NRHEG Sports (656)
The latest game results and prognostications for NRHEG.{jcomments on}
By JIM LUTGENS
Editor/Publisher
T.J. Schiltz continued to shine for the NRHEG boys’ cross country team, winning his fourth meet of the season and cracking the 17-minute mark for the first time at the USC/AC Invitational last Tuesday.
Schiltz, a sophomore, won the race with a time of 16:48.
“T.J. was superb,” said Panthers coach Mike Weber. “He has been working on getting his times down into the 16-minute range. He was able to do so with his best effort of the season. It was a nice job by T.J.”
Also having his best day of the season was senior Jade Waltz, who finished 17th in 19:36.
“He was able to go sub-20, and the plan is to repeat this during each of our races in the post-season,” said Weber. “As coaches, we believe that Jade can keep his time down.”
UP AND OVER — NRHEG senior Anna Schlaak tips a shot during the Panthers’ match against top-ranked Bethlehem Academy at New Richland last Tuesday. The Panthers lost 3-0, but bounced back to defeat JWP 3-0 Thursday. (Star Eagle photo by Chris Schlaak)
Volleyball team rebounds to blank JWP, improves to 17-4
By JIM LUTGENS
Editor/Publisher
The NRHEG volleyball knew what to expect from the top-ranked Bethlehem Academy Cardinals, and the Panthers were confident riding an eight-match winning streak.
It did not reach nine.
The Panthers started slowly in all three games last Tuesday and fell to No. 1 rated BA 3-0 in New Richland. The game scores were 25-12, 25-19, 25-23.
"We knew coming in that they would be a really tough team,” said NRHEG coach Joe Kuechenmeister. “They've established themselves as a volleyball power in this area for over a decade, and they certainly deserve that recognition. That being said, we were optimistic with the momentum that we had going in that we could compete with them."
The Panthers’ slow starts and erratic play prevented that.
Panthers keep it close early against top-ranked WEM
Written by Jim LutgensBy JIM LUTGENS
Editor/Publisher
It wasn’t the blowout a lot of people expected.
But it was a shutout victory for the top-ranked Class AA high school football team in Minnesota.
The injury-plagued NRHEG Panthers kept it close for the better part of three quarters but wound up falling 30-0 at Waterville-Elysian-Morristown Friday night.
“I was very happy with our effort tonight,” said Panthers coach Dan Stork. “Our guys battled the entire game. Injuries continue to haunt us. We lost Carter Tollefson in the first quarter with a knee injury and Brandon LeBlanc in the second quarter with a possible broken rib.”
LEADER OF THE PACK — Eighth-grader Katharine Lewer continues to lead the NRHEG girls’ cross country team. (Star Eagle photo by Chris Schlaak)
The NRHEG cross country teams were in action at Waseca’s Lakeside Golf Club last Tuesday for the Waseca Invitational.
The boys finished sixth among six schools and the girls were fifth.
Waseca won the boys’ meet with 27 points, followed by Farmington with 58, Maple River 76, USC/AC 96, Grizzlies 143 and NRHEG 151.
Individual places were not available, but T.J. Schiltz continued to lead the Panthers, finishing with a time of 17:15.5. Jade Waltz clocked 20:29, Raece Johnson 21:08, Tyler Holz 22:59, Dustin Burshem 23:18 and Gunther Olson 24:05.
“T.J. is running against some of the familiar faces he will be seeing in the section, and today we were in the mix with the top Waseca and USC/AC runners,” said Panthers coach Mike Weber. “We know in a couple weeks we have got to get a little better. T.J. is a hard worker, and we believe he can lower this time. Jade’s time has been extremely consistent the last few weeks. Raece ran well along with Tyler. Dustin dropped a half minute for his best race of the year. He had a nice finish, out-sprinting an opponent down the stretch, refusing to let the runner pass. Gunther continues to improve.”
BLOCKING WALL — NRHEG’s Noelle Bartness (8) and Carlie Wagner (4) go up for a block against Montgomery-Lonsdale last week. The Panthers won 3-2. (Star Eagle photo by Chris Schlaak)
By JIM LUTGENS
Editor/Publisher
Five matches, five wins. It was a perfect week for the NRHEG volleyball team.
The Panthers improved their record to 16-3 overall and 5-0 in the Gopher Conference as they defeated Montgomery-Lonsdale last Tuesday, topped USC Thursday and won the Blue Earth Area Invitational Saturday.
NRHEG rallied to beat M-L 3-2 at New Richland, winning 25-18, 15-25, 17-25, 25-20 and 16-14.
