PREV SPRIINEG SPWORTS - newrichlandstar.com

PREVIEWSPRING SPORTS

PREVIEW

— THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2019 —

• Page 2 — Can the boys do it again?• Page 3 — NRHEG girls have lots of leadership• Page 4 — Softball Panthers return 8 starters• Page 5 — Top pitchers return for baseball team• Page 6 — Everyone’s back for NRHEG golf squads• Page 8 — Clay target team seeks continued success

NEW RICHLAND • HARTLAND • ELLENDALE • GENEVA PANTHER ATHLETICS

2 Thursday, April 4, 2019 Star Eagle SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW

By JIM LUTGENSPublisher

Last year was a historic one for theNRHEG boys’ track and field team as thePanthers won the Gopher Conferencechampionship, something that hadn’t beendone in New Richland since 1979.

Can they repeat?All signs point to yes.While the Panthers graduated four sen-

iors off last year’s squad, only one of them— Ryan Hannegrefs, a transfer fromMankato East — was among their topscorers. And the returnees are a year olderand, in one case at least, seeking a returntrip to state.

It all adds up to optimism for 29-yearhead coach Duey Ferber.

“I would think we have a good chance torepeat,” he said, adding that Maple Rivershould also field a quality squad.

The Panthers will have strong seniorleadership in Brady Agrimson, AlexBuckmeier and Jacob Schuller. Agrimsonfinished third in the state last year in the110 hurdles and fifth in the 300 hurdles.He’s also a strong jumper. Buckmeier willanchor the throwing events. Schuller highjumps and runs middle distances.

Other returning lettermen are juniorLonnie Wilson (sprints, LJ), Mason Ferber(hurdles, TJ) and Agro Gushwa (middledistance, jumps), and sophomores DanielNydegger (distance) and Teddy Gushwa(middle distances, PV).

Hannegrefs, ninth in the state in thetriple jump, graduated along withNathaniel Techau, Jerret Utpadel and BenLewer.

“I really think we are the team to beat inthe Gopher Conference meet,” said Ferber.“We have a bunch of good athletes on thisteam who are versatile in many events. If

we stay healthy and work hard, we will bea tough team. We hope to send a few guysto state. Brady came home with two statemedals last year. We have a few guys onthe team who would like to join him upthere this year.”

The Panthers sure started the seasonstrong, at least under a roof, dominatingthe Gopher Conference Indoor Meet atMankato March 23. They scored 152points to 96 for second-place WEM.Maple River was fourth with 57.

For the most part, Ferber feels goodabout the Panthers’ overall depth.

“We have a lot of strengths on thisteam,” he said. “We have at least one solidperformer in each of the events. Our weak-ness is to find that second performer ineach event. We have a few events wherewe are loaded, but we have to find a fewguys to step up this year into scorers.”

The key to success for the Panthers liesin their leadership.

“These guys have been around for sixyears,” he said. “They know how to win.

They work hard and play hard. We have aton of fun in track, but we also know whento get to business. This trickles down to theyounger guys who are learning how tokeep that balance.”

Ferber has several assistants, Chuck

Crabtree in the throws, Corrine Schullerwith hurdles and junior high, LarryNydegger with distance and horizontaljumps, and T.J. Schiltz with distances andjumps.

Can theboys doit again?

BOYS’ TRACK — Front from left: Sam Christenson, Conner Nelson, Parker Bunn, Graden Karl, Sawyer Prigge,Gavin Anderson, Eric Arvis, Matthew Mueller. Row two: John Hoelscher, Charlie Nissen, Porter Peterson, NicPetsinger, Lonnie Wilson. Row three: Teddy Gushwa, Mason Ferber, Alex Buckmeier, Ralph Roesler, IsaacBorchert. Back: Daniel Nydegger, Brandon Howieson, Brady Agrimson, Jacob Schuller, Michiah VanSyckel,Jaxon Beck, Max Seltun. Star Eagle photo by Chris Schlaak

— Track and field —

Star Eagle SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW Thursday, April 4, 2019 3


When you look at the list of returningletterwinners for the NRHEG girls’ trackand field team, one thing definitely standsout.

It’s very long.The Panthers, fourth last year in the con-

ference and sub-section, have no less than14 lettwinners back for 29th-year headcoach Duey Ferber.

