NRHEG Sports (656)
The latest game results and prognostications for NRHEG.{jcomments on}
By JIM LUTGENS
Editor/Publisher
There was no creampuff opener for the NRHEG boys’ basketball team.
The Panthers started their season Saturday, Nov. 21 at Redwood Valley, a state tournament team last year and three of the last six years, and the home team had its way 80-63.
“You have to give Redwood all the credit,” said Panthers coach Pat Churchill. “They beat us in every aspect of the game tonight.”
The Panthers kept it close early, but the Cardinals went on a late first-half run to take a 42-26 advantage at the break.
“Once they got going, we did nothing to make them uncomfortable,” said Churchill. “They way I would describe it is we allowed them to play downhill all night.”
NRHEG fall sports award winners were announced at the annual ceremony Thursday, Nov. 19.
They were, by sport:
Boys’ Cross Country
• Most Valuable Runner — Josh Fleming
• Most Improved — Ben Lewer
• Most Dedicated — Zach Mely
• Panther Award — Tyler Schlaak
• Iron Horse — Jorey Fischer
• Captain — Zach Mely
Buckmeier to play at AT&T Stadium
NRHEG freshman Alex Buckmeier is one of 60 of the nation’s best high school freshmen and sophomore football players selected to the U.S. Under-16 National Team, which will compete against Canada in the 2016 International Bowl on Friday, Feb. 5, at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, in Arlington, Texas. Kickoff is 1 p.m. CT.
Buckmeier, a 5-foot-10, 210-pound defensive lineman, recorded 33 total tackles (20 solo), 1.5 sacks and four tackles for losses this past season as the Panthers posted a 6-3 record.
Four high school-aged U.S. National Teams will compete against national teams from Canada in the seventh annual International Bowl series. U.S. Select Teams at the high school and junior high level also will compete as part of the series.
Volleyball season ends with loss in sub-section finals
It was a very good run for the NRHEG volleyball team.
But it ended Thursday, Nov. 5 in the sub-section finals.
The Panthers, seeded second in their sub-section, were swept by top-seeded Kenyon-Wanamingo at Minnesota State-Mankato, falling 25-18, 25-7, 25-12. The Panthers finished 14-13.
“In game one, we competed,” said Panthers coach Onika Peterson.
But they struggled with serve receive and digs in game two as Kenyon-Wanamingo went on an 11-0 run and won handily.
By JIM LUTGENS
Editor/Publisher
With the unseasonably warm weather it hardly seems possible, but Carlie Wagner is ready to hit the basketball court for another season.
Wagner and the University of Minnesota women’s basketball team begin play for 2015-2016 Friday night at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, hosting Wofford University in a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.
Wagner, NRHEG’s Golden Girl who led the Panthers to three straight state tournaments and consecutive state championships, is starting her sophomore season for the Golden Gophers.
By JIM LUTGENS
Editor/Publisher
With wind and 40-degree temperatures, NRHEG cross country coach Mike Weber could not help but wonder how his teams would respond in the Section 2A meet.
As Weber put it, “They showed up to run.”
The Panthers, who ran on the same course seven weeks earlier, showed marked improvement in the season-ending race at Montgomery Thursday, Oct. 29.
The boys totaled 593 points for 21st among 22 schools that scored. Two squads were incomplete. Glencoe-Silver Lake won with 103 points; Jordan was second at 126.
By JIM LUTGENS
Editor/Publisher
NRHEG volleyball coach Onika Peterson called time out during the Panthers’ opening-round sub-section match against Waseca, and told her players to concentrate on only one thing: the next point.
“We talked to the girls,” said Peterson. “And told them that they have to play and fight for one point at a time.”
It must have worked, because the Panthers bounced back from a lackluster showing in game one and rallied for a 3-1 triumph at New Richland last Thursday. The Bluejays won the first game 25-19 but the Panthers reeled off wins of 25-21, 25-17 and 25-22 to take it.
