The Otter Tail Central Bulldogs ran their last regular season race on Tuesday in Evansville. 

Erika Heibel captured the individual title, which led to a women’s team first place finish at the six team meet. Heibel’s time of 22:01 was nearly 20 seconds faster than the runner up from A-B-E, Ashley Paulson. Ally Goodman and Raeanne Frost finished in fifth and sixth place and Norah Froslee and Lanly Frost rounded out the top ten in ninth and 10th respectively to secure the team title. 

“The girls ran a great race,” said head coach Brady Speicher, “It was awesome to see Erika practically lead the race from start to finish. Everyone ran a smart race which is exactly what they will need to do next week as we gear up for the conference meet. I believe the girls can mix it up with Wadena who is the favorite and has been ranked in the top 10 of the state this year.”

On the boys side senior Isaac Scherfenberg yet again set the pace for the Bulldogs placing second. Eighth grader Talyn Setterholm was the only other Bulldog in the top 10, pacing fifth. 

The boys team ended up taking second place behind Bertha-Hewitt. In the JV race the Bulldogs set a perfect score of 15 to win the team title, Nathan Ross and Aiden Heggem finished in first and second while Norman Hoff and Taydon Soma took fourth and fifth and Quinn Condiff took 10th.

“We still have some work to do,” said Speicher when reflecting on the guys’ race. “We had some highlights like Talyn and Jonas stepping up and especially our JV guys having a perfect score. But we also see the areas that need improvement before next Tuesday if we want a chance to defend the conference title and I’m asking the seniors to help lead that charge.” 

Earlier in the week the junior high conference competed in their conference championship meet. Four Bulldogs earned all-conference honors including  Talyn Setterholm, Taydon Stoma, Ryan Despard, and Delia Tebrugge. 

“Our junior high had a great season. They are a fun, energetic group with potential that makes me excited for the next few years of this program,” said Speicher.