By ELI LUTGENS
Editor/Publisher
It was an incredible day for the NRHEG cross country teams in Hayfield, Sept. 9, in particular the boys, as every runner finished with lifetime personal best times.
“We are very proud of our boys team tonight,” Head Coach Miles Otstot said. “Today was a gorgeous day for a race and the NRHEG cross country team ran very well today to make the day even better.”
The boys finished 9th out of the 12 teams with 222 points.
Panther placewinners: Jacob Karl (19:16) 27th place; Conner Nelson (19:35) 31st place; Gavin Sletten (20:13) 45th place; Samuel Christensen (20:28) 56th place; Eric Arvis (21:10) 63rd place.
Pine Island won it with 61 points, with JWP/WEM second with 76 points. The rest of the schools followed in order: Kingsland, 98; GMLOS, 125; Zumbrota-Mazeppa/Kenyon Wanamingo, 131; Plainview-Elgin-Millville, 135; Goodhue, 190; Chatfield, 194; NRHEG, 222; Pacelli, 237; Blooming Prairie, 253; Hayfield, 320.
The NRHEG girls did not have a full team. Eighth grader Quinn VanMaldeghem again led the girls, finishing in 8th place out of 68 runners.
Pine Island finished first with 51 points, followed by Chatfield with 82. The rest of the schools followed: Pacelli, 91; Goodhue, 107; Plainview-Elgin-Millville, 109; GMLOS, 116; WEM/JWP, 159; Blooming Prairie, 184.
“Our girls had a strong showing tonight,” Coach Otstot said. “Overall it was a great day for the Panther runners and we hope to continue building on our success this year.”
Individually for the Panthers: Quinn VanMaldeghem, 21:56, 8th place; Torri Vaale, 23:13, 21st place; Holly Bartness, 25:59, 43rd place; Annabelle Petsinger, 27:04 49th place.
“Holly Bartness had a fantastic kick to finish her race,” said Coach Otstot.
The Panthers compete at Maple River on Thursday, Sept. 16 and at home Tuesday, Sept. 21.