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By JIM LUTGENS
Sports Editor
During the last three-plus decades, a lot of coaches have came and gone for New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva athletic teams. Except for one sport: track and field.
Duey Ferber enters his 34th season at the helm of the program. He remains as optimistic as ever, and he has some good reasons for that optimism with state entrants returning for both the boys and girls.
The boys' team will be led by Will Tuttle, who reached state in the 110-meter high hurdles and 300 intermediate hurdles, placing seventh in the highs. The Panthers' Most Valuable award winner for track and field last spring, Tuttle is one of three captains.
The other captains are Levin Kitzer, voted Most Valuable in track events last year, and Parker Bunn.
Also returning for the boys are Harbor Cromwell, Charlie Fuller, Devon Nelton, Wyatt Tuttle and Brendan Schmidt.
Key athletes graduating off last year's squad include Aidan Deyle, Lucas Hanna, Makota Misgen, Conner Nelson and Sawyer Prigge. Hanna finished seventh in discus at the state meet. Deyle was fourth in the 110 high hurdles at section.
According to Coach Ferber, the Panthers should have solid performers in most every event.
"We have some good athletes in most areas," said Ferber. "We should be strong in our hurdle events and sprint relays. Our long distance has some good younger athletes as well as some upperclassmen. Our jumps have some new athletes to hopefully score some points. We have most of our bases covered."
On the other side of the coin, Ferber said, "We need more events where we can score multiple people."
Avoiding injury is crucial for the Panthers.
"We need to keep everyone healthy and able to compete in all the meets," said Ferber. "We need to work hard and get some of our new members some experience in their events."
Ferber, who guided the Panthers to Gopher Conference championships in 2018 and 2019, said Maple River returns some very good athletes and are the preseason conference favorites. He expects Belle Plaine and Jordan to have solid squads in Section 2A.
"We have a lot of good hard working kids that love to be out there competing and trying to get better," summarized Ferber. "Our upperclassmen do a good job of showing the younger athletes how to work hard to succeed."
So how did the Panthers’ captains get into track:
“I was driving as a student driver with Mr. Ferber,” said Tuttle. “Nine hours that I rode with him, and he convinced me to do it, and I never looked back. He mentioned Brady Agrimson’s name. When I was a kid, oh my goodness I looked up to that guy. That’s all he had so say and I was gung-ho about it because I wanted to be like him.”
“One of the main this is it just looked like a lot of fun,” said Kitzer. “Everyone’s always real happy, messing around and just having a good time.”
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By JIM LUTGENS
Sports Editor
A new head coach is in place for the NRHEG High School baseball team in 2024, but he's no stranger to the Panthers.
Shawn Larson, longtime assistant baseball coach and the varsity wrestling coach, will lead NRHEG on the diamond last spring.
While the Panthers have no seniors on their roster, a number of key players are back from last spring's team that finished 10-2 for second in the Gopher Conference and 11-5 overall.
Larson looks for good things from juniors Alden Dobberstein (P/SS/2B), Carter Martens (P/3B) and Jace Ihrke (P/C), and sophomore Jared Lee (P/1B/OF).
The other juniors are Aaden Hanna (P/OF), Mayson Patten (3B), Aidan Schlaak (P/IF), Seth Staloch (SS/2B) and Brock Ziemke (1B).
Varsity sophomores includ Isaac Bauleke (OF), Jordan Brouwers (OF/3B, Wyatt Larson (P/C/3B), Deven Parpart (P/IF/OF) and Owen Wayne (P/2B/SS).
"It is unkown at this time if we will be using any freshmen," said Coach Larson. "Alden Dobberstein, Carter Martens, Jace Ihrke and Jared Lee are all varsity returning players who we expect to stand out on our team this season."
As for new player impact, Larson looks forward to contributions from everyone.
"We have a cast of players that are capable of good things," said Larson. "Look for players like Aidan Schlaak, Wyatt Larson, Owen Wayne, Jordan Brouwers, and Deven Parpart to have good seasons and really help out the Panthers in the 2024 season."
Larson looks for wide-open races for both the Gopher Conference and section championships, and he believes the Panthers can contend.
