NEW RICHLAND &045; With the True Team state meet two days away, it would have been easy for the New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva girls’ track and field team to overlook the Gopher Conference meet.

Instead, the Panthers dominated it.

The NRHEG girls racked up 182 points, more than double the total of the second and third-place teams combined, while repeating as conference champions in Thursday’s meet at New Richland.

&uot;I was glad to see the girls not overlook the conference on our way to the state True Team,&uot; said co-coach Duey Ferber. &uot;This is a special bunch of girls who are focused on winning.&uot;

Medford won the battle for second place, with 78 points. Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton was third with 70, followed by Waterville-Elysian-Morristown

with 69, Bethlehem Academy 65, Blooming Prairie 64, and Alden-Conger 28.

Camille Kyte claimed three of the Panthers’ seven firsts, winning the 100, 200 and 400 meters. She was third in the triple jump.

Nicole Lonning continued to own the throwing events, taking first in the shot put and discus.

The other firsts were by Kalisha Anthony in the pole vault and the 4×200 relay team of Emily Kofstad, Anthony, Brandis Hagen and Alison Anderson.

Jessica Brouwers, April Bayerkohler, Melissa Maurer and Michel Maurer were nipped at the wire in the 4×800, taking second, but broke the school record with a time of 10:44.

Also taking second were Anderson, 200; Brittany Schwartz, discus; and Kelsie Hansen, high jump.

Kofstad, Ellen Johnson, Michelle Dobberstein and Anthony finished third in the 4×100 relay. Ashley Misgen, Alicia Kaplan, Amber Sommers and Melissa Barber were third in the 4×400.

Other NRHEG places: Anthony, third, 100 hurdles; Misgen, third, 300

hurdles, sixth, 100 hurdles and sixth, high jump; Jean Raimann, fourth, shot put and fourth, discus; Kaplan, fourth, long jump and fifth, 400; Hansen, fourth, 100 hurdles and fourth, 300 hurdles; Anderson, fourth, 100; Hagen, fourth, high jump and sixth, 200; Karla Lewer, fourth, 1600 and fourth, 3200; Michel Maurer, fourth, 800; Kyree Wobbrock, fifth, shot put; Kofstad, sixth, long jump; Megan Groskreutz, sixth, pole vault; Melissa Maurer, sixth, 800.