The list includes seniors OliviaChristopherson (hurdles, TJ), CaitlinGoette (middle distance), Jayna Finseth(middle distance) and Hannah Budach(throws), juniors Jade Mely (distance),Maggie Maloney (sprints, jumps) andDiamond Woolard (throws), sophomoreNatalie Johnson (hurdles, sprints, relays),freshmen Journey Utpadel (middle dis-tance) and Elsa Gushwa (sprints, jumps),and eighth-grader Racquel Fischer(sprints, jumps).

The Panthers graduated only two sen-iors last year, throwers Lauren Herrmannand Katie Crabtree.

So what does Ferber expect this spring?“We have a lot of returning scorers from

last year’s team,” he said. “We need todevelop more scoring. I see us being avery similar team to last year. We do havesome younger girls who have gottenstronger, so I see them having a muchimproved year.”

The Panthers opened the season with astrong showing in the Gopher ConferenceIndoor Meet, where they finished tied forthird with 74 points, 2.5 points away fromfirst.

Ferber figures the Panthers will be toughin the throws and middle distances.

“I think the bulk of our improvementhas to happen in sprints and jumpingevents,” he said. “We do have a number ofolder athletes who know how to work andwill be helping the younger athletes withproper form and work ethic.”

The key to success forthe Panthers? Accordingto Ferber, it’s attitude.

“We have girls whohave a great attitudetowards track and field,”he said. “Our goal thisyear in every event is toget better, set personalgoals and work hard toachieve them. We will seehow the current snow on the groundeffects our early season workouts, but wehave been down this road before.”

Ferber is assisted by Chuck Crabtree(throws), Corrine Schuller (hurdles, juniorhigh), Larry Nydegger (distance, horizon-tal jumps) and T.J. Schiltz (distance,jumps).

GIRLS’ TRACK — Front from left: Jayna Finseth, Darian Pearson, Hannah Budach, Caitlin Goette. Row two:Olivia Kofstad, Tori Vaale, Natalie Johnson, Josie Strom, Kathryn Kofstad, Evelyn Nydegger, Alexis Chambers,Faith Borchert. Back: Elsa Gushwa, Journey Utpadel, Lorelei Strom, Diamond Woolard, Ashley Wobschall,Micaela Vaale. Star Eagle photo by Chris Schlaak

Ferber

2019 Panther Track and FieldConference: GopherSection: Section 2A, Sub-section 5ACoaches: Head coach Duey Ferber, 29th year; assistant

coaches Chuck Crabtree, Corrine Schuller, Larry Nygaard,T.J. Schiltz

Last year: Boys: First in conference; Girls: Fourth in con-ference and sub-section

Key losses: Boys: Ryan Hannegrefs, Nathaniel Techau,Jerret Utpadel, Ben Lewer; Girls: Lauren Herrmann, KatieCrabtree

Key returnees: Boys: Brady Agrimson, Lonnie Wilson,Jacob Schuller; Girls: Caitlin Goette, Olivia Christopherson

Coach’s quote: “These guys have been around for sixyears. They know how to win.”

ON THE COVER — Coach Duey Ferber, entering his 29th season in charge of NRHEG track and field, displaysnew uniforms to his team. Star Eagle photo by Chris Schlaak

— Track and field — Girls haveplenty ofleadership



Regardless of wins or losses, there’salways at least one thing you can say aboutthe prospects for a softball team coachedby Wendy Schultz.

It will be fun — especially if the coachhas a relative on the team.

That’s again the case for the 2019NRHEG High School squad as Schultzenters her 21st season at the helm and heryoungest daughter Sidney returns to thevarsity as an 8th-grader.

Schultz, assisted this year by NateJensen, guided the Panthers to a record of3-3 in the Gopher Conference and 11-9overall last spring. The Panthers are 233-155 under her leadership, which hasspanned from 1993-2004, 2010-2014 and2016 to the present.

The Panthers graduate a pair of qualityplayers in Gabby Muri and MakenziRhodes, Muri winning the team’s GoldenBat Award last year while Rhodes won theOil Can Award.

The good news?No less than eight starters return.They include senior Alexis Anderson

(OF), junior Paige Knudson (SS), sopho-mores Sarah Johns (IF/P), and CloieArndt, freshmen Sophie Stork (P/IF),Grace Tufte (OF) and Ava Kyllo (IF), andSidney Schultz, who pitches and plays inthe field wherever needed.

