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Normal Community’s Ince, Bloomington’s Vetter, and Delavan’s Noreuil win CSM Spring Athletes of the Week, presented by Dominos 

Writer's picture: Clutch Sports StaffClutch Sports Staff




For the first time ever, three high school athletes took home the honor of CSM Spring Athlete of the Week, presented by Dominos. Delavan’s Cole Noreuil was voted as CSM Boys Athlete of the Week, while Normal Community’s Ali Ince and Bloomington’s Reilly Vetter earned the exact same amount of votes and were named co-CSM Girls Athlete of the Week. 


Ince capped off her illustrious high school career with multiple state championships and a state record in the 800 meters at the IHSA State meet in girls track and field on May 18. Vetter was impressive for Bloomington in its final stretch of the regular season, helping lead her team while multiple wins while Noreuil dominated on the pitcher’s mound and the batter’s box as Delavan won a Class 1A regional title.


Get to know more about the winners and their accomplishments below.


Ince ended her high school career by being in a familiar spot as a state champion. The Normal Community senior won titles in the 800 meters, with a state-record time of 2:05.33, and in the 1600 meters, where she crossed the line in 4:44.86. Those two state championships gave Ince 10 gold medals at state during her career with the Iron. She nearly made it 11, leading Normal Community’s 4x400 meter relay to a 3:50.80 time in the finals, a second-place finish where they finished only seven-hundredths of a second behind the winner. Ince will run track next year at the University of Oregon. 


Get to know Ince in a Q and A here:


What have been your goals for the season?

“My goals for the season were to continue to see improvement in my events. I was able to improve my mile time by three seconds, running 4:39. I still have another 800 meter race coming up where I’m hoping to improve my PR, which is currently 2:03. Another goal was for our 4x400 to go to state. We got second this year at the state meet, breaking the school record with a time of 3:50.”


What’s your favorite memory of playing your sport?

“My favorite memory in track and field has to be the 4x400 meter relay at state my freshman year. Due to a rain delay, we ran the 4x400 around 10:30 p.m. It was so fun to run under the lights with the track still wet from the storm.  I got the baton close to last and got to chase down as many girls as possible. With 100 meters to go, Evanston Township was the only team left to catch and I was able to get them at the last meter before the finish line. The hugs from my teammates I got after [that] race is one of of the most memorable moments in the sports I have had.”


What’s your walk-up song, or what would it be if you had one?

“Run this Town by Rihanna.”


Favorite food?

“Tacos”


What’s on your bucket list?

Something on my bucket list is backpacking in Utah. The views that i have seen are amazing and I think it would be so fun to camp out in the mountains.”


Who’s your favorite teacher at school?

“There are so many teachers I love at my school, but if I had to choose one, I would pick Mr. Feeney, who is an English teacher. He has also been my basketball coach over the past four years. He makes an effort to get to know every student at NCHS even if they are not in his class. He truly cares about everyone.”


Who’s your role model and why?

“My role models are my mom and grandma. My grandma lives just down the street from me and so we all go on girl outings all the time. They both put others first always and are constantly finding the good in each day, both of which I strive to do as well in my life.”


Vetter came on strong for Bloomington softball as the Purple Raiders won two of their last three games of the regular season and secured a fourth-place finish in the Big 12. The sophomore standout struck out a combined 40 batters in those three games, highlighted by a 16-strikeout performance in a 9-1 win over Galesburg on May 16. She brought a powerful bat to the table as well, driving in two runs in games against Lincoln and Galesburg and powering five of her six hits on the week for doubles. 


Get to know Vetter in a Q and A here:


What have been your goals for the season?

“My goals for the season were to work hard and perform the best that I knew I could.”


What’s your favorite memory of playing your sport?

“My favorite memory of playing softball is playing with my best friend over the summer and having late-night games.”


What’s your walk-up song?

“My walk-up song this year was Redrum by 21 Savage.”


Favorite food?

“Chicken tenders.”


What’s on your bucket list?

“My first thing on my bucket list is to go to Greece.”


Who’s your favorite teacher at school?

“My favorite teacher at my school would be my Medical Terminology teacher, Mrs. Brooks.”


Who’s your role model and why? 

“My biggest role models are my three older sisters, they set a great example for me on the field and off the field, and push me to be the best person and player I can be.”


Noreuil was lights-out for Delavan baseball as his performances led the Panthers to a sixth straight Class 1A regional title. The senior throw the first 5.2 innings of a combined no-hitter – alongside Bryce Horning – in the regional championship game against Havana on May 18, recording all 17 of his outs via the strikeout and only allowing one walk. He went 2-for-3 at the plate in that win, which came on the heels of a 2-for-2 game with three RBIs in a 15-0 drubbing of Midwest Central in the regional semifinals. Last week, Noreuil stuck out 15 in a complete game victory over Bluffs-Winchester in the sectional semifinals before the Panthers fell to Jacksonville Routt in the sectional title game. Noreuil will play at the next level for John A. Logan College. 


Get to know Noreuil in a Q and A here:


What have been your goals for the season?

“My personal goals for this season were to be better than last year, specifically in ERA, batting average and RBIs. Furthermore, I wanted to be first team in the ICAC and Tomahawk conferences. Another goal was to be selected to play in the Pantagraph and McDonald’s all-star games. I also had a goal of being an all-stater. As a team, we set goals to win both conferences and to win state, unfortunately those did not pan out.”


What’s your favorite memory of playing your sport?

“My favorite memory of Delavan baseball was practicing and playing in frigid temperatures. I know that sounds weird, but the colder and windier the day, the more energy we had as a team and it was almost as if we enjoyed playing in uncomfortable conditions. I also just loved the everyday laughs shared with the guys, there was never a down moment.”


What’s your walk-up song?

“God’s Country [by Blake Shelton] was my walk-up song all four years of high school.”


Favorite food?

“Pepperoni pizza, and I probably eat it at least 2-3 days a week.”


What’s on your bucket list?

“One thing on my bucket list is to go to Jamaica.”


Who’s your favorite teacher at school?

“My favorite teacher at the school is Mr. Dare, he was my teacher for film, literature, English and study hall and he was my class sponsor. I learned a lot in Mr. Dare’s classes and he often challenged me. However, we also loved to have fun in those classes and shared many laughs.”


Who’s your role model and why?

“My role model is Charlie Hodges [the younger brother to Delavan head coach Dillon Hodges and assistant coach Sam Hodges], he went to Parkland College to play baseball and now transferred to [East Carolina University] and continues to play baseball. Charlie is my role model because he is someone I have always looked up to, whether that be grades, faith, work ethic, working out, or baseball. To build off this, Charlie has helped me tremendously with my baseball career. Specifically, there are times I have had questions about my changeup, arm soreness, the recruitment process and workout plans and he has taken time out of his busy schedule to call me and talk me through it and offer words of wisdom. Charlie is truly like an older brother to me.”

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