Winter Edition, 2022

Newton Wrestling prepares for a Brave and impactful season

by Kaylee Mangual, Madison Trimmer, and Loretta Samples

Get ready for the Newton Wrestling team! Once again, it’s that time of year where we cheer for our peers on the team doing their very best taking the opponents down. With a previous year record of 10-7, lets see if they can sweep competition and carry Newton High School to victory.

The goals for the Newton Wrestling team this year is to hope to contend in their league for their sectional titles. The team is looking to get better every time they go out. The boys have a lot more experience so it is about spreading it out, making sure they can fill out all fourteen weights and work together to try to improve so the team can be successful. There are a lot of new girls, 16 in total. They are learning, working hard, and trying to be better by the end of the year. The win-loss record last year was boys being 10-7. The girls never had a dual meet before and they will have 7 this year. Mr. Bollette stated in an interview when being asked if he recommends joining wrestling, “It is a good way to get in shape for your other sports, teaches self discipline, it’s an individual sport because it has a team aspect of it. Sometimes our matches have come down to it is not our best kids who have to win, it is our second tier kids who have to learn how to save team points who have to learn not to get pinned. It is unique to team sports.” The upcoming players, the top returning for the boys are Micheal Melillo who made states last year, Thaylor Sibblies who almost made states last year, and Brody Guerra who qualified for regionals.

When speaking to Thaylor Sibblies, a member of the boys wrestling team, he had this to say about the team. “I feel great about the team I am on. There are many laughs, but when it's time to get serious we know how to lock it in right away.” He mentioned some great takes about how close the team is and how they keep each other going. Thaylor explains his experience and leadership along the way which keeps the team going.

Gianna Simeone, a wrestler from the girls wrestling team, shared her great opinion and feelings about the team. She says the coaches and good leadership make the team stay a pact, and the drive to win and great teammates is something that keeps her and the other girls going. Being a part of this sport is something that takes a lot of time and dedication, but it keeps you in shape, active, and helps you grow mentally. Gianna stated “I enjoy being a part of the wrestling team and I am so excited about this season.”

The conference is extremely tough, there are only three teams in it outside of Newton, those are the teams they focus on, and those three teams are High Point, Jefferson, and Kittatinny. Kittatinny is in the sectionals and the biggest rival when it comes to Newton. When it comes to the boys and girls, they practice at the same time, they practice with each other in some spots, they treat everyone the same, and that is why the girls have been becoming more successful. The girls are there everyday along with the boys and they wrestle with the boys which helps gain both the girls and boys strength.

All in all, we wish the boys and girls of the Newton Wrestling team a great season and the best of luck. We know you can do it!

Gianna Simeone takes down her opponent (lead picture) while Thaylor Sibblies battles his way to a win (second picture). Photos from 2021
Photos by Jordan Short

With 7 returning players, the Lady Braves basketball team look to gain an edge over their competition

by Christine Ahmad, Allison Iliff and Maddie Trimmer

The Newton girls basketball team is preparing for their upcoming season. With seven returning players, and many new additions to their team, the team is ready to accomplish their goals by being competitive against every opponent they are faced with this year.

The Newton Lady Braves are enthusiastic and committed to getting better every time they step on the court. The team makes adjustments as needed in real time helping them improve their game on the spot. Having a mix of new and returning players creates new energy and excitement on and off the court.

The Junior Varsity and Varsity girls both practice together letting each girl gain knowledge and get better. “Everyone on our team has star quality. They gave the capability of impacting the game and changing momentum,” stated coach Dugan. The captains this year are Sophia Brondo, Catherine Vena, and Sophia May. These players were chosen because of their encouraging words and actions. Good luck with your upcoming season!

A closely guarded Sophia May passes the ball to her teammate. Photo from 2021
Photo by Jordan Short

Newton Braves Boys Basketball shoot for a great season

by Jordan Short

Newton Braves Boys Basketball has undergone a lot of changes for the start of this season. New coaches, new players, new teams.

17 year teacher and 16 year basketball coach, Paul Filan is moving up from Junior Varsity Head Coach to Varsity Head Coach this season. Replacing Coach Filan as JV coach is Halstead Middle School gym teacher and former Newton alumni, Coach Peter Naumowicz.