Knudson, winner of the team’s GoldenGlove Award last year, was chosen all-conference and was named the Panthers’MVP along with Stork, who also capturedall-conference honors.

Juniors Madie DenHerder, JaynaDomeier and Madelyn Broton-Andersonround out the Panthers’ roster, which couldinclude some other underclassmen by theend of the season.

According to CoachSchultz, the Panthers’varsity experience is abit deceptive.

“We have eight of ournine starters back fromlast year’s team, but weare still very young,” shesaid.

Consistent play andcontinuous improvement are the keys tosuccess.

“We hope to get better and improvethroughout the entire season and be play-ing our best ball at tournament time,” saidCoach Schultz, who feels good about thePanthers’ work ethic, attitude and teamspeed.

The coach’s biggest concern?“Youth,” she said. “And people playing

in new positions.”Schultz sees the Gopher Conference as

pretty balanced this season.

2019 Panther Softball

Conference: Gopher; Section: 2AACoach: Head coach Wendy Schultz, 21st sea-

son, overall record 233-155; assistant coach NateJensen

Last year: 3-3 conference, 11-9 overallKey losses: Gabby Muri, Golden Bat Award;

Makenzi Rhoades, Oil Can AwardKey returnees: Last year’s co-MVPs Paige

Knudson and Sophie StorkPlayer to watch: Paige KnudsonCoach’s comment: “We have eight of nine

starters back from last year’s team, but we are stillpretty young.”

SOFTBALL PANTHERS — Front from left: Paige Knudson, Cloie Arndt, Alexis Anderson, Sidney Schultz. Back:Jayna Domeier, Grace Tufte, Sophie Stork, Sarah Johns, Ava Kyllo, Madie DenHerder.

Star Eagle photo by Chris Schlaak

W. Schultz

NRHEGreturns8 starters

— Softball —


The post-Jeff Reese era hasn’t alwaysbeen easy for the NRHEG baseball team.

But this spring there are some good rea-sons for optimism.

The Panthers, 4-6 in the GopherConference and 5-9 overall last year,return seven solid letterwinners, includingtheir top three pitchers.

“If we can replace a couple of bats inour lineup, we should be a tough out at theend of the season,” said head coach DrewPaukert.

Returning Panthers include seniorsSpencer Tufte (1B/P), Graham Kyllo (OF),Sawyer VanMaldeghem (IF) and DevinBuendorf (OF/P), junior Jake Tasker (IF/P,and sophomores Nick Staloch (IF/P) andKordell Schlaak (IF).

Tasker, all-conference last year and co-winner of the Panthers’ Golden ArmAward, enters his third season on the var-sity and is again expected to be NRHEG’sNo. 1 pitcher.

“Jake has the ability to throw a numberof pitches for strikes,” said Paukert. “Healready has experience throwing in bigspots and games for us. We expect him tocontinue to get the ball in big games.”

Tasker was also among team leaders inseveral offensive categories a year ago.

VanMaldeghem, a football standout, isstarting his fourth varsity season.

“Sawyer has a ton of ability and will bea key piece for our team,” said Paukert.“He is one of the more gifted players Ihave coached in my five seasons. He cov-ers a lot of ground at shortstop and is ableto make plays a lot of high school playerscannot.”

Tufte, who shared theGolden Arm Award lastyear, emerged as thePanthers’ clear-cut No. 2starter during the 2018season.

“Spencer has the abili-ty to change up speedsand keep hitters off bal-ance,” said Paukert.

At the plate, Tufte waskey in the cleanup spot last spring, finish-ing among the team leaders in hits, battingaverage and RBIs.

Tufte won the team’s Golden Bat Awardlast spring while Kyllo won the GoldenGlove honor.

“We bring a number of players back, soexperience should be something that wehave a decent amount of this spring,” saidPaukert. “We will need to fill some holesin the outfield early on in the season.However, we feel that we can be a compet-itive team this spring in the GopherConference.”


