Lisle Tournament Champions!
Congratulations to the Lady Norsemen Basketball Team for placing 1st at the 2012 Lisle Tournament! On Saturday December 29th, the Lady Norsemen defeated Lisle 40-39 to earn the 2012 Tournament title.
Also congrats to Lauren Tollefson and Taylor Krug on their selection to the All-Tournament Team, and to Taylor on being named Tournament Most Valuable Player!
Results from the Tournament:
Wednesday, 12/26 vs Braidwood Reed-Custer 62-43 W
Thursday, 12/27 vs Immaculate Conception 46-26 W
Friday, 12/28 vs Walther Lutheran 45-40 W
Saturday, 12/29 vs Lisle for the Championship 40-39 W
Also congrats to Lauren Tollefson and Taylor Krug on their selection to the All-Tournament Team, and to Taylor on being named Tournament Most Valuable Player!Results from the Tournament:
Wednesday, 12/26 vs Braidwood Reed-Custer 62-43 W
Thursday, 12/27 vs Immaculate Conception 46-26 W
Friday, 12/28 vs Walther Lutheran 45-40 W
Saturday, 12/29 vs Lisle for the Championship 40-39 W
The Norsemen Basketball team is off to a great start. They competed in a tough Thanksgiving tournament hosted by Sycamore High School where they played against 3A and 4A schools and performed well, winning two games and losing two others. The coaches and players are very excited about their performance and hope to keep improving. The team’s next task was facing a very good Plano team in Reaper Nation. Against them the Norsemen suffered a hard-fought loss. To make it even worse, Grant Riehle-Moeller and Joe Hughes were both diagnosed with severe injuries after the game. Grant missed a week due to a mild concussion, and Joe Hughes is out with a broken foot, but is planning to come back in time for The Plano Christmas Classic. The Norsemen faced a major setback due to these injuries, but the team still believes in their abilities. They have proven they can continue to win despite the setbacks. Newark fans and students, especially the seniors, eagerly anticipate the Plano Christmas Classic. Senior Joe Hughes said, “This is my last Plano Christmas Classic, and I don’t want to miss it. Once I get healthy, I’m going to help my team as much as possible to win the tournament for our senior year.”
Since winning four games at the breakout tournament at Somonauk, the Lady Norsemen have played seven games and have won six of them making their record 10-1. Coach Holman said he is proud of the girls for the way they have played so far, but he knows a higher level of play can still be attained. The varsity team has an upcoming Christmas tournament at Lisle High School beginning the 26th of December. The junior varsity girls will also be competing in a tournament beginning on the 26th at Earlville High School. The seniors shared they are eager for the competition at the Lisle tournament and know it will improve their level of play as a team.
The girl’s basketball team began their season on Monday, November 29th under the direction of coaches Dale Skelton and Brian Holman. Senior Melissa Schmidt expressed her feelings of excitement sharing how practices are going and how the team is looking this season. “Our team is going to do well this season. We have a talented group of girls. We just have to put all the pieces together,” she said. The team met their first match-ups at the Somonauk Breakout Tournament. The Lady Norsemen started off their season on a bold and confident note, winning all four of the games they played at the tournament. Coach Holman said, “We played really well against four good teams, but we still have room for improvement. It’s nice to get off to a good start.” The team’s next game is November 29th at Paw Paw. The Ladies have had a great start to this season, so attend their games and cheer them on to more victories!
The Boys Basketball season is finally underway! After a very successful season a year ago, the players are eager for another opportunity. The Norsemen lost two of the starters from last year’s team, senior Taylor Gerken and sophomore Adam Shorkey, who moved to Iowa; however, the Norsemen have some very talented freshmen this year to help the team be successful. Seniors Brett Anderson, Kenny Hume, and Joe Hughes will lead the Norsemen this year as they play their final basketball season for the Norsemen this winter. Joe Hughes stated, “I’m devastated that my basketball career here at Newark is coming to an end, but that just means I’m going to work hard to make it a memorable one.” The Norsemen entered a new Thanksgiving tournament in Sycamore this year where they finished fourth. They will also be participating in the Plano Christmas Classic starting on December 26th at Plano High School. Good Luck, Boys!!
