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The Dogs won the conference title for the first time since 2001. Cathedral had beaten the Dogs for the title by a half point in 2002 and by 50 points in 2003.

Cathedral was rated in state in Class AA and had already beaten the Bulldogs by 40 points at a meet in Paynesville in April.

"We really thought Cathedral had too much for any of the teams in the conference,but they didn't perform well in this meet and that opened up a chance for us to win the title," said coach Dave Randgaard. "The coaches are pleasantly surprised that we knocked off Cathedral. These girls deserve to be the conference champs!"

Eighth grader Melanie Koerner earned All Conference honors by running a leg on the Dogs' second-place 3,200 meter relay.

The Dogs' goal going into the meet was to earn as many All Conference honors as possible, by finishing either first or second in an event. The Dogs did not field their full lineup in the meet either because they also had the state true team meet on Saturday.

Seven Paynesville girls - senior Jessica Paul, junior Kendra Johnson, sophomore Tara Schmidt, ninth graders Tanis Beireis and Kacy Nehowig, and eighth graders Kaitlyn Frenchick and Melanie Koerner - earned All Conference honors. They placed either first or second in nine events.

Paul won the pole vault, and Nehowig won the 3,200-meter run for the Bulldogs, who also had seven runner-up finishes that earned All Conference honors.

Johnson took second in three events - 100-meter hurdles, 300-meter hurdles, and the high jump - to lead the team with three All Conference honors. Schmidt earned two, placing second in the 200-meter dash and the long jump, and just missed a third.

Beireis and Nehowig also earned two All Conference honors. Beireis was second in the pole vault, and Nehowig won the 3,200-meter run, and they both ran legs on the Dogs' second-place 3,200-meter relay, along with Frenchick and Koerner.

The Dogs had four third-place finishes, just missing All Conference honors: junior Brittany Lieser in the high jump, Koerner in the 400-meter dash, Schmidt in the 100-meter dash, and the 1,600-meter relay (Koerner, Johnson, seventh grader Kally Felling, and Schmidt).

The Dogs also had three events where they placed three individuals in the top eight in the conference. In the 100-meter hurdles, Johnson was second, sophomore Ashley Lieser was fifth, and eighth grader Natalie Leadem was seventh. In the triple jump, Frenchick was fifth, Brittany Lieser was sixth, and sophomore Tanya Whitcomb was seventh. And in the pole vault, Paul was first, Beireis second, and ninth grader Tina Liestman was fourth.

Johnson and Schmidt earned All Conference honors for the third straight year. Beireis and Nehowig earned All Conference honors for the second straight year.

This week, the Dogs competed at subsections at Annandale on Wednesday, May 26. The top four in each event - the top two in relays - will advance to sections next week on Wednesday, June 2, at St. John's University.

Team scores
1. Paynesville 155
2. Cathedral 146
3. LPGE 141
4. Albany 93
4. Sauk Centre 93
6. Melrose 52

Individual Results
100-meter hurdles: Kendra Johnson, second, 16.5 (All Conference); Ashley Lieser, fifth, 18.00; Natalie Leadem, seventh, 19.50;
300-meter hurdles: Johnson, second, 46.81 (All Conference); Lieser, sixth, 51.0;
100-meter dash: Tara Schmidt, third, 13.23; Brianna Jaeger, sixth, 13.53;
200-meter dash: Schmidt, second, 27.22 (All Conference);
400-meter dash: Melanie Koerner, third, 1:05.4;
800-meter run: Kaitlyn Frenchick, fifth, 2:36;
1,600-meter run: Tanis Beireis, fourth, 5:41;
3,200-meter run: Kacy Nehowig, first, 11:41 (All Conference);
400-meter relay: Kacie Wander, Randi Schaefer, Jaeger, and Jess Paul, fifth, 54.4;
800-meter relay: Lieser, Kally Felling, Leah Felling, and Jaeger, fourth, 1:54.6;
1,600-meter relay: Koerner, Johnson, Kally Felling, and Schmidt, third, 4:19.6;
3,200-meter relay: Koerner, Frenchick, Nehowig, and Beireis, second, 10:34 (All Conference);
Discus: Paul, fifth, 89' 3"; Peggy Thompson, seventh, 84' 9";
Shot put: Paul, eighth, 28' 7";
High jump: Johnson, second, 4' 10" (All Conference); Brittany Lieser, third, 4' 10"; Schaefer, sixth, 4' 6";
Long jump: Schmidt, second, 15' 11 1/2" (All Conference);
Triple jump: Frenchick, fifth, 29' 7 1/2"; Brittany Lieser, sixth, 29' 7 1/4"; Tanya Whitcomb, seventh, 29' 1 1/2";
Pole vault: Paul, first, 7' 6" (All Conference); Beireis, second, 7' (All Conference); Tina Liestman, fourth, 7'.