SET FOR THE SEASON — Front from left: Blake Ihrke, Kordell Schlaak. Back: Addison Deyle, Graham Kyllo,Spencer Tufte, Jake Tasker, Quinten Arndt, Sawyer VanMaldeghem, Nick Staloch. Star Eagle photo by Chris Schlaak

2019 NRHEG Baseball

Conference: Gopher; Section: 2AACoaches: Head coach Drew Paukert, fourth year;

assistant coaches ShwaMark Lee, Shawn Larson,Ryan Evans, Eli Lutgens

Last year: 5-9 overall, 4-6 conferenceKey losses: Four-year starter Cole StalochKey returnees: Jake Tasker, Sawyer

VanMaldeghem, Spencer TufteKey games: April 8 vs. WEM; April 30 at WEMPlayer to watch: Jake TaskerCoach’s comment: “If we can replace a couple of

bats in our lineup, we should be a tough out at theend of the season.”

— Baseball —

Panthershopefulfor 2019Top pitchers return

Paukert

Baseball continued on 7



You can’t help but be optimistic aboutthe prospects for the 2019 NRHEG HighSchool golf teams.

They didn’t graduate anybody.Everyone’s back on both the boys’ and

girls’ side for head coach Brad Root,who’s been at the school for 31 years.

Leading the boys are Trevor Lenort,Atom Oquist, Josh Martin, ChuckPittmann, Tory Christensen, PorterPeterson, Bo Budach and Nash Howe. Alllettered last year.

They combined for a record of 5-13 inthe regular season, finishing fifth in theconference tournament and 12th at sub-section.

“We had a good season last year and theboys got some good experience, so we arepretty well set on six varsity spots,” saidRoot. “We will again have good numberson the boys side, so someone may emergeas a surprise to help us. We did not havemany JV meets last year, so the non-varsi-ty players didn’t get much meet experi-ence. The varsity boys have pretty goodgolf skills, but need to work on the mentalside of the game and course mangementthis year and consistency.”

Also on the boys’ squad are EthanStrenge, John Hoelscher, Andre Wisler,Riley Chicos, Asa Jonson, Cale Platness,Alex Cords, Maverik Bueltel, BlakeEustice, Brady Schlaak and Blake Olson.

Al Shultz assists Root with the boys’squad.

Returning starters for the girls includeGrace Cummins, Sydney Koziolek, EllieBaker, Kia Buendorf and Julia Churchill.

The girls won the conference champi-onship and finished sixth in the sub-sec-tion, posting a regular-season record of 15-7.

Other members of the squad are Clair

Pittmann and CheGarcia.

Assisting with thegirls’ team are Shultzand Brad Huse.

“Course mangement isa huge part of the gameas well as becomingstrong mentally,” saidRoot. “We need to movefrom being practiceplayers to tournament players. Makingsure they are prepared for whatever weath-er conditions exist, as well as dealing withsituations on the course, will be a priority.We would like to advance our team to sec-tion and get an all-conference selection ortwo this year. As always, we want our stu-dent athletes to enjoy the sport and havefun while at the same time representingour school well. In order to best enjoy thegame, a good grasp of the rules of golf isnecessary. We will be working on the rulesand golf etiquette, so our golfers will beknowledgeable and welcome wherever wetravel to play.”

Everyonereturningfor NRHEG

Root

BOYS’ GOLF — From left: Riley Chicos,Carter Stenzel, Trevor Lenort, Andrew Hoelsher, Maverik Bueltel, ThorRouth, Issac Smith, Josh Martin, Chuck Pittman. Star Eagle photo by Chris Schlaak

— Golf —

“We need to move from being practiceplayers to tournament players.”

— Coach Brad Root


GIRLS’ GOLF — From left: Sydney Koziolek, Grace Wilkenson.Star Eagle photo by Chris Schlaak

— Golf —

A big reason for that is their pitchingdepth.

“It should be a strength for us,” saidPaukert.

One question mark is an inexperiencedinfield. The lone player graduated fromlast year’s squad was Cole Staloch, a four-year starter who could play several posi-tions. He also led the team in hitting.

“We return a three-year and a two-yearstarter in our infield,” said Paukert. “Therest will be comprised of sophomores whostarted for us as freshmen and a seniorwho came along nicely last spring.”

Aside from VanMaldeghem, Paukert isalso concerned about the Panthers’ overallspeed.

“We lost a number of top base steals offlast year’s team, and a couple injuries lastfall left us missing a few kids as well,”said Paukert. “We will have to pick andchoose our times to be aggressive on thebases.”

Paukert said the Panthers need to estab-lish their outfield and find out who willhopefully fill the offensive void left byStaloch’s graduation.

