Rehm Records a "Hatrick" in SWC XC regular season finale

On Tuesday October 13th the Bunnell Bulldog cross country teams took to the roadways of route 25 and 84 making the long trip to the foothills of New Fairfield High School in the South West Conference regular season finale to take on the host Rebels, the Kolbe Cathedral Cougars, and the Newtown Nighthawks.

All those in attendance were greeted with partly sunny skies, diminishing winds out of the north, and temperatures holding in the 60’s.

The scenery displayed the typical fall back drop as the forest land on the campus is nearing peak colors.

The 5K course is described as veracious with a little bit of everything. A wide open field is where the race starts. Runners take a tour of the New Fairfield athletic fields including the track before they head into the New Fairfield wilderness where an established trail is lined with waist high summer growth before they re-enter the campus perimeter through a narrow rugged gulley of a pathway and repeat the same route a second time and finish on the track.

Course conditions found it in parts soggy and squishy with some erosion from recent heavier rainfalls. During their warmups runners were adjusting their strategies for any encounters they may face. Creativity got them through where they figured out when to open up speeds especially on the asphalted areas.

The girls race was up first, New Fairfield’s Liliana Fellone, a Senior, grabbed the lead and didn’t look back. She opened up a twenty second lead within the first mile.

The rest of the field of 36 were in a pack as the runners raced across the field areas towards a moderate hill leading towards the school. It was there you saw separation.

The uniform colors of Newtown, 22 in all, dominated the entire line from the front part to the back part.

At the mile and a half mark the top ten had established themselves. Fellone had a thirty-five second lead over Newtown’s Keeley Ferriter. Ferriter was slightly ahead and at times even with teammate Eleanor Smith followed by New Fairfield’s Kassidy Strazza.

In fifth, Bunnell’s Peyton Biggs. Biggs showed another promising SWC race where she was in the top ten.

The next three runners were all from Newtown, Audrey McClean, Annie Fattore, and Nyla Peterson, were pretty much staying even and setting up a push against each other in the last moments.

Rounding out the top ten were from New Fairfield, Avery Pardalis and Rylie Roemer at 9th and 10th.

In team scoring Newtown was gearing up a three team sweep with five in the top eight.

Fellone held her speed and easily came across the finish line, to the loud cheers of the home crowd on senior night, and enjoyed her final home course high school race with a time of 21:45.

In second was Ferriter at 22:16, in third Smith at 22:24, in fourth Strazza at 22:29.

Biggs took fifth at 23:28.

In sixth, Fattore at 23:37, in seventh McClean at 23:39, in eighth, and sealing a three team sweep for Newtown was Peterson at 23:44.

In ninth Pardalis at 24:02 and rounding out the top ten Roemer at 24:28.

Final scores saw Newtown over Bunnell 15-50, over Kolbe Cathedral 15-50, and over New Fairfield 23-34, New Fairfield over Bunnell 15-50, over Kolbe Cathedral 15-50.

There was no score between Kolbe Cathedral and Bunnell due to lack of five finishers.

The remaining finishers for Bunnell were Abbi Forcier at 27:18 and Hayneeya Gbadamassi at 28:23.

Turning now to the boys race, a field of 62 took to the course 35 were from Newtown. When the runners toed the line it had a certain unbalanced twist to it when looking down from a distance.

Coach Carl Strait and Coach Caron amaze the conference every year with the turn out they achieve.

After some final instructions and an opening blast the boys race was underway.

As expected the pack of runners bunched up for a couple hundred yards before the top runners were in the lead.

Bunnell’s Andrew Rehm grabbed the early part of the race looking comfortable.

Behind him a group of Newtown and New Fairfield runners still finding their positions.

As the dust was settling a pair of New Fairfield runners, Robert Robles and Colby Piesco, Newtown’s Ali Elawa and New Fairfield’s Logan Schramm were closely knit, maintaining pace with each other.

Three Newtown runners were next, Orson Lowery, Bryce Taylor, and Owen Mulcahy.

Rounding out the top ten and playing a role in team scoring Newtown’s Aarav Shetty and New Fairfield's Conner Kuczma. It was too close to tell how this would play out in the end.

Back at the top with one mile remaining it was Rehm riding calmly in first, Piesco in second, Robles in third, Elawa in fourth, and Shramm in fifth.

Still it was up in the air in team scoring between Newtown and New Fairfield.

Sixth, seventh, and eighth it was all Newtown Mulcahy, Taylor, and Lowery. All three challenging each other and it would stay that way all the way to the finish.

Kuczma a second or two behind.

Shetty in tenth still looking to overtake Kuczma.

Challenging Shetty was New Fairfield’s Liam Hearty 30 feet behind.

Meanwhile Rehm closed this one out in first at 17:47. It was Rehm’s third win on the season in four SWC meets. He placed second in week two.

Piesco took second at 18:39 and Robles third at 18:44.

Elawa placed fourth at 18:51.

Shramm in fifth at 19:14 making the team scoring even tighter.

It was Newtown continuing to make it interesting as those three from earlier claimed sixth (Mulcahy 19:29), seventh (Taylor 19:30.4), and eighth (Lowery 19:30.8).

Taylor and Lowery a shoulder to shoulder finish with Taylor getting the decision.

In ninth, Kuczma at 19:34, in tenth Shetty at 19:36.

Clinching the win for New Fairfield Hearty in eleventh at 19:38.

Final scores on the afternoon New Fairfield over Newtown 25-30, New Fairfield over Bunnell 15-50, and Kolbe Cathedral 15-45.

Newtown over Bunnell 15-50 and over Kolbe Cathedral 15-50.

Kolbe Cathedral over Bunnell 15-50.

The remaining Bunnell Finishers were Blake Staffey in at 20:06.0, Alden Clarke at 20:06.3, and Holden Adams in at 22:37.

Up next, on Wednesday October 21st, the South West Conference Championships where all 16 teams will compete for the 2026 SWC Championship and All-Conference teams, at Bethel High School.