NRHEG Star Eagle

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Newspaper of Record for NRHEG School District
Newspaper of Record for Waseca County, MN
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email: steagle@hickorytech.net
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NRHEG eighth grader Quinn VanMaldeghem missed a state tournament berth by one spot as the NRHEG cross country season came to an end in Blue Earth, Friday, Oct. 29. 

Both cross country teams finished in 8th place at the section meet, with All-Section runners VanMaldeghem and senior Torri Vaale leading the girls and Devon Nelton and Jacob Karl leading the boys.

“Our team finished off our season with some great runs this year,” NRHEG head coach Miles Otstot said. “Overall this was a strong season from our kids and I am very proud of all our students accomplished this year. They worked very hard and it showed throughout the season with the times our kids ran.”

Both teams were highlighted by career best and season best races. Sam Christensen, Eric Arvis, VanMaldeghem, Vaale, Holly Bartness, and Annabelle Petsinger all finished with either their best timed runs of their career or season. 

By TORRI VAALE
Panther Press

The NRHEG Cross Country team hosted the Gopher Conference meet at the Riverview Golf Course on Tuesday, Oct. 19. Seven area teams competed: Hayfield, USC, WEM/JWP, Medford, NRHEG, Blooming Prairie, and Maple River. The NRHEG girls’ team earned a score which tied for first place, but unfortunately lost to WEM/JWP in the tie breaker. The boys’ team placed third. 

The NRHEG cross country team had multiple runners receive awards, including  Quinn VanMaldeghem who placed second and Torri Vaale who placed third. The winners of second team all conference were Devon Nelton, eighth place, Holly Bartness, tenth place, and Annabelle Petsinger, twelfth place. Two team members also received honorable mentions: Jacob Karl, thirteenth, and Conner Nelson, eighteenth.

“Overall I’m proud of the performances,” said head coach Miles Otstot. “It was of course frustrating to lose the tiebreaker, however second place for the girls is still really good. We were able to win the tiebreaker against Medford for the boys’ team, pulling out a third place finish.” 

“The team gave great effort and I am very proud of all of our runners.”

On Friday, October 29th the cross country team traveled to Blue Earth for one last meet. At sections all teams are attempting to qualify for the state tournament, which will be held on November 6 at St. Olaf College. Despite their best efforts, the NRHEG team had no state qualifiers. Both the girls’ and boys’ teams placed 8th in the section. 

The girls team was led by two All-section runners, Quinn Vanmaldeghem and Torri Vaale. Quinn placed 9th with a time of 21:03 and Torri placed 11th with a time of 21:43. Both runners ended the season running a career best.

 

By Wyatt Groskreutz and Walker Thompson
Panther Press

The Panther varsity football players finished their regular season October 20 with a 4-4 record, as they steamrolled over WEM 42-0. A big reason for the Panthers’ success this season is the 11 seniors on the team: Bo Budach, Walker Thompson, Porter Peterson, Tyrone Wilson, Jack Olson, Nik Petsinger, Clay Stenzel, Matthew Olson, Ben Schoenrock, Ralph Roesler, Maverick Knudson and  Alex Dobberstein. The Panther Press sat down with all the seniors and asked them some questions about how football has changed their lives throughout high school. 

According to senior lineman Walker Thompson, “Football has motivated me to work harder in the off season to improve myself and the team each year. Football has given me a better work ethic. My favorite season was freshman year because we went to state. ” 

Senior wide receiver and cornerback Bo Budach said, “Football has helped me focus on working hard for each season, and it's something I look forward to each year. Football has taught me to work hard, and work as part of a team. Freshman year was my favorite season because we won the section championship and went to state. It was an awesome experience and really fun knowing the whole community was behind us.” 

Senior quarterback Porter Peterson said football really impacted his life in many positive ways. “It’s changed me in many ways that I don’t even notice. I have formed good relationships with my teammates and learned how to communicate better. I learned how to work within a team. My favorite season was freshman year because we went to state.”