AMONG THE ELITE — NRHEG sophomore T.J. Schiltz (18) finished the season in the state meet at St. Olaf College in Northfield Saturday. He placed 89th among 150 boys in Class A. (Photo by Nikki Erickson)
By JIM LUTGENS
Editor/Publisher
T.J. Schiltz was hoping for a better showing, but his season could not have ended at a better place.
Schiltz, an NRHEG sophomore, finished 89th among 150 boys in the Minnesota Class A State Cross Country Meet Saturday at St. Olaf College in Northfield. His time was 17:42.4.
“T.J. had a wonderful season,” said Panthers coach Mike Weber.
Actually, it was a record-setting, history-making season. Schiltz set the school race record during the season and became the first NRHEG boy to qualify for the state cross country meet.
He and Weber were looking for a higher finish Saturday, but both are thankful.
“We hoped for a top 40 finish at state,” said Weber. “But, thankfully, T.J. is only a sophomore and has some time do better.”
The state meet itself was an eye-opening experience.
“The state meet is something you never see during a season as there is a mass of great runners all jockeying for position,” explained Weber. “If you get behind a team, or clump of people, it is very difficult to make adjustments. This was a wonderful event as the area runners have all developed a camaraderie. This was an exciting end of a season to be at the state tourney for T.J., but most importantly is that this was a great learning experience. He has already set the goal to be back next season."
St. Cloud Cathedral won the boys’ Class A state team championship with 72 points, one better than runner-up Perham.
The Waseca boys’ team finished sixth in Class A.
Schiltz was the second NRHEG cross country runner to advance to state. Crystal Schutrop qualified in 1993 and 1994, finishing 24th as a freshman and 22nd as a sophomore at the state meet.
