Heather Novak was at a loss for words. That was initially all she could say on the field at Louisville Slugger Complex in Peoria on Saturday.

She’d just had ice thrown down her back by the 2026 Lincoln-Way West softball team, though she said that was pretty refreshing for a multitude of reasons. This was all following a 6-1 win over Mundelein.

This was no ordinary victory, though. It was the Class 4A State Championship. It was no ordinary state championship, either. It was the first team state championship in Lincoln-Way West history.

Not softball, team. Given that no softball team before 2026 had even made it past the sectional title game, it’s easy to understand why Novak had a hard time finding what to say.

“Lincoln-Way West has been such a special place to build a program from the ground up,” Novak said. “We’ve been so proud of our program and anyone who has been a part of it, but for these girls to take things to the next level has been amazing.

“It’s been a journey the past four years, but what a special group. I couldn’t be happier for them to have this be their last game as Warriors.”

To say this was a year of historic firsts would be underselling it. Lincoln-Way West had only advanced to the sectional championship once in program history. Each win thereafter was new territory for the softball program.

The Warriors came into the year with loads of talent, but NC State commit Reese Rourke broke her wrist after just one game and needed surgery. The Warriors kept the faith and kept finding ways to win, going 21-7 in the regular season.

Rourke made her way back in the lineup during the Lincoln-Way West Sectional, in which she hit two home runs to beat Lockport 2-1 in the championship. The pitching of Abby Brueggman and the Warrior defense kept them going through the super-sectional and the state semis.

“Your three-time All-State shortstop getting injured the second game of the season gives you a lot of adversity,” Novak said. “She was so mature about the whole thing and was still a great teammate and leader for our program.

“These seniors have been leading us the whole way. They’ve done things the right way and in every area have done the little things to help themselves. I’m just so proud of them.”

Each of the seven seniors stepped up in a massive way throughout the playoff run, but especially on Saturday.

Kieley Tomas scored in the bottom of the first on a throwing error to give Mundelein a 1-0 lead.

The Warriors drew even in the top of the third when Paige Seivert’s bunt resulted in a fielder’s choice. Mustang pitcher Shae Johnson collected the ball and threw to home, but Reese Forsythe was safe on the slide to knot it up 1-1.

The Warriors managed to load the bases twice in the same inning after that, but couldn’t get another run across.

Seivert struck again in the fourth inning. With two outs, Rourke on first and Holly Smith on second, Seivert slammed a triple to deep center field scoring both to put the Warriors up 3-1. Seivert made it 4-1 the next at bat when she scored on a wild pitch.

The score remained 4-1 until the top of the seventh when Seivert scored once again. Kaylea Armstrong smacked a RBI single to send Seivert home and increase it to 5-1.

The same inning saw Armstrong score on a single by Jess Noga to stretch it to 6-1 which is how it remained.

“It feels really awesome,” Forsythe said. “This is our dream and what we’ve been working for all season and the past four years.”

Seivert led the way, going 2 for 4 with three RBIs and two runs. Armstrong was 3 for 4 with one run and one RBI while Brueggman allowed just four hits and a walk while striking out two.

“The whole time we’ve been here we’ve wanted this so bad,” Seivert said. “We’re so close, hang out every day and we play and want to win for each other.”

Seivert, Forsyth, Brueggman, Noga, Rourke, Reese Cusack and Molly Finn will leave massive shoes to fill. Replacing all that production won’t be easy.

Going into the season, though, no one outside of New Lenox would’ve thought the Warriors would be hosting their first team state championship trophy ever. A massive barrier has been broken down and Lincoln-Way West will continue to churn out quality results.

For now, though, all any of them will be focusing on is how good it feels to be a champion.

“This is literally the best feeling ever,” Rourke said. “Going into this we just kept saying, ‘Let’s make history’ and we did it. I’m so proud to go out like this.”