Norsemen Basketball

The Norsemen Basketball team traveled to Plano over Christmas break to participate in the Plano Christmas Classic. The boys were seeded 13th in the tournament and opened up action against a Little Ten opponent, Hinckley – Big Rock. The Norsemen won in dominating fashion, 58 – 23. The next time the boys took the court, it was against Kaneland, the 4 seed and one of the favorites in the tournament. They found themselves down 17 – 10 at the end of the first quarter, but made a big run in the second to take a 30 – 28 halftime lead. They extended the lead in the third quarter, and held off a comeback attempt in the fourth to beat the Knights 57 – 50. After Kaneland, they faced off against a familiar foe, Aurora Christian. The week before, the Norsemen beat Aurora Christian by 1 at Newark. This time, the case was different. Aurora Christian jumped out to a 12 – 0 lead early in the game, and they couldn’t recover, losing 62 - 53. After Aurora Christian, they played Seneca. Saddled with foul trouble, the Norsemen had key players out of the game for long stretches at a time, and Seneca took advantage, bullying the team on their way to a 69 – 40 win. After Seneca, they squared off with Coal City, the 3 seed. The team had complete control of the entire game, and barley held off a big run in the waning minutes to win 56 – 55, and ultimately winning 7th place in the 24 team tournament. They finished highest of all the 1A and Little Ten teams. The next Friday, the team traveled to Dwight to take on the Trojans. They came out flat and it stayed that way, losing 57 – 43. After Dwight, the Norsemen played Plano at home. They jumped out to a 16 - 2 advantage early into the second quarter, and Plano never got within 5 of the lead, the Norsemen winning by a final score of 50 – 42. The team is just hitting their stride and starting to get some wins, so come out and watch the boys play!

By Jack Clausel and Zack Bond

Lady Norsemen Basketball

The varsity basketball program is in full swing! The girls worked hard to prepare for the season during preseason. They are continuing to work hard and improve everyday. The team is undefeated in conference and recently placed 5th in the Lisle tournament. Senior Nicole Lawrence was asked how she thought the team has grown this season. She answered, “Throughout the season the team chemistry has progressed as well as communication.” This group of seniors has been playing with each other for four years now. The five seniors had a very successful season their sophomore year. The girls plan to continue to work hard and improve for the games to come. They will compete in their conference tournament January 20th-24th. Good luck the rest of the season, ladies!

The junior varsity team has had a great season so far. The girls have competed and placed 1st in both tournaments they have participated in (Putnam Country Trny. and Earlville Christmas Trny.) They are undefeated in conference and are continuing to grow as players. The girls love playing together and are excited to play together in the future. Sophomore Rachel Jacobson says, “I love playing with the girls. We have a lot of fun together and we always have each others backs on and off the court.” The girls will compete in their conference tournament at Serena High School, January 18th.

By Marissa Friestad

Educator Night

On January 9th and 10th the varsity boys and girls varsity basketball teams did an Educators night! The players each picked a person that worked with them in some way, and that has made a huge impact in their life. For the athlete to have an educator nominated, they needed to write a paragraph about how they influenced them in some way. To show honor to the educator, the athlete would escort them out to center court and present them with a T-shirt that had the players’ number on the back. For example, my Educator was Rob Scott, JV head coach of the boys basketball team. My freshman year was his first year coaching for us. My sophomore year with Coach Scott we were watching a high school basketball team together and we witnessed a kid, no taller then I was, dunk. After we saw that, Coach Scott leaned over to me and said, “I could definitely see you doing that by your senior year.” And to this day he still tells me to keep working at it. He tells me he always believes in me, which means a lot. And I’m sure that these Varsity players have memories as good as mine with their educators.

Below listed are the Boy’s varsity basketball players and underneath their name is their educator:

• 11 - Grant Reille-Mohler (Senior)
  Mike Gaul – Trainer, Trinity Wellness
• 5 – Matt Eike (Junior)
  Sharon Adkins - Social Studies Teacher, Millbrook Junior High School
• 4 – Karter Kunkel (Junior) and 24 - Evan Schomer (Sophomore)
  Rob Scott - JV Coach, Newark High School
• 22 – Noah Nichols (Junior)
  Priscilla Jorstad - Language Arts Teacher, Lisbon Grade School
• 15 – Zach Anderson (Sophomore)
  Carol Navarro - Science Teacher, Newark High School
• 42 – Jack Clausel (Sophomore) and 20 – Mitchel Schmidt (Sophomore)
  Aaron Sovern - Coach, Hoop Stars/Hustle Camp, Currently Athletic Director at Yorkville Christian HS
• 21 – Kendall Endres (Sophomore)
  Brian McGrath - Coach, Winter Travel Team
• 3 – Will Clausel (Freshman)
  Duane Ramey – Coach, Millbrook Junior High School
• 2 – Steve McGrath (Freshman)
  Matt Akre – Coach, Winter Travel Team
• 10 – Dimitri Milakis (Freshman)
  Amanda Eibl – Science Teacher, Newark High School

Below listed are the Girl’s varsity basketball players and underneath their name is their educator:

• 2 – Marissa Friestad (Sophomore)
  P.J. McKinney – P.E. Teacher/Coach, Lisbon Grade School
• 10 – Lexi Zeznanski (Junior)
  Carol Navarro – Science Teacher, Newark High School
• 11 – Kelsea Zitt (Sophomore)
  Jeff Eddy – Coach, Millbrook Junior High School
• 13 – Nicole Lawrence (Senior) and 20 – Jasmine Mitchell (Freshman)
  Kris DeGraaf – Teacher/Coach, Lisbon Grade School
• 14 – Kristine Zitt (Senior) and 33 – Lindsey Larson (Senior)
  Dale Skelton – P.E. Teacher/Coach, Newark High School
• 22 – Sarah Bogden (Junior)
  Duane Ramey – Coach, Millbrook Junior High School
• 23 – Kaylynn Shankle (Junior)
  Demetra Turman – Teacher/Principal, Millbrook Junior High School
• 24 – Alexa Myre (Senior)
  Ursula Goldman – English Teacher, Newark High School
• 25 – Alicia Cihak (Senior) and 15- Megan DiClementi (Sophomore)
  Brian Holman – Math Teacher/Coach, Newark High School
• 30 – Rachael Lape (Junior)
  Tonya Grayson – Teacher/Coach, Newark High School
• 34 – Jessica Hager (Junior)
  Ray Eddy – Coach, Millbrook Junior High School

By Karter Kunkel

Heartland Bank Donation

Special thanks to Heartland Bank for donating $1 for every free throw made at all home basketball games. Friday night they gave us $85 and they will add the last few games to that total.