Girls Basketball Preview

The Newark Lady Norseman basketball team will start off their season on November 16 at the Somonauk breakout tournament. The girls made it to the first round of sectionals last year and hope to get over that hump this year. The Lady Norsemen will be getting Barb Scott as a new coach this year.

When asked what she is looking forward to as a 1st year coach, Coach Scott said, “I am really looking forward to bringing excitement to girls basketball at Newark and in the community and develop a solid program for the future.” Previously Coach Scott coached varsity girl’s basketball in Michigan, and most recently coached grade school girls at Lisbon Grade School.

The Lady Norsemen have 2 of their starting players back for this year. Senior guard Kelsea Zitt said, “I am excited for my senior season and ready to learn from Coach Scott.” The Lady Norsemen have a couple of young players who will have to step up and get the job done: Alyssa Schofield, and Riane Tomsa.

By Dylan Patrick

Boys Basketball Preview

The Boys Basketball team will begin its season on November 23, as they start off in the Sycamore Thanksgiving tournament. The boys are coming off a sectional final appearance in 2014-2015 with a record of 23-11. The boys have set high expectations for themselves. With practice beginning the first week of November, the boys will be given time to group together and figure out the task. Only two of the previous players have graduated heading into this season.

“I’m excited. We have a great group of guys who are capable of doing great things” said junior swingman Caleb Dierzen. The boys open up at home on December 11, as they face off against the Royals of Hinckley Big-Rock. Newark will have four of the five starters returning including senior center Jack Clausel who missed the majority of last season due to a foot injury.

Head coach Rick Tollefson will return for his 8th season with the Norsemen, assisted by JV Head Coach Rob Scott and Assistant Coach John Avery.

By Evan Schomer

Cheer Cheer for Ole Newark High

We say Newark; you say Norsemen! Newark, Norsemen! Newark, Norsemen! Are you pumped for this cheerleading season?

“I am excited because I had a lot of fun last year,” junior Autumn Bolte said when asked how she feels about this upcoming season.

Junior Kylie Eike has set some goals for herself this year. “I want to be able to get the new cheers down in the first couple of weeks and spend time working on tumbling skills,” Kylie said.

As we near the new season, there will be some new things you will just have to come to the games and see. We look forward to the new cheers and the exciting new team that has been put into place this year. Join us as we cheer on the boys, and come show your school spirit.

By Skye Isenogle

Conference Championship Momentum

The Newark Lady Norsemen volleyball team comes into the final stretch of the season after a bittersweet conference championship victory. The ladies beat Indian Creek in two games in front of a frenzy crowd at Paw Paw High School. This conference championship completes a clean sweep for this year’s seniors, as they have won conference titles in all 4 years during their careers.

Unfortunately, during the October 9 victory, Sophomore Caeley Larson came down awkwardly on a kill, clutching her knee. She had to be helped off the court and would not return to the game. Sadly, results showed a torn ACL and sprained MCL that will sideline Caeley for the season.

This is a tough blow for Caeley and the team, especially this close to the postseason. “It’s going to be really hard to replace Caeley but I think we can step up and do it. We will need to cover very well and so far Riane Tomsa has stepped in and done a good job,” said Senior libero Megan DiClementi.

The Lady Norsemen began postseason play on October 26 with Regionals at Serena High School. This team hopes to take their recent hot streak into the playoffs and make a deep run. “The conference title gave us as a team a lot of confidence going forward. We proved to ourselves that we could fight through adversity and still rally to win.” DiClementi said as she and the girls prepare for the postseason.

Senior Kelsea Zitt also stressed the importance of the conference title. “We look to carry this momentum from the conference tourney into the final few games of the season and into the postseason,” she said.

By Will Clausel

Newark Golf

The Newark Golf team has gone above and beyond expectations for this season. The team worked hard to be the best golfers they can be. The boys played both Hinckley-Big Rock and Earlville on September 29. They were just 4 strokes short of beating the schools record.

Newark participated in Class 1A Seneca Regionals at Whitetail Ridge on October 6. Senior Neal advanced to sectionals with a score of 87. Golf Sectionals will be played at Prairie Vista Golf Course in Bloomington. Smith has shown great leadership this season on the golf course. He is a key member of the golf team’s success.

Smith was asked if he was going to continue to play golf in college “If the college I go to has a golf program I would love to play at the college level. I have loved being a part of Newark’s golf program throughout my 4 years of high school and if I had the option I would want to continue being a part of a golf team,” Neal said.

Freshman Corey Jacobson came up just shy of advancing to sectionals with a score of 88. Jacobson says, “I’m looking forward to working this off season to come back better next season. This season has been a lot of fun. The seniors are a huge part of this team and they leave big shoes to fill.”

Cameron will be returning next year as the only veteran senior. The Norsemen are looking at a bright future. Great season to the team, and good luck to Neal at Sectionals!

By Marissa Friestad

Setting Big Goals

The Newark Norsemen have a season record of 12-10. It has been a season full of learning and improvements. Junior Neal Knutson said, “ I think our biggest improvement has been on defense. I have been working hard at improving in the goalie position all season.”

The Norsemen are now on their way into post-season. They have made a few changes on the team in the past few games to try and put here best possible team on the field. Senior Mitch Schmidt said “Switching from defense to offense will be tough, but we are trying some new things to get us through he post season.”

Newark has already proved their toughness on the field by placing 2nd in the Little 10 Conference. They played in the Little 10 Tournament October 5 to October 8. They lost a hard fought game against HBR for the 4th place title.

Newark played Regionals at Somonauk at on October 13. They fell short of the win when they played Plano High School. But the team went out strong. The team did a great job working hard on the field all season long. They will say goodbye to Seniors Mitchel Schmidt, Ryan Johnson, and Clayton Flatness.

By Maddie Friestad