“T.J. had another sub-17-minute race,” said Weber. “He was able to lead the field of conference runners for nearly the entire race; however, the last couple hundred meters he was caught by a very good Martin County West runner (Kliene). It was an exciting race to watch with the lead group challenging each other. Congratulations to T.J. on his second consecutive all-conference award.”

Jade Waltz followed Schiltz for the Panthers, taking 49th in 19:42. Raece Johnson was 55th in 20:20; Tyler Holz, 66th, 21:39; Dustin Burshem, 72nd, 23:03; and Gunther Olson, 73rd, 23:50.

“Jade was again a solid second for us, nearly equaling his best time of last week,” said Weber. “Raece was motivated this conference race and had his best of the year. Tyler had his lowest time of the season, followed up by another season’s best performance by Dustin.”

Boys’ team standings: Martin County West 53, Madelia-Truman 64, Maple River 82, Mankato Loyola 119, LCWM/Nicollet 138, USC/AC 161, Blooming Prairie 175, WEM/JWP 180, MVL 222, NRHEG 244 and Medford 268

Weber was also happy with the girls’ eighth-place finish.

“All the girls ran very well in cold and windy conditions,” said the coach. “You want to perform your best when it really counts in the post-season, and the girls seized this opportunity.”

Eighth-grader Katharine Lewer led the Panthers, earning all-conference honorable mention by placing 22nd in 16:57. Following for NRHEG; Melissa Malakowsky, 34th, 17:46; Shantaya Olson, 43rd, 18:08; Crystal Olson, 51st, 19:08; Destinee Meyer, 65th, 21:00; Megan Conley, 67th, 21:34; and Kimberly Narvaez, 68th, 21:48.

“Katharine hoped to be in the top 25 places to earn an all-conference honorable mention, and that is exactly what she did,” said Weber. “She began strong and had her best time of the season. Missy had her season’s best with a nice place in the top half of the field of runners. Shantaya had her best race. Following in the pattern set by our top runners, Crystal had her best meet of this season. Following Crystal, Destinee took a minute off her time from last week with her best of the year. Topping off the season’s best, Megan had a good race, recording her best time. Kimberly ran well despite an injury.”

Girls’ standings: USC/AC 52, MCW 72, Mankato Loyola 81, WEM/JWP 105, LCWM/Nicollet 130, Madelia/Truman 143, Blooming Prairie 163, NRHEG 210, Medford 217, MVL 227.

The Panthers travel to Montgomery for the Section 2A meet Thursday, Oct. 27.