Quinn VanMaldeghem
It was an outstanding homecoming week for the NRHEG cross country teams, which saw the girls winning their home meet and the boys taking second.
“Tonight was another great night,” NRHEG Head Coach Miles Otstot said. “Both our boys and girls teams had outstanding nights.”
The girls were again led by 8th grader Quinn VanMaldeghem, who registered her first victory of the season, alongside Torri Vaale who took second.
“Both girls had outstanding races and finished safely in their positions,” Coach Otstot said. “The team was rounded out by strong races by Holly Bartness, Annabelle Petsinger, and Lexi McGannon.”
The girls finished first with 42 points, followed by WEM/JWP, 63; Blooming Prairie, 67; Maple River, 71; and Meford, 90.
Individually for the lady Panthers: VanMaldeghem, 1st place, 22:16; Vaale, 2nd place, 22:53; Bartness, 7th place, 24:51; Petsinger, 14th place, 26:36; McGannon, 21st place 29:05.
The Panther boys did almost as well as the girls, finishing second with 59 points. JWP/WEM won it with 31 points. Finishing behind the Panthers were: Blooming Prairie, 70; Maple River, 75; Blue Earth Area, 120.
“Our boys also had a strong race today led by Conner Nelson and Devon Nelton,” Coach Otstot reasoned. “Jacob Karl returned after two weeks out and had a race he will hope to build on as he works back into shape. Samuel Christensen ran a strong time, almost beating his personal best, and the final runner on the team, Eric Arvis, finished strong.”
Individually for the Panther boys: Nelson, 7th place, 20:15; Nelton, 9th place, 20:19; Jacob Karl, 15th place, 20:57; Christensen, 19th place, 21:39; Arvis, 27th place, 23:28.
“I've been very impressed with how our team has been working hard in practice and it continues to pay off in meets,” Coach Otstot went on. “We are a small team, barely fielding a full team in both boys and girls, but the kids we have are competitive and I am excited to see how they end their seasons.”
The NRHEG cross country team continues its season next Thursday, October 7 in Waseca.