NEW RICHLAND &8212; The New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva boys&8217; track team hosted the Panther Unlimited Thursday afternoon and finished in second place, just one point behind Triton. The Cobras posted a score of 63 followed by NRHEG&8217;s 62 with the Awesome Blossoms of Blooming Prairie bringing up the rear with 44.

&8220;Of course it was disappointing to come in second as a team by just one point,&8221; said Panther head coach Mike Weber. &8220;There are a thousand ways to get one more point in a meet. It&8217;s a team sport where everyone on the entire squad is needed for your success.&8221;

The Panthers had three individual first place finishers, including Eric Olson with a throw of 123 feet 7 inches in the discus, Zac Swanson cleared 11 feet in the pole vault and Kyle Bayerkohler posted a time of 2:27.8 in the 800. Also finishing first was the 4×100 relay team of Greg Ramaker, Keith Billing, Tim Bartness, and Zac Swanson with a time of 47.1

&8220;This was Zac Swanson&8217;s first time winning the pole vault event,&8221; Weber said. &8220;Eric Olson did the same in the discus, winning over some very tough teammates to take first place for the first time.&8221;