Last year, the Braves finished the season with a 9-15 record and second in their division. “My hopes for the season is that we can take it a step further from finishing second and bring home a Freedom Division title and improve upon our 9-15 recond,” Coach Filan stated.

Goals are a big part of sports, setting short term and long term goals is very important in the development of the season. “Our goal is to improve upon on what we did last year, as a team we are very young and hard working. We want the players to develop a love for the game, but also shape them into good men and citizens,” Coach Filan continued.

Heading this young team are returning seniors Jake Benitz, Robert McCullough and Domenic Lotruglio who all have varsity experience. An up and coming player to look out for is sophomore Maxwell Maslowski.

“Our biggest challenge is that we are inexperienced. The three seniors I mentioned and a senior who is currently out injured are our only guys with varsity experience, and some of our players haven’t played high school basketball before,” Coach Filan stated. “We are adding more competition based activities into our practice and hope to develop this young team into better basketball players.”

Adversity is evident in all sports, but the Newton Braves make it a habit to not let that define them. This team is going all in and is prepared to play ball. Good luck with your season Braves!

Dominic Ferdenzi tries to break away from the opponent to move up the court. Photo from 2021.

Photo by Jordan Short.

Esports preparing to enter championships in spring

by Loretta Samples

Esports is people getting together and competing through video games, and is considered to be a very competitive sport around the world. Anything that goes into a sports team, the Esports club tries to incorporate in their team, too. They also take this sport seriously to build a strong team for competitions. Mr. Seryapov, the advisor of the club, stated in a recent interview, “You have to work as a team, respect each other and those who you are playing against even if you are not seeing them in person, and help each other grow and do better as a team.”

In the competitions, the club uses Rocket League and Valorant as of now, but in the spring they compete in Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart. For now, Esports is getting together and practicing, and will be entering championships in the spring. The way competitions are scored depends on the game. Valorant is scored in teams of five while Rocket League is scored in teams of two or three, and both Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart are scored individually. The season ends depending on how far you get into the championship. If the team does not get into the playoffs, their season will most likely end in early May. If the team does get into the playoffs and all the way to the final then the season will end closer to June. The goals for the Esports team is to grow, get comfortable playing with other people, and respecting their opponents and their abilities. And of course, they also set goals to make it to the playoffs. Good luck Esports as you continue your season!

Bowling team getting ready to take the other teams down in a friendly competition

by Loretta Samples

This year, four players from last year’s team will return to the bowling team, along with other new faces. They plan to improve their skills by breaking down the approach steps, practicing how to swing the ball and memorizing the release point of the ball. They also aim to “knock down” their competition, especially their top rival–Sparta.

As of now, the bowling team’s top players are Rachel Porzilli, Mackenzie Genung, and Vinsent Mabee! Last year, the team had a win-loss record of 6-12 and hopes for more wins this year.

In an interview with Mr. Zwitkowits, the advisor of the Bowling club, he states, “We have a lot of fun. Bowling is a great sport and everybody helps each other out. It’s friendly competition and that’s what I love about it.”

Good luck to the Bowling team, have fun, and knock down those pins!

Winter track athletes prepare for their upcoming season

by Christine Ahmad

This year, the winter track team started their season as the school returned from Thanksgiving break. Their season will last from November to February, with practices running from 2:45 PM to 4:00 PM. Anyone interested is welcome to join.

The team runs both inside and outside. The weather is a big factor when it comes to what the practice will consist of. Once the peak of the winter starts to hit, the track eventually becomes snow covered so practices are held in the hallways of the school as well as utilizing the weight room.

All of the meets are large invitationals, which occur in indoor facilities across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. The indoors facilities are half the size of the standard 400m outdoor tracks.

Winter track is a great way to meet new people and stay or get into shape. “The goal of winter track is for everyone to become a better runner from the time they start the season to the end of the season. Every year that is my goal for each athlete that joins,” stated Coach McCurry. Good luck this season!

