Boys Basketball

The team had a fantastic postseason, starting with a big win against Ottawa Marquette in their regional championship, Aurora Christian in the sectional championship (53-47), and Colfax Ridgeview in the super sectional (43-32), sending them to the state finals in Peoria. The team made the trip down to state Thursday, March 9, leaving the school with a rally of people cheering as the bus pulled out of the parking lot led by fire trucks and ambulances.

Players arrived in Peoria and had some time to get the feel of the court with a practice. Later that night, the team had the chance to attend the "Tip-Off" banquet. On Friday, the boys had their first game against Okawville. They finished with a final score of 63-48, placing them in the third place game at 11:15 on Saturday.

After the game, they attended a media interview, then had the rest of the night to themselves for dinner at Pizza Ranch and some fun at "The Experience."

Saturday, the team played in the third and fourth place game against Chicago Hope Academy. They finished in fourth place, the final score 60-46. The boys were each given a medal, and the team was presented a trophy. Dylan Patrick stated, "It felt great playing in front of that big of a crowd."

Coming home on Sunday, the team rode into Newark on fire trucks with a parade of people cheering them on. There was an assembly held at the school in the gym to honor their accomplishments of the season. Many community and family members attended the assembly to congratulate the team on a phenomenal season.

By Caeley Larson

Swingin’ into the Season

The Lady Norsemen are less than a month into their 2017 softball season. Energy is already high as players, coaches, and fans are anticipating a successful season.

Players are excited for the upcoming competitions. Junior Alyssa Schofield, who started at second base last year, can’t wait "to play games in the warm weather."

Head Coach Mike Crackel seems encouraged by the skill and progress his athletes showed in just the first couple weeks of practices.

"The girls are working very well together. We are blending six freshmen with one new sophomore and ten returning players," Coach Crackel said. He believes their greatest challenge will be developing a consistent offense early in the season because of the variety of girls on the team this year.

The Lady Norsemen didn't waste time. After three weeks of practice, they jumped right into competition, with three games and a doubleheader the first week. Their opponents included Marquette Academy, Serena, and Families of Faith Christian Academy.

Looking ahead, the Lady Norsemen hope to clinch the conference title and possibly a regional title in May. The Lady Norsemen have been close to winning their regional the last two years and want to take it this year.

By Emma Nelson

Ready, Set, Go!

Newark's 2017 track season will start on March 9, 2017. This year there is somewhere around 20 or more people coming out for track. Throughout the year there are around 9 to 12 meets. According to Coach Schutt, "This is a guess because it depends on if the weather is nice during the season."

Coach Schutt is back in his second season with new assistant, Coach Biccochi. Coach Schutt said he has several goals for the team overall during the year. "For individuals in track, our goals are to have individual improvement as the year goes along," Coach Schutt said. "If each individual improves their times or distances from the beginning of the year to the end, then it has been a successful season. If along the way, we can get some kids down to state and place at state that is gravy on the potatoes."

Some practices will be held at Cross Lutheran gym, and they have equipment that Newark does not have yet. When asking Coach Dr. Schutt where practices will be held, he told me, "Since we do not have a track at Newark, we need to be creative. Winners find a way to train."

Other practices will also be held at other towns' track facilities and around the town of Newark. The first meet for girls is March 28 and March 30 is for girls and boys.

By Kyle Scott

The Boys Are Back In Town!

The baseball team has their first game on Friday, March 24. As many of the Newark fans know, Newark went down to Jacksonville last year for the Jacksonville tournament. This tournament is the beginning of the boy' 2017 season. They will be returning from Jacksonville on March 26.

"It is great for team building and just like last year, the team will be a closer unit, I'm sure of it. Plus, with the weather that has been going on here, the trip will assure us of getting games in, being that it’s turf there," said Coach JR Veliz.

There are 18 athletes on the team this year, and track is open to everyone in baseball or softball as well. Most kids split the practices half and half between each sport.

"I think it’s great that they have the opportunity and option to do both. It’s also great that the track coach, the athletes, and myself are on the same page and are able to coordinate and work together," said Coach Veliz.

