By Staff
The fall high school sports season is officially upon us and it looks like it's going to be another exciting one, especially at Niles High School.
The Viking teams are gearing up for their third year of competition in the Southwest Michigan Athletic Conference West Division and may have a chance to win several league championships this fall.
Starting with the varsity football team, which won the West Division title two years ago and finished second last season, the sky is the limit for several Niles teams this season.
The varsity football program returns seven players who received All-West Division recognition after the team went 3-1 in the division and 6-3 during the regular season before falling to Sturgis in the first round of the playoffs. The talented senior class, which will be leading the way this year, will be supplemented by a strong group of underclassmen and an impressive group of transfer students.
The varsity girls basketball team has won six straight district titles, but has only one SMAC West Division title under its belt. After winning the title outright in 2001, the Lady Vikes finished second last season before winning district and regional titles.
It will be another tough challenge for Jim Arnold's team, with the likes of Benton Harbor and St. Joseph also vying for supremacy in the West. The Lady Vikes also have perennial powerhouse teams such as Mattawan, Harper Creek, Paw Paw and Marshall on their schedule this season. It should be an interesting year as Niles boasts seven returning players from last year's highly-successful squad.
The Niles varsity soccer team will also make a bid for a West Division title. The Vikings have been pushing the upper-echelon teams for the last two seasons and with a solid group of seniors returning from last year's squad, the potential is there for Niles to have a breakthrough season.
Cross country will not be left behind as the Niles boys' team also has plenty of experience and a balanced squad. The Vikings will be trying to capture the West Division title and looking to make some noise at the SMAC Meet and Regional Meet as well.
The rest of the Niles teams will be pushing for as much success as possible during the fall season. A quality group of coaches and athletes will make Niles proud this year.