It wasn’t a championship day for the NRHEG track and field teams, but it was more than respectable.
Both the girls and boys finished in second place in the Gopher Conference Meet Tuesday, May 17 at Wells.
WEM won the girls’ title with 184 points, followed by NRHEG with 127, USC/AC 107.5, Maple River 91, Medford 58, Bethlehem Academy 54, Blooming Prairie 49.5.
Earning all-conference were first-place finishers Hailey Schuller, 100 hurdles, 17.15; Maddie Wagner, long jump, 15-5.5; and Sophia Fischer, shot put, 36-7.
Schuller, Caitlin Goette, Marnie Wagner and Maddie Wagner were second in the 4x200 relay. Marnie was third in the 200, third in the high jump and fourth in the 100. Maddie took second in the high jump and sixth in the 100.
Other places: Emily Prigge, fourth, 3200; Schuller, fourth, 300 hurdles and fourth, long jump; 4x800, fourth (Emily Prigge, Annie Prigge, Madisyn Bueltel, Hailey Westrum); Kelly Harden, fourth, 800 and sixth, pole vault; Emily Eder, fourth, discus and sixth, shot put; Goette, fifth, 200 and sixth, 400; Jade Mely, fifth, 3200; Olivia Christopherson, fifth, 300 hurdles and seventh, high jump; 4x100, fifth (Christopherson, Sydney Schlinger, Erin VanWilgen, Lilly Olsen); 4x400, fifth, (Harden, VanWilgen, Westrum, Katie Cliff); Annie Prigge, sixth, 1600; Mia Williams, seventh, 3200.
“We placed second to and extremely tough WEM team,” said coach Duey Ferber. “I’m very proud of these girls. They fought hard for their second-place finish.”
Maple River dominated the boys’ meet with 203 points. The Panthers had 101.5, BA 96, BP 74.5, Medford, 69, USC/AC 66.5, WEM 59.
The 4x800 relay team, despite missing regular Josh Fleming with an injury, captured first and all-conference honors with Tyler Schlaak, Agro Gushwa, Nate Krause and John Cole, who clocked 8:42.16.
Zeke Erickson was second in the shot put at 43-9.5, second in the discus at 120.3. Krause clocked 55.64 for second in the 400.
Brady Agrimson was third in the 300 hurdles and fifth in the 110 hurdles, high jump and triple jump. Schlaak turned a career-best 2:08.92 for fourth in the 800.
Other places: 4x200, third (Aaron Seath, Mason Ferber, Lucas Hermann, Jerett Utpadel); 4x400, third, (Schlaak, Jorey Fischer, Cole, Krause); 4x100, fourth (Seath, Ferber, Hermann, Utpadel); Gushwa, fourth, high jump, sixth, 400 and eighth, 200; Brenden McMann, fourth, pole vault; Cole, fifth, 1600 and eighth, long jump; Ferber, sixth, 300 hurdles; Alex Buckmeier, sixth, shot put and seventh, discus.
“I’m very proud of these boys,” said Coach Ferber. “They really left it all out on the track.”