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Belvidere/Belvidere North place in high standing in NIC-10 Conference report
By Kathryn Menue
EDITOR
Throughout the fall sports season, high school girls and boys from Belvidere and Belvidere North High Schools have given it their all to bring home championship titles for their school. Some were successful in bringing home championships, while others gave it their all and adamantly represented their schools.
With such a high degree of dedication from all of these athletes, the NIC-10 Conference decided to recognize the top students who proudly represented their schools until the end of the NIC-10 Conference.
Coming in at the top of the athletics list was the Belvidere North High School girls’ cross country team who placed first in the conference in every conference standing (varsity, junior varsity, and open class).
Jenna Lutzow, a senior at North, led the pack and was named the NIC-10 Conference Girls’ Cross Country MVP.
Following behind Lutzow in standing were freshman Gianna Sagonna, freshman Madison Diercks, junior Sabrina Elder, freshman Alexandria Reza, and freshman Olivia Zaluckyj. Plus, an honorable mention went to Remy Bice, a sophomore at Belvidere North.
The awards didn’t’ stop there. Belvidere North Coach Ken Husser was named Coach of the Year.
Belvidere High School also received special mention for placing 8th in the varsity cross country championship.
Belvidere North was highly successful in the boys’ cross country tournament as well.
The Belvidere North varsity and freshman-sophomore teams won first place at state and the open class placed second overall.
Junior’s Alec Scott and Jack Macaluso led Blue Thunder to victory.
Special mention also went to senior Brandt Lerma, senior Jared Ellingson, and junior Austin Harnois.
Plus, Coach Troy Yunk won Coach of the Year.
Belvidere High School did well in the conference as well. The open class team placed fourth, followed by varsity placing fifth, and the freshman-sophomore team placing 7th.
Athlete Jacob Taylor was mentioned for his performance on the team.
Although cross country was definitely where the Belvidere teams shined, as has been the precedent over the last several years, the other fall teams did well in the NIC-10 conference too.
For boys’ golf, Belvidere North senior Josh Casssaro was a first team all conference athlete, and teammate senior Brenton Payne received a special mention from the NIC-10 Conference for his skills on the golf course.
Belvidere North placed third overall in the conference and Belvidere High School placed 8th.
For girls’ golf, Belvidere co-op junior Sara Redig and Belvidere co-op senior Maddie Sturm both made the first team all conference. Teammate, junior Morgan McNulty, received a special mention for her efforts throughout the season. The Belvidere co-op placed fourth overall in the conference.
The Belvidere and Belvidere North High Schools boys’ soccer teams finished the season strong with both teams placing in the top 10 for all categories of game play.
Belvidere placed third for varsity with a NIC-10 season record of 6-3. Belvidere North came in 9th with a record of 2-7.
For junior varsity, Belvidere placed 6th with Belvidere North falling into 8th place.
The freshman teams truly shined with Belvidere coming in first place and Belvidere North finishing in fifth place.
Junior Fernando Gomez, of Belvidere High School, made the first team all conference by playing defense. Junior Rudy Ponce, of Belvidere High School, also made first team all conference for playing midfield. Sophomore Jesus Cortez had a special mention from the NIC-10 Conference for his forward game play throughout the season. Belvidere Coach Jimmy Ivacic was named Coach of the Year.
For Belvidere North High School, junior John Henao made the first team all conference for defensive play.
For girls’ tennis, Belvidere North had a good year. The varsity team placed second in conference play with the freshman-sophomore team placing first.
Belvidere North athletes, senior Leraaen Abbot and junior Kayla Vittore, made first team all conference.
Belvidere High School placed 8th in varsity conference game play and fifth in freshman-sophomore game play.
With NIC-10 Conference games coming to an end, Belvidere High School and Belvidere North High School hope for a successful winter sport season and a successful spring sport season. Winter sports start the week of Thanksgiving.