“We will have to find some ways to do abetter job of hitting for average thisspring,” said Paukert. “Last season as awhole, we struggled to get hits when weneeded them. We will also have to be more

consistent on the mound in terms of throw-ing strikes. Walking people often and earlyin innings was an Achilles heel for us lastyear. We hope with all three of our topguys returning, this could possibly be astrength for us this spring.”

Paukert, assisted by Shawn Larson andMark Lee, has a four-year head coachingrecord of 27-51. He lists WEM andMedford as the conference favorites.

2019 NRHEG Baseball

April 2 Tri-City United 5:00April 4 at USC 5:00April 5 Mankato Loyola 5:00April 8 WEM 5:00April 11 Maple River 5:00April 12 JWP 5:00April 15 at Medford 5:00April 18 at Blooming Prairie 5:00April 22 at Hayfield 5:00April 25 Bethlehem Academy 5:00April 29 USC 5:00April 30 at WEM 5:00May 2 at Maple River 5:00May 9 Blooming Prairie 5:00May 10 at Kenyon-Wanamingo 5:00May 13 Hayfield 5:00May 16 at Bethlehem Academy 5:00May 17 at Byron 5:00May 21 Blue Earth Area 5:00

• Baseballfrom Page 5



As usual, the numbers are good for theNRHEG clay target shooting team.

The Panthers have a total of 48 athletesthis spring from NRHEG and Waseca.Among them are 15 returning lettermen.

“Any number of athletes could findthemselves in a leadership position,” saidcoach Dan Sorum, who’s assisted by KimOlson, Al Kraay, Michael DenHerder andMatt Beauvais.

The squad graduated some strong sen-iors in Chancellor Olson, EvanDobberstein, Alex Romer and NoahAlinder, whom Sorum said shared long-term experience and notable skills.

“Each of them has served as a leader inone fashion or another and will be missedthis season,” said Sorum.

While the top two shooters graduated,not far behind them were Caden Beauvaisand Alex Dobberstein. Both performedwell in the spring and fall seasons as wellas at the Minnesota State Championshipand the USA Clay Target Championship.

“Both have excellent experience,” saidSorum.

And they’re young. Beauvais is a soph-omore, Dobberstein a freshman.

The roster also includes Quinten Arndt,Sean Beauvais, Ned Bell, Jackson Chrz,Thomas Cliff, Levi Denherder, IsaacDenOuden, Alden Dobberstein, AdamEustice, Jason Flatness, Cale Gruenhagen,Rylee Hagen Ben Harguth, Drew Harguth,Leo Ingvaldson, Dylan Kraay, DaltonKrampitz, Walker Krueger, Owen Kuhns,Buck Lenort, Ross Lenort, Keira Lenort,Trevor Lenort, Ian Medin, Makota MisgenBryce Mudgett, Grady Murphy, WilliamNorton, Conner Okland, Andrew Phillips,Charles Pittman, Braxtyn Possin, AshtonRaimann, Evan Reyna, George Roesler,

Ralph Roesler, ReeseRouth, Riley Schultz,Tristan Simon, ClayStenzel, Aspyn StenzelCody Weber, NeelaWencl, Olivia Wencl,Andrew Wisler and SamZimmerman.

“This is a young teamthis year,” said Sorum.“Of the 48 athletes, just

five are seniors. At the same time we have23 junior high athletes in grades 6-8, sothere is a definite lack of experiencedshooters.”

That does not mean the squad is nothopeful.

“We are optimistic,” said Sorum. “Theolder students possess excellent skills, andbased on last fall’s team, the young ath-letes have great mechanics. With enoughtime and practice play, it is the ability ofthe team to be strong from top to bottomthat makes for a competitive season andwe certainly have that.”

Last year’s squad won its conferencequite handily, though the shooters did not

fare as well in the state championships anddid not qualify for the state tournament. Inits first-ever entry in the USA Clay TargetNational Championships, the team fin-ished 10th among more than 170 teamsfrom 19 states.

That squad was led by EvanDobberstein and Olson, who tied a team

record for targets hit out of 100 at thenational shoot.

The fall season was a rebuilding one forthe team, with a number of shooters intheir first season, but Sorum said thatexperience should carry over well into thespring.

SHARP SHOOTERS — The 2018 NRHEG fall clay target squad has another season of experience under its belt,leading to optimism this spring for head coach Dan Sorum and his staff. Submitted photo

Still-youngsquad addsanother yearof experience

Sorum

— Clay target —

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