a slim one-run lead – scored four more runs in the top of the fourth to break the game open.

Wolf and Ramsdell drove in two runs apiece while Morgan and Megan LaFlamme drove in one run apiece.

The ‘Hawks traveled to Milford on Wednesday to take on Lauralton Hall and will host Kolbe-Cathedral on Friday. A contest with Notre Dame, postponed on Monday, will be played Saturday, May 1, at 4 pm at Newtown High School. The ‘Hawks will then host New Fairfield on Monday under the lights (7 pm) at Treadwell Park.

                                R      H       E

Newtown             3       8       0

Pomperaug         0       3       2

Batteries: Newtown – Lisa Morgan and Ashley Ferris; Pomperaug – Ashley Kuchta and Melissa Cooling. WP: Morgan (4-2). LP: Kuchta (1-2). SO: Morgan 11, Kuchta 4. BB: Morgan 1, Kuchta 3. Extra Bases: Newtown – Morgan (2B).

                                R      H       E

Newtown             8       9       2

Immaculate        3       5       3

Batteries: Newtown – Lisa Morgan and Ashley Ferris; Immaculate – Jen Romano and Kate O’Connor. WP: Morgan (5-2). LP: Romano (1-6). SO: Morgan 7, Romano 6. BB: Morgan 4, Romano 2. Extra Bases: Newtown – Christina Wolf (2B), Erin Murdoch (2B), Trina Ramsdell (2B), Jenna Van Waalwijk (2B).

Baseball –

Was it solid pitching or just poor hitting? That question can be left to the philosophers now since the Newtown High School baseball team dropped a 1-0 decision to Immaculate on Tuesday afternoon in a game that saw only six hits.

The Nighthawks squandered a two-hitter by Matt Myslewski, who was squaring off against Mike Thater. After winning on opening day against Abbott Tech, Myslewski has dropped four decisions in a row but pitched very well in all four. It was bad luck or simple misfortune that had the senior righty facing four of the toughest teams on the schedule.

“(Thater) was really sharp,” said head coach Carl Strait. “He’s one of the best pitchers in the league and we just didn’t hit. Pitching and defense-wise, we’re doing okay. We just have to start hitting.”

Pat McCarthy collected a pair of hits for the Nighthawks, one of those a double. Ryan McGrath also added a hit. Only once – in the top of the seventh – did the ‘Hawks get a runner as far as third base.

The ‘Hawks attempted to get the bats going in a non-conference game with Joel Barlow on Wednesday and then a game with Notre Dame on Thursday (postponed from Monday). They will host New Fairfield on Monday and then travel to Penders Field on Wednesday, May 5, to take on Stratford under the lights.

                                R      H       E

Newtown             0       4       1

Immaculate        1       2       0

Batteries: Newtown – Matt Myslewski and Peter Oggeri; Immaculate – Mike Thater and David Simone. WP: Thater (3-1). LP: Myslewski (1-4). SO: Myslewski 5, Thater 5. BB: Myslewski 4, Thater 0. Extra Bases: Newtown – Pat McCarthy (2B); Immaculate – Chris Jarvis (2B).

NOTE: The Newtown High School baseball team will host Brookfield on Friday, May 7, at 6 pm, at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport. There will be no fee to enter, so go on down and support Newtown High School baseball.

Boys Track –

There was little secret that Pomperaug is one of the top teams in the South-West Conference, but at least the Newtown High School boys’ track team showed on Tuesday that it could be mentioned in the same breath with their rivals from Southbury.

The Nighthawks defeated Brookfield and Bunnell, but fell to Pomperaug to start the 2004 season at 2-1. The ‘Hawks were scheduled to open the season back on Tuesday, April 13, in a quad meet with Notre Dame, Foran and Jonathan Law but rain – and the subsequent spring break vacation – kept them off the track until Tuesday.

But despite the long layoff, they hit the ground running.

The foursome of Chris DeRoo, Jake Sullivan, Scott Nichols and Corsen captured a first-place finish in the 4x800 relay at 9:00, slightly more than two seconds ahead of Pomperaug. And Joe Sgammato earned a first-place finish in the triple jump at 38-4.

Those were the only first-place finishes for the ‘Hawks, but they had a fair number of strong second- and third-place finishes to fill out the afternoon. Their 4x100 relay, for instance, came in third at 46.5 (just four-tenths of a second behind Brookfield) and their 4x400 relay came in second (just seven seconds behind Pomperaug).

