SECOND STRAIGHT TITLE — NRHEG senior T.J. Schiltz, top left, left competitors in his rear view mirror for the second year in a row at the Gopher/Valley Conference Cross Country Meet at Mankato last week. Below, Schiltz’s little brother, sophomore C.J., gives it his all near the finish line. (Star Eagle photos by Chris Schlaak)
By DALE KUGATH
Sportswriter
New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva senior T. J. Schiltz captured his second straight Gopher/Valley Conference championship to highlight the Panthers’ performance at the conference meet at Mankato Oct. 15.
Coach Mike Weber’s Panther boys placed sixth among nine teams, leaving them with an overall mark of 30-59.
The NRHEG girls were ninth among nine teams. The Panthers are 7-44 for the year.
Boys
Martin County West was an easy winner in the boys’ race. The Mavericks won with 37 points, while host Mankato Loyola was a distant second with 76 points.
NRHEG finished with 141 points, capturing the sixth spot. The Panthers were just six points away from fifth-place Blooming Prairie.Schiltz breezed to a 16:22 clocking to win the 5,000-meter race. It was his second consecutive conference championship.
“It is never easy to repeat, but T.J. has really put the work into making sure he is running his best now,” said Weber. “He still has a lot he wants to accomplish. We are looking forward to the next couple of races.”
Adam Anderson earned honorable-mention all-conference honors by placing 20th overall. He ran the race in 18:31.
“Adam has done a lot of running to get his times down this year,” said Weber. “He placed himself in contention at the start and held onto it until the end where he even passed a few runners.”
Raece Johnson was number three for the Panthers and 30th overall, running an 18:58.
Josh Fleming placed 42nd and Zach Mely finished 48th to complete the Panther scoring. Fleming ran the course in 20:08, while Mely finished in 20:57.
C.J. Schiltz and Aaron Seath also ran with the NRHEG varsity. Schiltz finished 54th in 21:06, followed by Seath in 62nd at 23:30.
Girls
Loyola edged MCW 56 to 59 to earn the Gopher/Valley Conference girls’ team title.
NRHEG was unable to beat anyone, scoring 216 points to finish ninth. The Panthers were eight points short of eighth-place Madelia/Truman.
Katharine Lewer and Sandra Quezada were the top two NRHEG runners, as they have been all season.
Lewer was the top Panther finisher, running an 18:27 for 4,000-meters to finish 34th overall.
Quezada was 13 seconds behind Lewer, finishing 37th in the race.
“Sandra has been our most consistent runner the past month,” said Weber.
Missy Malakowsky placed 45th in the race with a time of 19:30.
Kristy Possin and Tina Quezada rounded out the NRHEG scoring. Possin placed 52nd in 20:45, while Quezada was 57th in 22:59.
Marissa Mortenson was 25 seconds behind Quezada to finish 58th.
“Most of our girls ran their fastest times of the season,” said Weber.
NRHEG will compete in the Section 2A Meet at Montgomery today.
Gopher/Valley Conference
Team scores (Boys): 1)-Martin Co. West 37, 2)-Mankato Loyola 76, 3)-LCWM 82, 4)-USC 109, 5)-Blooming Prairie 135, 6)-NRHEG 141, 7)-Maple River 157, 8)-WEM/JWP 171, 9)-Medford 241.
(Girls): 1)-Mankato Loyola 56, 2)-Martin Co. West 59, 3)-LCWM 82, 4)-USC 85, 5)-WEM/JWP 98, 6)-Maple River 128, 7)-Blooming Prairie 195, 8)-Madelia/Truman 208, 9)-NRHEG 216.
NEXT: Today – Sect. 2A Meet at Montgomery, 4 p.m.