Baseball season is barely three months away, and open gyms are about to start. We were able to speak to Coach J.R. Veliz about the start of open gyms. He said that they will begin on December 1st, 2012 from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Millbrook Junior High gym. He has scheduled 15 open gym dates and will inform players about future dates at the meeting on December 1st. Coach Veliz is super excited about the open gyms and for the upcoming season. He said, “From what I’ve seen, the freshmen show good promise and can definitely play. [Coach expects the seniors] to be good leaders and a catalyst in the upcoming season as well as the ones to carry the team to a win.” When asked who he thought were going to be star or key players and rising stars, he replied that it’s hard to tell at the moment, but based on what he has seen in the past he predicts that Joe Hughes and Kenny Hume are going to be star pitchers this season. He also stated that catcher Matt Eike will be a key asset to the team. Coach Veliz is also excited about some new equipment that we will be getting this season. In addition the team will wear some new hats, pullovers, T-Shirts, and sweatpants. Everyone on the team along with both Coach Veliz and Coach Hacker are excited for the season to begin and are expecting a great season.
Congratulations to all 3 volleyball teams on their impressive seasons! Special congrats to the varsity team on a conference championship, conference tournament championship, regional championship and a 29-win season! So proud of you! And finally, congratulations to Abbey Akre, Lauren Tollefson, Kristina Nichols and Taylor Krug for being selected to the all-conference team this year!
The golf season has now come to an end. We had the chance to talk to Coach Hissong about his view on the season outcome. Coach Hissong said, “We doubled our number of wins from last year from two to four. We were entered into seven -18 hole matches/ tournaments this year as opposed to only three last year. In the long run, this is going to make our young players better for tournament play in the next year or two. Our dual meet average this year was 20 shots per meet less than a year ago. If we can continue at that pace, we will win our share of matches next season.” He also stated that one thing he wants all his players to start doing is to practice during the off-season. He thinks that if his players practice in the off-season their regular season play will improve. Coach Hissong also named some of his star players. He said, “The top two players for our team were Cole Krug, a sophomore, and Jack Clausel, a freshman. Our most improved player over the course of the fall season was Nick Minarich, a junior. If these players, along with Zach Ward, Seth Larson, Tyler Kaufman, Connor Rennick and a few others can step up and help our team we should be able to contend for the Conference next season.” The golf team improves each season, and they are all looking forward to playing next year.
The Norsemen soccer season has come to an end. The overall record for the Norsemen was 0-20-0. They went the entire season without recording a win but the coaches and captains both agree that there were many good things to look back on. Coach Velez said in an exclusive interview, “I am disappointed with the outcome of the record, but I am very proud of the team for sticking with it and never giving up.” The Norsemen were led by their two senior captains, Joe Hughes and Wyatt Williamson, who will be leaving their soccer careers behind as they move on to college. Hughes said, “We were not the best team around, but I had a lot of fun with this team and a lot of good memories were made.”
This year the Newark Lady Norsemen are hoping to go deep into their post season. After three consecutive years of not achieving a regional championship plaque, Coach Nagel and her girls hunger for more than just a regional plaque. When asked what will set them apart from other teams they will come across in their post season run, senior Lauren Tollefson stated, “As long as the team stays mentally focused for every match we will remain consistent.” Currently the Ladies are at an astonishing 29 - 5 record. Coach Nagel has high hopes for the team and believes they can end the season with thirty wins under their belts.
To start off, the Lady Norsemen Varsity Volleyball team won their first match at home against Aurora Christian. Since then, the Ladies have won ten more matches while losing three grueling matches, leaving their record at 11-3. One of the matches they won was a conference game at home against PawPaw. The Junior Varsity team currently is keeping pace with the varsity having battled to an impressive 10-3 record. The freshmen team has had only a few matches so far this season, winning three out of the four. Each of the 29 girls is working hard to continue to improve her level of play each day. All of the coaches agree that this is a great start to a potentially successful season and a step toward excellence.
Golf is back at Newark High for the second year in a row. The returning coach is Mr. Jim Hissong. The team has six juniors, three sophomores, and five freshmen. When asked about the team, freshman Tyler Kaufman said they are all pretty consistent, but if they need to work on one thing, it would be putting. He was asked about Mr. Hissong, and he said he really likes him because he can teach the team many new things, and he lets them have fun. According to Tyler, the strongest players on the team are sophomores Karter Kunkel and Cole Krug. Good luck to the Norsemen golf team in the rest of the season.
The Norsemen soccer team started off slowly building chemistry, but has gained their balance in their last couple of games. At the beginning of the season, the Newark Norsemen lost 9 of their games by wide margins. Lately, however, the Norsemen have played as one and held some very good teams to close scores. Against Indian Creek, Newark held the lead for three quarters of the game. The Timberwolves were down 1-0 with about twenty minutes left in the game until they started making all of their shots on goal. They scored six goals in a very short amount of time to hand the Norsemen a 6-2 loss. 