"We have potential to be competing for both the section and conference title," said Larson. "Our section has several teams that will be contenders for the title. If I had to pick a favorite, I would have to pick Belle Plaine to be the top contender for the section. Our conference is extremely talented this season. United South Central, Maple River, Hayfield, Randolph, and Kenyon-Wanamingo are all teams that can win. Based of of last season, I would say that USC is probably the preseason favorite."
Larson, who replaces Mark Lee as head coach, will be assisted by first-year coach Marcus Fischer and former NRHEG head coach Jeff Reese.
“We have a plan as a team to use people in as many was as possible, so being able to know every role and help everybody else know every role is very important, because we don’t have a lot of guys,” said Dobberstein. “We need multiple people to do multiple things. I think the most important thing is building a family within the team.”
Lee, a sophomore, said he feels no pressure this season, but the lack of outside practice could be a challenge for the Panthers.
“We haven’t had a lot of outside time, so if we can get started on a hot streak, fix things as soon as possible rather than letting them build on each other,” said Lee. “Because it’s going to be hard not being outside, getting right into the games.”
So who’s going to pitch for the 2024 Panthers?
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NRHEG grad Camerer takes over
By JIM LUTGENS
Sports Editor
A new head coach takes over for the NRHEG softball team this spring and, like her Panther counterpart in baseball, she's no stranger to the system.
NRHEG graduate Kayley Camerer, who not long ago was hitting home runs for the Panthers, is now in charge of the program, assisted by 18th-year coach Nate Jensen and third-year coach Cloie Arndt, another former Panther.
Last year's squad, the final season for longtime NRHEG coach Wendy Schultz, finished 9-8 overall and 6-6 for fifth in the Gopher Conference. They lost their sub-section opener.
The Panthers graduated three players off that squad in Sydney Schultz, Bree Ihrke and Trinity Smith-Vulcan.
Schultz, daughter of Wendy Schultz, was all-conference, all-section and honorable mention all-state. She and Ihrke were the captains.
Plenty of players return including seniors Payton Bunn (OF), Faith Nielsen (P/IF), Preslie Nielsen (IF), Erin Peterson (utility), Tayler Schmidt (IF) and Isabel Stadheim (OF), juniors Aryana Howe (U) and Aspyn Stenzel (IF), sophomores Kyera Eustice (OF), Adalyn Stadheim (C/IF), Chloe Stork (U), Tatum Thibodeau (U), Sam Possin (U) and Claire Robran (OF), and freshmen infielders Olivia Berg, Izley Boerner and Faith Phillips.
Coach Camerer expects a big season from the Panthers' sister tandems, Faith and Preslie Nielsen and Izzy and Addy Stadheim. Peterson or Berg could also have a breakthrough season.
"We hope to keep improving and getting better throughout the entire season, and be playing our best softball around playoff time," said Camerer. "Our team strengths include being hard workers with a great team chemistry, great attitudes, and our speed. One thing we need to work on is getting experience and growing confidence levels for players who are stepping into starting varsity spots."
Returning state entrants Randolph and Bethlehem Academy are the preseason favorites in the Gopher Conference.
The top teams in Section 2A, according to Camerer, are New Ulm, Belle Plaine and returning state entrant LeSueur-Henderson.
NRHEG 2024 Softball Schedule
April 2 at Blue Earth Area, 5 p.m.
April 4 at Randolph, 4:30
April 5 at Austin Packer Dome, 7 p.m.
April 8 vs. Southland, 4:30
April 11 at United South Central, 4:30
April 12 vs. Blooming Prairie, 4:30
April 15 at Granada-H-EC/ML, 4:30
April 18 vs. Bethlehem Academy, 4:30
April 19 vs. Waseca, 4:30
April 22 at Blooming Prairie, 4:30
April 25 vs. Hayfield, 4:30
April 26 at Caswell Park, TBD
April 27 at Caswell Park, TBD
April 29 at JWP, 4:30
May 2 vs. Kenyon-Wanamingo, 4:30
May 7 vs. United South Central, 4:30
May 9 at Maple River, 4:30
May 10 vs. Tri-City United, 4:30
May 13 vs. Medford, 4:30
May 16 vs. WEM, 4:30