Last year was the first year in a few years that Newark had a JV team because there were a ton of new freshmen playing. There is a chance that Newark could have a few JV games for the 2017 season because they are still a young team.

Caleb Christian and Jack Gomoll are the team managers. The team has been working out since before Christmas break in the weight room.

"It was great to see how we started from just a few guys to filling up the room. It will help the team for sure. We will get our TNT (conditioning) as the season goes on but not as much as before the season," said Coach Veliz.

By Remington Kempiak

STATE BOUND!

Congratulations to the Newark Norsemen for making it to the Final Four downstate! Newark (28-4) outscored Colfax (Ridgeview) 43-32 to win their second ever Super Sectional victory. Now the team is headed to Peoria (Carver Arena) to face TBA on Friday, March 10th at 12:45 p.m. Best of Luck to our Norsemen at STATE!

We Are Newark!

Newark Norsemen cheer slowly came to an end, but for the players it did not go by very slow, the girls learned a lot of new cheers, kicks, and stunts throughout the season.

"Our new coach is very talented and she is definitely pushing the team. Next year, we hope to begin competing as a squad, and we plan on conditioning throughout the summer and fall," said junior Nikki Kala.

The girls went down to watch the state competition on Friday, February 3. "It was awesome to watch all the teams compete down at state," said Nikki. The cheer season is coming to an end, and the girls are proud of what they got accomplished this year.

By Remington Kempiak

Shooting for Success

As the Lady Norsemen's season neared its end, they said goodbye to their only senior athlete, Jasmine Mitchell. She joined six other female athletes in the 1000-Point Club back in January, following in the footsteps of her father, Rocky Mitchell. They are the only father/daughter duo to accomplish this. "My dad was a basketball athlete at Newark and playing for the same team in the same gym has been incredible," Jasmine said.

Mitchell has many memories of her time at Newark, but her biggest memories are competing in post-season and conference games. She will be continuing her basketball career at Indiana Wesleyan University.

The girls competed in Regionals at St. Francis de Sales in Chicago on February 8 and 9. They breezed through the semi-final round, destroying St. Francis de Sales 92-11. The Lady Norsemen advanced and played Bridgeview Universal. The girls defeated Bridgeview 59-25, claiming the regional championship. Senior Jasmine Mitchell and Freshman Meggie Scott also advanced in the 3-point shooting contest. They played Annawan in the first round of the Sectionals at Serena, suffering a 34-57 loss.

Coach Scott was leading a younger team this year. After losing the conference tournament championship game to Serena, the Lady Norsemen really had to battle back to develop more mental toughness and team play. "Jasmine was our only senior, so we had been working to develop as a group. I could not be more proud of the teamwork and unselfish play that this team has shown throughout the season," Coach Scott said.

By Emma Nelson

Boys Basketball

The boys basketball team has had an incredible season with a record of 20-4. The team recently won the Little Ten Conference tournament at Somonauk High School. They have won this tournament for the past two years.

For the championship game, they faced Indian Creek. The gym was packed full of fans dressed in blue and white with complete support of the Norsemen. The game went into an exhausting double overtime with a final score of 80-73.

The team celebrated the golden ball the third year in a row with their fans all decked out in blue and white. The program will be going into the next three games against Indian Creek this coming Saturday, Mooseheart on Feb 14, and Somonauk on Feb 17 all in focused preparation for the upcoming regionals on Feb 20. Regionals this year for the boys will be in Gardener South Wilmington with their first game against the winner of game 1 at 6:00.

By Caeley Larson

SECTIONAL CHAMPIONS!

Congratulations to the Newark Norsemen basketball team for your 53-47 Sectional Championship victory against Aurora Christian! The Norsemen will now advance to the Super-Sectional game to be held on Tuesday, March 7th, 7:00 p.m. at Normal (ISU) vs. TBA.

Super-Sectional Ticket Sales for Newark High School:
Sunday, March 5th
2-3:00 p.m. for Varsity Players, Cheerleaders and their families.
3-4:00 p.m. for Faculty, Staff, Board of Education, Boosters.
4-5:00 p.m. General Public
Tickets are $8 each