As the Newark Norsemen soccer team prepares for the upcoming season, they look forward to an exciting year. They will sport new jerseys, new coaches, new players, and positive attitudes. The two new coaches this year are already known throughout the high school athletic department. Coach Jim Hacker has returned to lead the Norsemen after three years off to take graduate classes. The head coach of the Newark Norsemen baseball team, J.R. Veliz, assists Coach Hacker. 
In the last couple years, the Lady Norsemen have fallen short of winning regional championships, but this year the players have a different goal in mind. When asked what the phrase “relentless pursuit” means to the team this year, Coach Tonya Nagel stated, “The team knows what they are pursuing…championships. But ‘relentless’ is the key. You have to come to play every day like the season depends on a win.” Conversation among the team members indicates they have high expectations this year, but they know that success won’t just be handed to them. The girls strive to challenge one another and be competitive in practice to prepare for this season, according to senior libero Melissa Schmidt. The team’s expectations are to “win the conference, the conference tournament, and to make a deep post-season run,” said Coach Nagel. This year’s team has a great amount of experience with five motivated and unsatisfied seniors. Senior Abbey Akre said that she and the rest of the seniors hope to leave a lasting legacy to the school. In order to achieve all that they desire this year, the Lady Norsemen must “stay focused, improve daily, and stay injury free!” ended an excited Coach Nagel.
As baseball season comes to an end, I went back to talk to Coach Hacker. He said that the goal was to be competitive in the regional. He also wants to build skills in pitching, fielding, and hitting. Coach Hacker says the most improved players are Noah Nichols, and Chris Murawski. He shared that this is a young team with a lot of talent and heart. The coach hopes the team can ride out the rough pitching.
The excitement in Newark High School isn’t only graduation and summer vacation, but also the Lady Norseman Softball season! When asked about his expectations for the postseason, Mr. Holman responded by saying, “To play our best softball!”. I had also asked him how they were preparing for the post-season and how the practices usually go; he said, “Practices usually go like this: we catch, talk, hit, talk, walk around, go home.” 
Boy’s Baseball season is in full swing! They are 1 and 3 in the conference. Mr. Hacker says that they hope that they improve in the next couple games. He says the most challenging part of baseball is playing a double header because you have to use twice as many pitchers. Mr. Hacker stated that teamwork is the key to winning. When asked who is the best pitcher, Mr. Hacker replied, “Joe Hughes has been throwing well, and Noah Nichols has been throwing some good innings.”
The Boys’ Baseball team is looking forward to an exciting season this year. According to Mr. Hacker, assistant coach, the team has a lot of potential and he thinks they have a lot to look forward to. Coach Hacker says that the team has several pitchers this year. The pitchers that are returning are Joe Hughes, Kenny Hume, and Andrew Lehman. Mr. Hacker has been coaching the baseball team for 5 years. He says that the team has a lot of heart and they have a good attitude, which is important for any good sports team. We are all looking forward to a good baseball season. 
Many girls from Newark High School enjoy participating in softball. With coaches Mr. Holman and Ms. Stechschulte, who wouldn’t? When asked how the season is going, Alexis Waters responded, “Our first game was kind of rough but that only means they will come back strong and win the next game.” The team has plenty of other games to look forward to and plenty of time to practice and prepare to win the next game. Good luck with the rest of the season and we are sure you will do great!
The girls basketball season ended February 10, 2012. The ending record of the year is 24-6. According to Taylor Rehberg, her “favorite memorable moment from the team was posing for pictures while on the bench against Mooseheart.” Melissa Schmidt stated, her “best game was when the girls played against Serena because we all played well, and it was a challenging game.” According to Mr. Skelton the most memorable moment of the season was “winning The Little Ten Conference Tournament.” “Hinckley- Big Rock was the most challenging opponent because those girls always seem to find a way to edge us out.” Overall the girls had a very successful season and are looking forward to next year. 
The boy’s basketball team keeps growing as the season continues. When asked how the season was going, Brett Anderson said, “I think we are doing as well as we have been expected to do. We have beaten the teams we were supposed to beat, and lost the games we were supposed to lose, minus a few upsets in the Christmas Tournament.” There are some really important games to prepare for. One of the games the boys are preparing for is against Seneca, which has always been a rivalry and defeated Newark by only 7 points in the Plano Tournament. They are also preparing for the game against Hinckley-Big Rock because of their quick guards; it should be a good game. I asked Brett who he believed improved the most since the beginning of the season, and he said, “Kenny Hume, because he shows relentless effort, and he rebounds just about every game.” The boys are improving, and are staying hopeful for the remainder of the season.