Newton Ski boys look to continue state qualifying streak while the girls look to build off NJACC championship

by Karlee Reid

The Newton High School ski team looks to build off of last year’s competitive season as the team won the girls and boys NJACC Championship last season. This year, the team continues to have athletes specialize in specific events. For example, Robert Rhine and Asher Haiduc-Dale are excellent Slalom racers. “When we race with discipline and our athletes perform, the Newton Team does very well,” commented Coach Morris. “Stephen Miller is a great Giant Slalom racer and really adds that 1 - 2 punch in that discipline. Karianna Reiersen and Sabrina are excellent racers and will do an excellent job at anchoring the girl’s team this season in both disciplines,” continued Morris.

Mr. Morris enjoys being the ski coach for Newton High School. “The kids are great to work with and we have a lot of fun outdoors participating in a sport that I'm passionate about.” Mr. Morris started as an assistant ski race coach in the 18-19 ski season before becoming the head coach for the 19 - 20 season. This is his 4th year as head coach. He added, “The best part about skiing is the fact that you're outdoors in winter and enjoy the environment around you. Nothing beats being at the top of a mountain overlooking the scenery or being totally alone in the wooded areas at a ski resort. The calm is the best.” He continued, “As far as ski racing goes, it is really cool that an activity that I see more leisurely can be competitive in a racing setting. Outside of being with nature the speed of being on skis is an incredible feeling.”

This year the team has practices and races set to take place at Mountain Creek (Previously Hidden Valley, and Mountain Peter). Coach Morris is currently trying to iron out final details to have the ski team have a training weekend at Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington NY, the home of the 1980's Olympics. The team consists of 12 girls and 18 boys. Coach Morris continued, “We've got one of the biggest teams in the league. This year our team goals are for the boys to continue their streak of qualifying for states. The girl’s are still trying to qualify for states. Last year they were NJACC Champions and missed states during our qualifying race by seconds combined. However, a lot of that team graduated.” Morris finally concluded, “We're hoping to all become better skiers and have a blast out on the hills.” The team will race in two disciplines, Slalom and Giant Slalom.

Newton-Lenape Valley ice hockey team breaks out for a great season

by Jordan Short

The Newton-Lenape Valley Ice Hockey Team is preparing for a stellar season ahead of them. Finishing last year with the overall record 8-11-5 and bringing home the Sussex Cup.

“Last season we were pretty good. We won the Sussex Cup, but we did come up short on the division championship,” senior captain Anthony Piccirillo informed The Brave Bulletin.

After saying goodbye to some star seniors, the team is captained by rising stars Anthony Piccirillo from Newton, Aidan Urbano from Sussex Tech and Justin Zappe.

“The goals for me and the boys, this year, are set pretty high. We have a lot to prove and a lot we want to do. We hope to defend the Sussex Cup and bring it back, but we are most looking forward to winning the division,” Piccirillo says.

Newton is good at many things, but overcoming adversity is our speciality and the hockey team is no exception. “We have some big challenges this year, but our biggest one is playing Montville. They are in our division and they are a good young team,” Piccirillo says.

Newton-Lenape Valley started its season off on December 10. Good luck Braves!

Newton and Lenape Valley swimmers are preparing for the upcoming season

by Logan Daingerfield

The swim season is rapidly approaching, and the Newton-Lenape Valley swim team has been hard at work to prepare for the challenges this new season will bring. This upcoming season offers new opportunities for swimmers to improve upon their skills and beat their previous records. The first meet of the season will take place on Thursday, December 8. This will be followed by an invitational meet on Saturday, December 10.

The Newton-Lenape Valley swim team has a variety of talented swimmers on the team this season. Newton swimmers to look out for on the boys team are Brenden Lynch (distance and freestyle), David Sabol (freestyle and backstroke), Teddy Mills (freestyle), and Joudan Franco (breaststroke and freestyle). Notable swimmers on the girls team are Aidan Major (butterfly), Quinn Strangeway (breaststroke and freestyle), Sofia Garibaldi (IM and butterfly), Caitlyn Neill (backstroke), and Olivia Youngs (backstroke and butterfly).

Last year's records were 6-1 for the boys and 5-2 for the girls. This season the team hopes to improve upon personal records, as well as increase the teams overall score. The girls team also hopes to qualify for state competition last year. There are high hopes for the upcoming season, and the team is confident in their abilities, and are eagerly awaiting future victories.