Eagles in Cross Country Sectional
By TERRY LIDY
In the Class 1A IHSA St. Teresa Cross Country Sectional last Saturday at Hickory Point Golf Course in Decatur, none of the four competing Eagles qualified for the state finals at Peoria's Detwiler Park.
Morgan Swingler turned in the best time for the girls in 21:55.85 edging Carly Niebrugge with a 21:55.90 time. Jamie Michl had a 22:09.40 time.
Kelly Curran of Bloomington Central Catholic won the girls' race in 18:36.55. St. Teresa won the sectional with 76 points. Other schools to qualify included Bloomington Central Catholic 98 points, St. Joseph-Odgen 110, Kankakee McNamara 165 and Shelbyville 182.
In the boys' meet, Ross Johnson turned in a 17:52.9 time, but did not qualify. Beecher's Grant Nykaza won the boys' race in 15:50.55. Beecher won the team title with 44 points. Also qualifying as a team were Monticello 112, Urbana U. 121, Robinson 123 and St. Joseph-Ogden 130.
Lady Eagles edged for regional title
By TERRY LIDY
The NCHS Lady Eagles gave it everything they had and more before falling to the St. Anthony Bulldogs 23-25, 26-24, 28-30 in Class 2A IHSA Regional volleyball at the Enlow Center last Saturday.
The first game set the stage for the rest of the night as it featured eight ties and several lead changes before St. Anthony prevailed 25-23.
The Lady Eagles opened with a quick 5-1 advantage before the Bulldogs tied it at 12. However, Kimberlin Wallace gave Newton the lead back until St. Anthony tied it at 15. The Bulldogs then took a 17-15 edge and later increased it to 20-17.
Here the Lady Eagles came roaring back after a timeout and knotted the score at 21. A Newton block by Joni Hahn and Beth Helmink gave the Lady Eagles a 22-21 advantage. However, St. Anthony came back to tie, but only briefly as Whitney Koebele came through for a 23-22 margin. It was the last lead for the Lady Eagles in the opening set as St. Anthony scored the next three points to post a 25-23 decision.
In the second game, the Lady Eagles started slowly before Kimberlin Wallace and Sydney May put Newton ahead. But the Bulldogs came back to tie and eventually took a 12-7 lead for the largest advantage of the set.
The Lady Eagles were not to be denied. Trailing 23-19 late in the game, Newton rallied and took a 24-23 lead with a 5-point run. After St. Anthony tied it at 24, the Lady Eagles secured the second game as Kimberlin Wallace scored on a thunderous kill and a 26-24 victory.
For all the marbles, the night came down to a rubber match to decide the title. The Lady Eagles took a quick 2-0 lead before St. Anthony came back to take a 3-2 edge. After a 5-5 deadlock, the Bulldogs ran off eight straight points for a 13-5 advantage. Kimberlin Wallace broke the string and eventually moved closer later helped by two aces by Whitney Koebele to make it 17-12. St. Anthony held the lead until Whitney Koebele came through again with another ace and a 25-24.
Needing only one point for the title, the Lady Eagles were denied as St. Anthony tied it at 25. The score was knotted three more times before a hit out of bounds gave the Bulldogs a 29-28 edge. They next scored the decisive point after the Lady Eagles took three touches on the final volley, but couldn't get the ball across.
The Lady Eagles finished the season 23-10 including a 13-1 Apollo crown. After reaching the super sectionals during the past two years, the Lady Eagles really surprised people according to Coach Nicole Underwood. "At the beginning of the year I don't think anyone expected us to be successful. Yet we were able to win the conference. Tonight, we just dug ourselves too big a hole in each game."
St. Anthony moves on to the Monticello Sectional with a 26-9 record and will face Bismarck-Henning on Tuesday at 6:00. Decatur St. Teresa and Champaign St. Thomas More complete the sectional field.
In the St. Anthony match, Kimberlin Wallace had 16 kills, 13 assists and 6 blocks to close out her NCHS volleyball career. Whitney Koebele finished her career with 10 kills, 9 digs and 4 big aces.
Joni Hahn closed out her senior season with 10 kills, 11 assists and 9 digs. Defensive specialist Lucy Emmerich closed out with 8 digs.
Sydney May had 3 blocks, while Beth Helmink had 2. Terra Flowers added 8 digs for the Lady Eagles.
The Lady Eagles reached the finals with a two set victory over Apollo foe Robinson 25-22, 25-18 last Thursday. Robinson earlier disposed of Marshall 25-11, 17-25, 25-16.
In the Robinson match, the Lady Eagles started slowly with numerous miscues. Trailing 22-19 late in the first set, Newton rolled off a 6-point rally to post a 25-22 decision. Then in game two, the Lady Eagles broke a 14-14 tie as Kimberlin Wallace gave Newton the lead for good with a big spike. From there, Joni Hahn had a couple of putaways and Whitney Koebele and Sydney May had blocks to get to match point.
Kimberlin Wallace paced a balanced Newton attack with 9 kills, 10 assists, one block and 2 digs. Whitney Koebele had 8 kills, one block and 3 digs. Joni Hahn added 3 kills, 1 dig, 6 assists and an ace. Sydney May had 3 kills and 2 blocks. Lucy Emmerich led in digs with 6. Terra Flowers had 2 digs and an ace. Erica Earnest had a kill and a dig. Beth Helmink added a kill, while Nicole Schackmann had 2 digs and an ace. Morgan Swingler served during the final 6 point run as the Lady Eagles had numerous stars in this semi-final match.
Lady Eagles win on Senior Night
By TERRY LIDY
In a hard fought Apollo match on Senior Night and Pack the Place Night, the NCHS Lady Eagles stayed in first place winning a three set match over the Paris Lady Tigers 20-25, 25-13, 25-20.
It was another big night for Kimberlin Wallace in her final home performance leading Newton with 21 kills. Joni Hahn another senior led in assists with 18. Wallace also had 16 assists, while Hahn added 9 kills. Another senior, Whitney Koebele led in digs with 13 and also had 9 kills. The fourth senior, Lucy Emmerich had 5 digs and and ace to lead Newton to an 11-1 Apollo record and a six game winning streak overall and a ten game Apollo streak.
Terra Flowers led in digs with 9. Nicole Schackmann added 2 digs. Sydney May had a kill, while Beth Helmink had an ace and Erica Earnest added 3 kills.
Paris won the freshman match 25-12, 19-25, 11-9 and the junior varsity match 25-22, 25-18.
The four senior girls along with senior manager Japheth Bear and their parents were honored prior to the night's varsity match for their service and dedication to the volleyball program under Coach Nicole Underwood and her assistants Beth Probst and Stefani Beverlin.
The Lady Eagles close their Apollo season with road matches at Mt. Zion and Robinson this week.
Newton, Ill. —