Bartz, Eustice nail 48 of 50; several finish regular season among state’s top 100
The NRHEG clay target team held off an end-of-the-season surge by the second-place team from Anoka to complete the Fall League on top of Conference 9.
The team, which consists of 37 students in grades 6-12, never trailed in the conference standings all season.
In the final week, it was two students from Wasea who posted the best scores on the team. Kyle Bartz and Zachary Eustice turned in rounds of 48/50. Six shooters scored rounds that ranked in the top 10 for the week.
The weather was a bit cooler and the wind had a bit more bite on the high school shooters as they lined up for week four of their Fall League competition.
But it was more than the shooters that felt the bite as scores for the team were a bit lower than a typical night for the NRHEG squad. With just three NRHEG scores in the top 10 for the conference, it was the team from Anoka that put up top points in the conference. But, with a fairly comfortable lead in hand, this just meant a smaller gap between the first-place NRHEG team and their counterparts from Anoka.
By JIM LUTGENS
Editor/Publisher
The NRHEG volleyball team closed out the regular season at home Thursday, Oct. 22 against Blooming Prairie.
It’s not the way they’d like to go into tournament time.
The Panthers had a tough night as the Blossoms swept 3-0, game scores of 25-16, 25-23, 25-10.
It left NRHEG 12-12 overall. The Panthers finished 2-4 in the Gopher Conference.
More...
By JIM LUTGENS
Editor/Publisher
When the NRHEG cross country teams traveled to the Gopher Valley Conference meet at Oak View Golf Course Thursday, Oct. 22, it was not an unfamiliar path.
They’d been there a week earlier.
“Last week our squad ran at Freeborn, and we did tonight,” said coach Mike Weber. “Typically, this never happens, but it was rather nice, as we could get accurate times to see improvement. The boys ran well at our Gopher-Valley Conference meet.”
They were led by senior Tyler Schlaak, who clocked 19:11 for 29th place. Right behind was Josh Fleming in 30th with a time of 19:13.
For the third week in a row, the shooters of the NRHEG clay target team outscored all other squads and thus extended their lead in Conference 9 of the Fall Target League.
The team had eight athletes in the top 10 scorers of the week, led by Collin Christiansen with a score of 48/50.
"Collin had been struggling a bit this season," noted coach Dan Sorum. "So, it was nice to see him get back into the groove and post a great score."
Panther football season ends with 48-22 loss to BEA
LOCKED AND LOADED — NRHEG senior captain Wyatt Fitterer (71) sets his sights on Blue Earth Area’s Brandon Olson (22) during Section 2A action at New Richland Wednesday, Oct. 14. The Panthers’ season ended with a 48-22 loss. (Star Eagle photo by Chris Schlaak)
By JIM LUTGENS
Editor/Publisher
The Blue Earth Area Buccaneers did not just beat the NRHEG Panthers.
They beat them up.
The Bucs knocked a number of Panthers out of the game and sent one off in an ambulance while dominating a Section 2AA football playoff game 48-22 at New Richland Wednesday, Oct. 14.
“Blue Earth Area is a very good football team; their team speed is incredible,” said NRHEG coach Dan Stork, whose squad finished with a more-than-respectable 6-3 record after their only lop-sided defeat of the year.
TAKING AIM — Aaron Olson, right, lines up a shot while Evan Dobberstein, Chancellor Olson and Dalton Kraay look on. (Submitted photo)
Week two of the Clay Target season was almost identical to week one for the NRHEG shooters.
Just like week one, three shooters turned in a perfect round of 25 out of 25. In week one, the team scored 2695 points. In week two, they scored 2691. It was the kind of performance the team was looking for as they increased their conference lead over second-place Anoka. One of the encouraging signs was that of those three perfect rounds, it involved three different shooters.
"When we have more than a handful of go-to kids, we have a good shot of holding our lead until the end of the season," said head coach Dan Sorum.