Eighth-grader Katharine Lewer again led the girls, taking sixth in 15:41. Following: Missy Malakowsky, 26th, 17:21; Crystal Olson, 31st, 18:16; Destinee Meyer, 40th, 19:16; Kimberly Narvaez, 44th, 19:29; and Megan Conley, 45th, 20:09.

“Katharine had a nice, low time and seemed more focused this week,” said Weber. “She had a good week of practice leading into this meet. Missy also had a very good time, yet we are hoping she moves a half minute closer to Katharine’s time. Crystal continued the girls’ trend and dropped a couple minutes off her time.”

JWP/WEM won the girls’ meet, with the Panthers seventh.

Schiltz followed his Tuesday victory by winning Thursday’s WEM/JWP Invitational in 17:30. Waltz was 14th in 20:17; Johnson 18th, 20:45; Holz, 31st, 22:59; Olson, 33rd, 23:22; and Burshem, 35th, 23:59.

“T.J. ran a smart race in difficult winds,” said Weber. “He ran as smart as he has all year. Jade had maybe one of his strongest races. Raece definitely had his best race to date. He had focus. Tyler went right along with Raece to record his best of the year.”

Maple River won with 34 points. NRHEG was fourth at 96.

Lewer was seventh overall for the girls, clocking 18:06. Following: Shantaya Olson, 13th, 19:09; Malakowsky, 16th, 20:04; Crystal Olson, 17th, 20:04; Narvaez, 25th, 22:29; Meyer, 26th, 22:30.

“It was a super gusty day on the course and I think the wind really affected the girls during the race,” said Weber. “As a team, we had some fortunate and exciting finishes.”

Blue Earth Area won with 30 points. NRHEG was third with 78.

The Panthers run Oct. 6 at Waseca and Oct. 11 at USC.