Individually, John Kostecki (third in 110 high hurdles, second in triple jump and third in high jump), Tim Larsen (third in 400 meters), Pete Dittmar (second in 1,600 meters), Alistair Ratcliff (third in 1,600 meters and third in 3,200 meters), Nichols (second in 800 meters), John Collins (third in 200 dash), Adam Konneker (second in discus), and Jeff Lipnick (third in triple jump) performed well.

The ‘Hawks will host Stratford, Bethel and New Milford on Tuesday, May 4, and then meet up with Notre Dame, Foran and Jonathan Law at Jonathan Law in Milford on Thursday, May 6.

TEAM SCORES: Brookfield 762/3, Bunnell 751/3; Pomperaug 104.5, Brookfield 45.5; Newtown 94, Brookfield 56; Pomperaug 85, Newtown 65.

Track Events

 

4x800 relay: 1. Newtown (DeRoo, Sullivan, Nichols, Corsen) 9:00; 2. Pomperaug 9:02.6; 3. Brookfield 9:25.5. 4x100 relay: 1. Brookfield (Staugaitis, Seeley, Susco, Griffin) 46.1; 2. Pomperaug 46.3; 3. Newtown 46.5. 110 high hurdles: 1. Max Kramer (P) 16.95, 2. Peeler (Bu) 17.7, 3. Kostecki (N) 18.82. 100 dash: 1. Sanford (Bu) 11.0, 2. Frasier (P) 11.1, 3. Griffin (B) 11.4. 400: 1. Sanford (Bu) 53.7, 2. Critelli (P) 54.3, 3. Larsen (N) 54.6. 1600: 1. McNeish (P) 4:40, 2. Dittmar (N) 4:50, 3. Ratcliff (N) 4:58. 300: 1. Kramer (P) 42.0. 2. Carlisle (N) 42.1, 3. Findley (Bu) 44.1. 800: 1. McNeish (P) 2:03, 2. Nichols (N) 2:16, 3. Smockler (P) 2:17. 200 dash: 1. Griffin (B) 23.2, 2. Sanford (Bu) 23.4, 3. Collins (N) 24.5. 3200: 1. Varga (P) 10:15, 2. Baldour (N) 11:09, 3. Ratcliff (N) 11:12. 4x400 relay: 1. Pomperaug 3:41, 2. Newtown 3:48, 3. Bunnell 3:57.

Field Events

Javelin: 1. Cino (P) 132-5, 2. White (B) 1:30-1, 3. Spinner (Bu) 129-7. Shot put: 1. Frasier (P) 42-3½, 2. Pacific (B) 40-9, 3. Mosckiko (Bu) 39-5. Discus: 1. White (B) 113-4, 2. Konneker (N) 110-5, 3. Malloy (Bu) 110-5. Long jump: 1. Keegan (P) 19-4, 2. Frasier (P) 18-6, 3. Susco (B) 18-5. Triple jump: 1. Sgammato (N) 38-4, 2. Kostecki (N) 35-6¾, 3. Lipnik (N) 35-6. High jump: 1. Keegan (P) 5-8, 2. Susco (B) 5-6, 3. Kostecki (N) 5-6. Pole vault: 1. Matthews (P) 10-6, 2. Finley (Bu) 10-0, 3. Peckman (P) 9-0.

Golf –

The Newtown High School golf team finally got out onto the course on Tuesday afternoon, but the result wasn’t what they had hoped for.

Head coach Jen Huettner may have been anxious to see the Nighthawks defeat New Milford for the first time in a few years, but on a soggy Candlewood Valley Country Club course the ‘Hawks dropped a tough 166-169 decision.

Chris Brooks of New Milford had little trouble with the wet conditions, earning medallist honors with 4-over 39.

Newcomer Ronnie Shimko led Newtown with a 5-over 40 while Ben Moore and Jon Cain each carded rounds of 7-over 42. Andrew Fiscella came in at 10-over 45 to round out the Newtown foursome.

New Milford, meanwhile, benefited with a round of 6-over 41 by Rob Accosta and a round of 7-over 42 by Zach Jenkins.

The ‘Hawks were set to host Notre Dame on Thursday at the Newtown Country Club and will face Weston at Heritage Village Country Club in Southbury on Monday before meeting Jonathan Law in Milford on Tuesday. The ‘Hawks will return to the Newtown Country Club on Thursday, May 6, to host Bunnell.