Let’s Hear it For the Seniors!

For many, senior year is the year that dreams turn into plans. This was definitely true for the eight seniors recognized on February 13 at the boys’ basketball game against Paw Paw, where the boys took over with an 83-34 win. The seniors recognized include boys basketball players Matt and Karter, boys basketball manager Ben, and cheerleaders Hopi, Lindsey, Bailey, Sarah, and Mikaila.

Matt has been playing basketball for the Norsemen for four years and plans to attend Augustana College next year as a history major.

Karter has been playing basketball with the Norsemen for four years and plans to major in business administration next year at Southern Illinois University.

Ben has been the boys basketball manager this year. He is unsure about his future plans.

Hopi will major in psychology, but she is undecided on where she will study. She has been cheering on the Norsemen for two years.

Lindsey has been cheering on the Norsemen for two years and will be majoring in journalism next year at Loyola University-Chicago.

Bailey will be at Joliet Junior College next year, studying in the field of veterinary science. She has been cheering on our boys basketball players for two years.

Sarah will be at the New York Film Academy next year. She has been cheering on the Norsemen for two years.

This is Mikaila’s first year cheering on the Norsemen, and she will be attending Joliet Junior College next year to receive for associate’s degree in psychology.

Everyone enjoyed a reception afterwards that included cake, pizza, and pop provided by the Sports Boosters. Good luck, seniors!

By Hopi Horvat

Norsemen Basketball Update

The Norsemen Basketball team has hit its stride in recent weeks. Starting February 2, they started the Little Ten Tournament with a dominating 30-point win against LaMoille. This set up a semi-final matchup with Leland/ Earlville. After a rough first half, the Norsemen turned up the defensive pressure and won by 17 to set up the championship game against Hinckley-Big Rock.

Again, after an even first half, the Norsemen forced a multitude of turnovers and won by 13 to capture the conference championship for the first time in 3 years. After the win over HBR, junior Kendall Endres said, “After losing to Somonauk here last year, it was great to finally get a win in the conference tournament.”

After wins against Paw Paw, Gardner-South Wilmington, and IMSA, the Norsemen have a 10-game winning streak as of press time. They’re looking to ride that momentum in the state tournament, so come out and support the team!

By Jack Clausel

Regional Champs

The Lady Norsemen are regional champions once again. For the second year in a row they were able to win the regional championship. This year, they were led by Coach Dale Skelton.

They were the number one seed in the Somonauk regional and came up on top with wins over Gardner-South Wilmington and Serena in the championship. For a team that only had two returning starters (junior Kelsea Zitt and sophomore Jasmine Mitchell) and a new coach, they were able to accomplish a lot.

For the third year in a row they were regular season conference champs in the Little Ten. A tough loss to the Indian Creek Timberwolves in the conference championship game prevented them from sweeping the conference championships.

In the post-season, junior Kelsea Zitt competed in the state 3- point contest on February 26 (after press time).

Overall, this was a successful season for the Lady Norsemen. There were three new starters in the lineup with two of them being seniors.

“I think we had great play from our seniors” said Coach Skelton. “We meet our goals and played to our potential.”

The team will have three returning starters and the sixth man back for next year. “If we work hard during the summer I think we will be a force next year.” Congrats on a great season.

By Steve McGrath and Ian Cerney

Regional Champions!

Congratulations to the Newark Norsemen Basketball Team for your 53-45 Regional Victory against Ottawa-Marquette! The Norsemen have now advanced to Sectional Semifinals to be held on Wednesday, March 4, 7:00 p.m. vs. Ashton (A.-Franklin Center) at Somonauk. Go Newark!

Regional Champions!

Congratulations to the Newark Lady Norsemen Basketball Team for your 51-41 Regional Victory against the Serena Huskers! The Lady Norsemen have now advanced to Sectional Semifinals to be held on Tuesday, February 17, 7:00 p.m. vs. Amboy at Roanoke (R.-Benson). Also congrats to Megan DiClementi and Kelsea Zitt on advancing to the Three-Point Showdown! Go Newark!

Play Ball!

Snow will not stop the Norsemen baseball team as team open gyms will be going on all throughout February. The ball club has high hopes for this 2015 season as all players are making a return to the diamond.

The season gets underway Wednesday, April 25, against Dwight at 4:30 where the Norsemen are looking for a bit of revenge after dropping regionals to Dwight last season.

In that short time the team has a lot of things they need to straighten out, “The decision for starting catcher is still in the air” says Assistant Coach Hacker, and the team has to figure out how to cope the first nine games without All-Conference First Baseman/Pitcher Kevin Klock, look for sophomore Conner Christian to play a big role on the bump in the early going.

“This is a great group of kids we have here. This is one of the best teams I’ve ever had here at Newark.” Said the head coach J.R. Veliz. “I’m excited as all players are returning this year and they bring with them some quality experience. It seems like every year we have a ton of youth but this year have a lot of upperclassmen of the team that will make a difference”.

This team has the potential to be something potent. Look for them to make a run for the conference title maybe even a run towards state.

By Ian J. Cerney and Steve William McGrath

Norsemen Basketball

The Newark Norsemen took to the court over the break at the famous Plano Christmas Classic, a 24-team tournament featuring the area’s best teams.  The Norsemen were ranked 13th out of the 24 teams in the tournament.

After breezing past Forreston in the opening round game, the boys met Aurora Christian.  ACS took it to the Norsemen in this contest, winning by 16 points.  After this disheartening loss, the boys rebounded with a strong effort against St. Bede Academy, running away with a 15-point win.  The Norsemen’s next opponent, Yorkville, took advantage of a rough second quarter and won a hard-fought challenge by 9 points.  Again, the ever-resilient Norsemen came back and beat Genoa-Kingston in a high-scoring affair, 90-84. Four Norsemen scored at least 18 points, highlighted by Will Clausel’s 24.

After Genoa, the Norsemen have sputtered, losing a barnburner to Plano, squeaking out a win against conference foe Hinckley - Big Rock, and losing to Seneca on their home floor.   “We just didn’t play well.  We can rebound from this and should continue on our winning ways,” said starting guard Will Clausel.  With Kirkland Hiawatha coming to town on January 16, and a sizable break coming up, look for the squad to get to work on correcting those problems.  Starting February 2, the Little Ten Tournament kicks off, so come out and support the Norsemen.

By Jack Clausel

Lady Norsemen Basketball

The Lady Norsemen Basketball team has been on the rise since the start of the season, and over the break they didn’t slow down.  They held their own in the Lisle Christmas Tournament, going 2 - 2 against top competition.  Kelsea Zitt, a junior guard, is quoted saying, “It was fun to play.  I’m just glad we won some games.”

The Lady Norsemen continue to run the rest of the Little Ten Conference ragged, staying undefeated through five games. There are only two home games remaining in February, so come out to support the Lady Norsemen!

By Jack Clausel