"It was great to be able to get Montgomery Lonsdale on our schedule because they're a section opponent and they've been having a pretty good year,” said NRHEG coach Joe Kuechenmeister. “All things considered, this was pretty much a tale of two different matches. We played well in games 1 and 4, and didn't in games 2 and 3. The girls were once again able to dig deep and get the game 5 win in rally fashion. We just need to clean up our play so we don't put ourselves in unnecessary pressure situations. That being said, it was ultimately a section win and that's big for seeding."
BIG GAME — Brandon LeBlanc of the Panthers (18) ran for a career-high 161 yards in a 13-12 loss to LCWM last Friday. (Star Eagle photo by Chris Schlaak)
By JIM LUTGENS
Editor/Publisher
The NRHEG football team knows all too well how the Minnesota Vikings feel.
The Panthers, like the Vikings the first three weeks of the season, saw a halftime lead slip away as they allowed 13 points in the final 6:51 and lost their homecoming game 13-12 to Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial last Friday.
The Panthers, playing without several injured starters — including quarterback Sam Lundberg — were besieged by second-half mistakes and penalties while falling to 2-3 overall and 2-2 in the Gopher Conference AA Division. LCWM improved to 2-3 and 2-2.
Our kids played hard,” said Panthers coach Dan Stork. “The first half we totally dominated the clock, running 45 plays to their 12.”
The second half was another story.
SOLID NO. 2 — Jade Waltz finished second for the Panthers at Blooming Prairie and Janesville last week. (Star Eagle photo by Chris Schlaak)
The NRHEG cross country teams were in action twice last week, at Blooming Prairie on Tuesday and at Janesville Thursday.
According to coach Mike Weber, sophomore T.J. Schiltz was on a mission at Blooming Prairie, finishing first overall with a time of 17:00. Following for NRHEG were Jade Waltz, 22nd, 20:13; Raece Johnson, 35th, 21:42; Tyler Holz, 51st, 23:25; Dustin Burshem, 52nd, 23:31; and Gunther Olson, 53rd, 23:55.
“T.J. was on a mission from the start,” said Weber. “He was hoping to get his time into the 16 minutes, but we were a second shy. Still, a great win for T.J. Jade was a solid second for us with a decent time, and with his best time for the season. Raece improved from last week, also placing in good time. Tyler and Dustin again ran most of the race side-by-side, with their best times thus far and getting closer to catching Raece.”
VICTORY — The Panthers celebrate a game-one victory over Jackson County Central last week. They went on to drop the match 3-1 but improved to 10-3 overall with two conference wins. (Star Eagle photo by Chris Schlaak)
Schlaak honored for 1,000 kills
By JIM LUTGENS
Editor/Publisher
The NRHEG volleyball team continues to look strong.
The Panthers ran their record to 4-0 in the Gopher Conference and 10-3 overall last week, falling to No. 2 ranked Jackson County Central while defeating Mankato Loyola and Medford.
On Monday, the Panthers hosted JCC and took the match to four games, winning the first 25-23 before falling 25-27, 25-20, 25-11.
"What a great match for our home opener!” said coach Joe Kuechenmeister. “A lot of great volleyball was played. We had flashes of brilliance at times, as well as occasional lapses, and ultimately untimely errors cost us in the end. That being said, we found out a lot about our team capability if we can reach and maintain that high level of play."
Individual leaders for NRHEG: Anna Schlaak 16 kills, 15 digs, 3 aces, 3 ace blocks; Carlie Wagner 12 kills, 4 ace blocks; Harlee Vokoun 6 kills, 6 digs; Noelle Bartness 45 assists.
By JIM LUTGENS
Editor/Publisher
For the first time this season, the offense sputtered for the NRHEG football team.
It led to a 14-0 loss at Martin County West Friday night.
“We gave up a big kick return to our 35-yard line to start the game and they scored on that opening drive,” said Panthers coach Dan Stork. “Other than that, our defense came up with some big plays when we needed to. Our offense struggled tonight. We are very banged up right now and our lack of depth is taking its toll.”
The loss dropped NRHEG to 2-2 overall and 2-1 in the Gopher Conference AA division. The Mavericks improved to 3-1 and 2-1.
It was a defensive battle most of the night. After MCW’s first touchdown, there was no scoring until the Mavericks put a touchdown on the board with 2:54 remaining on a 62-yard run.
LEADERS — T.J. Schiltz, top, placed third among the boys in last week’s Panther Invitational. Below, the Panthers’ Shantaya Olson and Katherine Lewer run at the start of the girls’ race. (Star Eagle photos by Chris Schlaak)
By JIM LUTGENS
Editor/Publisher
The NRHEG cross country teams hosted their Annual Panther Invitational at Riverview Golf Course last Tuesday.
