Regional Champions!

Congratulations to the Newark Lady Norsemen volleyball team for your 25-17, 27-25 regional victory against Indian Creek! The Lady Norsemen have now advanced to the Sectional Semifinal to be held on Tuesday, November 4th at 6:30 p.m. vs Winnetka (North Shore Country Day) at Elgin (Westminster Christian).

The Norsemen Look to Bounce Back

One of the most exciting times of the year is almost upon us. Basketball is about to start. This year both the girls and the boys’ teams will enter the association with high expectations. After coming off two disappointing exits in the regional finals last year, the teams this year will look to bounce back with a chip on their shoulders.

The Lady Norsemen will get started first this year, with practice beginning on November 3. After two weeks of practice, the varsity will be off to the Somonauk Break Out starting, on November 18, while the JV will compete at the Putnam County Invite, starting November 17. The first home game of the year for the Lady Norsemen will be against Fieldcrest on November 25.

Meghan Petges, a social studies and a RTI teacher at Newark, will again coach the Lady Norsemen JV. The Lady Norsemen will have a different head coach this year, however, but not a new one. Coming out of retirement, Dale Skelton, a former P.E. teacher at Newark, will once again lead the varsity girls after last year’s head coach, Brian Holman, left for a teaching and coaching position at Spring Valley Hall.

The Norsemen will get underway with practice on November 10. Rick Tollefson and Rob Scott return to coach the varsity and JV respectively. For the third year now, the varsity boys will return to the Sycamore Invite to open their season on November 24. The Norsemen then will travel to Somonauk to open conference play on December 5 and then on December 9 the first home game will be against Dwight.

When sophomore Steve McGrath was asked what he was looking forward to most this year, he replied, “I’m definitely most excited for the [Plano] Christmas Classic. I’ve always gone there every Christmas since I was little, so being able to play in it now is pretty sweet.” The Plano Christmas Classic for the Norsemen will take place in late December.

By Matt Eike

Cheers to a New Season

As November begins, so do winter sports at NCHS. With tryouts complete, the cheerleaders are ready to begin this season. Senior Hopi Horvat stated, “I am most excited for the changes we’re bringing to halftime, and I’m looking forward to being together as a team again.” After the revival of the NCHS cheerleading squad last season, the cheerleaders are well prepared for their next season. “People can expect improvement. Last season was rough because we sort of established a new program. This year, I think we’re going to hit the ground running,” said Horvat of the upcoming season.

The cheerleaders have been keeping busy on the off-season, however. Junior Mackenzie Fletcher said, “The cheerleaders during the off season have been prepping for this season. Some of the girls even started a tumbling class over the summer to get ready for the season.” When Fletcher was asked how she would like to see Coach Miranda Linco improve this season, she stated, “I don't think our coach needs to change anything from last year. She did what she came here to do. She started a new cheer squad and continues to improve and encourage us.”

Coach Linco is excited about this season with the NCHS cheerleaders. She stated, “My plans for this season are to push my girls further than they think is possible. Nothing is more satisfying than watching their pride after accomplishing goals they never thought were tangible.” When asked what people can expect from the cheerleaders this season, Coach Linco said, “Our fans can expect dedication and support this season. We have a great group of girls who are excited to cheer on our Norsemen and represent our school with pride and dignity!”

By Lindsey Tollefson and Caitlyn Rowe

We Are The Champions

The Newark High School gym was packed to the walls on Friday, October 10. The Little Ten Conference Tournament was held on the Norseman's home floor. There was a lot of energy leading up to the anticipated match against top seeded Newark and second seeded Indian Creek.

The Newark Kill Club transformed the gym into a loud and competitive atmosphere. The first game started as a toss up between both teams. One member of the Kill club, sophomore Steve McGrath, said, “There was a loud and intense crowd there. There was high energy and positive vibes!“ Senior Austin Dike said, “I knew the girls would come out with the W. I counted on them to bring the win home, and they did exactly that.”

The Timberwolves started off with a 9 to 7 lead, but the Norsemen came back quickly to tie it up. Both teams started off slow from the serving line, but made up for it with strong defense. The Timberwolves and Lady Norsemen had a strong defense in serve receive and digging.

The long rallies, aggressive swings, and tough defense ended with a Newark win with 26 to 24. The girls went into the next game ready to dominate. They got off aggressive and loud. High energy on the Norsemen’s side helped boost them into an early run against Indian Creek.

Both teams battled hard. Newark came out on top with a 25 to 22 win. The very competitive match led the girls into a strong couple of weeks up to postseason.

By Rachael Lape and Maddie Friestad

The Golf Season is Coming to an End

The 2014 golf season is now over. The golf team had the best season the team has ever had. The team won 9 matches and lost 5. They also came in third in the Norseman scramble, third at the Putnam County scramble, eighth at the Dwight scramble, a seventh at regionals, and a second at the conference tournament.

The season started out a little shaky. There was only a 9-player roster, a huge drop from the 16-player roster of last year. The drop is due to having 3 seniors graduate and having a few player not return to play in the 2014 season. So the team was definitely down in numbers, but that did not discourage the players at all. What the team lacked in quantity, they made up for in quality. Senior Karter Kunkel had a few words on the season: “it was a really fun and exciting season. I am glad I got to be a part of it. I could not have asked for a better season to end my high school career on.”

After this great season, it will be exciting to see what Coach Hissong and the Newark golf team has in store for us in the coming years.

By: Caleb Dierzen

Little Ten Conference Soccer Tournament

With the Norsemen soccer regular season coming to an end, the Norsemen prepared for their conference tournament starting October 6th. Coming in to the tournament off a 10-3 Norsemen win over Plano, Newark had confidence and it showed for their first match against Paw Paw, with Newark picking up a 4-2 victory. The Norsemen would move on to face a very talented Hinckley Big-Rock team. Right out of the gate Newark took a 1-nothing lead but failed to score any more and lost the match 4-1 sending Newark to the 3rd place game.

In the third place game Newark was set to face a good Serena team that they had already played twice before. Newark lost their first match against Serena in the Paw Paw tournament, a tournament that Newark won. Later in the season Newark faced off against Serena on their Homecoming game. In a game that defender Mitchel Schmidt described as “intense”, Newark picked up the victory 2-1.

Early in the third place game Newark took a 1-0 lead off of a penalty kick. Shortly after, Serena tied the game. Again, Newark took the lead and Serena came back and tied it. Nearing the end of the game with it tied 2-2, Midfielder Matt Eike put a beautiful shot on goal from the corner to take the lead with 40 seconds remaining in the game.

Newark finished the season strong with a first ever showing in the regional championship. Congratulations on a great season from all of us here at NCHS!

By Steve McGrath and Austin Dike

Little Ten Conference Champs!
Congratulations to the Lady Norsemen Volleyball Team for placing 1st at the 2014 Little Ten Conference Tournament Friday night! The Lady Norsemen (16-7) took on #2 seeded Lady Timberwolves and finished with a win in two games with scores of 26-24, 25-22.