The Panthers had just three runners available for the varsity race so they were unable to compete in the team portion of the race.
Blake edged Waseca for the championship, 107-111. Mahtomedi finished third with 124 points.
Mankato Loyola was the top Gopher/Valley Conference school placing 10th.
Waseca sophomore Shane Streich topped 188 runners to capture the 5K race in 16:09.
T.J. Schiltz led the NRHEG threesome, placing third overall in 16:31.
“T.J. was a gamer tonight, running against some of the top runners in the state. He thrives on being part of a competitive field like this,” said Weber. “We had some high goals for T.J. with his time and placing at this meet and he did not disappoint.”
Raece Johnson and Adam Anderson also competed for the Panthers. Johnson placed 165th in 21:53, while Anderson was seven seconds behind in 172nd place.
“Raece took a couple of minutes off of last year’s time and is showing signs of having a nice season,” said Weber. “Adam, in his first season, is looking to have an impact on our team.”
Girls
The Panther girls sent six runners to the starting gate, but found the rugged competition stronger than they were ready for.
Shakopee edged Prior Lake by a single point to top the 24-field. Waseca finished a solid third.
NRHEG came in 23rd overall with 618 points, defeating Le Sueur-Henderson. There were also runners from seven additional teams.
United South Central was the top conference finisher, placing fifth in the meet.
Blake’s Clare Flanagan topped the 163-runner field by finishing the 4K race in 13:55.
Freshman Katie Lewer was the only Panther to crack the top 100. She finished 85th in 18:16.1.
“Katie is a much stronger runner than a year ago,” said Weber. “She took a half minute off of last year’s race.”
Sophomore Melissa Malakowsky was second for NRHEG and 110th overall in 19:07.8.
NRHEG’s lone senior, Crystal Olson, ran a 20:43.5 to finish 133rd.
Three sophomores completed the Panther lineup. Sandra Quezada was 139th (21:18.7), Cristina Quezada finished 151st (22:43.9) and Shantaya Olson placed 152nd (23:19.5).
The Panthers will run at the Maple River Invitational today and host their own Panther Invite at Riverview Golf Course Tuesday.
Gerald Smith Invite
(B) Teams scores: 1)-Blake 107, 2)-Waseca 111, 3)-Mahtomedi 124, 4)-New Prague 144, 5)-Mound-Westonka 155, 6)-Prior Lake 197, 7)-Shakopee 218, 8)-Jordan 222, 9)-Glencoe 225, 10)-Loyola 306, 11)-Waconia 320, 12)-St. James 369, 13)-Maple River 370, 14)-TC United 402, 15)-USC 419, 16)-Norwood-YA 424, 17)-Madelia 427, 18)-Belle Plaine 469, 19)-Le Sueur 541, 20)-LCWM 552, 21)-Cannon Falls 278, 22)-Fairmont 603, 23)-St. Peter 618, 24)-Blue Earth 652, 25)-MVL 667, 26)-Medford 680, 27)-Mt. Lake 701, 28)-Sibley East 753, 29)-NRHEG incp.
Winner (5K, 189 runners)-Shane Streich (Waseca) 16:09.
NRHEG results: 3)-Schiltz 16:31, 165)-Johnson 21:53, 172)-Anderson 22:00.
(G) Team scores: 1)-Shakopee 92, 2)-Prior Lake 93, 3)-Waseca 122, 4)-Mahtomedi 158, 5)-USC 161, 6)-New Prague 175, 7)-Blake 208, 8)-Belle Plaine 231, 9)-Waconia 232, 10)-Mt. Lake 254, 11)-Fairmont 327, 12)-TC United 359, 13)-Glencoe 375, 14)-Cannon Falls 381, 15)-St. James 392, 16)-Norwood-YA 422, 17)-Loyola 455, 18)-LCWM 478, 19)-MVL 481, 20)-Jordan 496, 21)-Blue Earth 510, 22)-Madelia 601, 23)-NRHEG 618, 24)-Le Sueur 647.
Winner (4K, 163 runners)-Clare Flanagan (Blake) 13:55.2.
NRHEG results: 85)-Lewer 18:16.1, 110)-Malakowsky 19:07.8, 133)-C. Olson 20:43.5, 139)-S. Quezada 21:18.7, 151)-C. Quezada 22:43.9, 152)-S. Olson 23:19.5.
NEXT: Thursday-NRHEG at Maple River Invite, 4:30 p.m.