The girls were fifth and the boys six among eight schools.
The Grizzlies (JWP/WEM) won the girls’ meet with 48 points, followed by Madelia/Truman with 59, Blooming Prairie 71, Mankato Loyola 73, NRHEG 106 and Medford 108.
Individually for NRHEG: Katherine Lewer, ninth, 18:05; Melissa Malakowsky, 25th, 19:24; Shantaya Olson, 27th, 19:26; Crystal Olson, 32nd, 21:05; Destinee Meyer, 37th, 22:46; Megan Conley, 41st, 24:17.
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GOING, GOING, GONE — The Panthers’ Jacob Staloch (17) breaks loose as GFW’s Lucas Woods (84) pursues Friday night in New Richland. Staloch ran for 201 yards scored four touchdowns, averaging 13.4 yards per carry, in a 73-8 NRHEG victory. (Star Eagle photo by Chris Schlaak)
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN — Brandon LeBlanc (18) follows blockers and leaves defenders in his wake on a kick return against GFW. (Star Eagle photo by Chris Schlaak)
Staloch runs for 201 yards as NRHEG improves to 2-1
By JIM LUTGENS
Editor/Publisher
Officially, the NRHEG Panthers and Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop Thunderbirds played a football game Friday night.
For NRHEG, it was more like a track meet.
The Panthers ran for a season-best 342 yards and raced to a more-than-lop-sided 73-8 triumph in New Richland. NRHEG improved to 2-0 in the Gopher Conference AA division and 2-1 overall, sending GFW to at least its 13th consecutive defeat spanning three seasons.
For the first two games of the 2011 season, the Panthers looked like a passing team, but everything clicked on the ground against GFW and they only had to throw the ball six times.
“Our kids played great,” said Panthers coach Dan Stork. “Our offensive line — Brandon LeBlanc, Carter Tollefson, Seth Petranek, Mitch Akemann, Todd Erickson, Spencer Hanna and Dillon Parpart — deserves a ton of credit. They might not be the biggest line but they can sure move people.”
By JIM LUTGENS
Editor/Publisher
The NRHEG volleyball team remained undefeated in the Gopher Conference and showed it can compete with some of the best in the state.
The Panthers ran their conference mark to 2-0 at Randolph last Thursday, two days after falling to the No. 2 ranked Class AA team in the state. The previous Saturday, they went 4-1 and took second in the Mankato West Invitational.
NRHEG dominated at Randolph, acing the Rockets 26 times while winning 25-10, 25-17, 25-20.
Anna Schlaak had 10 kills, nine digs and nine aces, Noelle Bartness 23 assists and eight aces.
"Though it wasn't always pretty, it was nice to come away with a win and get back on the right track,” said coach Joe Kuechenmeister. “We definitely need to work on tightening the screws defensively, but we're 2-0 in the Gopher Conference and that's exactly where we need to be at this point in the season.”
By JIM LUTGENS
Editor/Publisher
The NRHEG boys’ and girls’ cross country teams did not have similar results at last Thursday’s Maple River Invitational.
They were more like, exact.
Both squads finished ninth among 11 schools, both with 226 points.
T.J. Schiltz ran a strong race to lead the boys, taking third with a time of 17:32. Following for NRHEG were Jade Waltz, 42nd, 20:43; Raece Johnson, 55th, 22:12; Tyler Holz, 64th, 25:03; and C.J. Schiltz, 65th.
CATCH IN TRAFFIC — Lucas Meyer of NRHEG (6) goes across the middle for a pass reception while MVL’s Kris Goetzke (25) defends Saturday. (Star Eagle photo by Chris Schlaak)
TOUGH DEFENSE — Nic Mangskau (3) and Cody Ripka (16) team up to tackle MVL’s Richard Jensen. (Star Eagle photo by Chris Schlaak)
By JIM LUTGENS
Editor/Publisher
In week one of the 2011 regular season, the NRHEG Panthers fell behind early and lost late.
There was none of that in week two.
The Panthers put 20 points on the board in the first half and went on to a 26-0 Gopher Conference AA football victory at Minnesota Valley Lutheran Saturday afternoon.
“Our guys played very mistake free football today,” said Panthers coach Dan Stork. “We had a great week of practice and it showed. We were able to more than double our rushing yardage from week one.”
They also continued to throw the ball well, with senior quarterback Sam Lundberg going 12-for-22 for 145 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a score.
The Panthers’ first touchdown did not, however, involve Lundberg. It came on a 29-yard scoring pass from wide receiver David Lassahn to Lucas Meyer. It capped a 60-yard, 16-play drive and gave NRHEG a 6-0 first-quarter lead.