Newark takes first place at Brave Like Gabe meet

Contributed photo
Peter Newark took first place at the Brave Like Gabe cross country meet in Perham last week. Newark is leading an experienced cross country team into action this season.

The Otter Tail Central Bulldogs traveled to Perham last weekend for the annual Brave Like Gabe cross country meet, a race honoring the late Minnesota running legend Gabe Grunewald. Despite being short handed with seven Bulldogs missing from action, the team turned in gritty efforts across all levels of competition.

The highlight of the day came in the varsity boys’ race, where senior Peter Newark dominated the field. Newark surged to the front immediately and never looked back, leading from start to finish to claim the individual title in 16:50.0.

Behind him, senior Talyn Setterholm ran a strong 18:22.9 to place 18th, and senior Phoenix Allison clocked 19:34.9 for 34th place. Freshman Drew Robinson impressed with a 20:31.4 finish for 51st place, while senior Nelson Hubert (22:30.3, 75th place), junior Oren Brackin (22:54.6, 77th place) and junior Jack Robinson (24:07.6, 82nd place) rounded out the varsity lineup.

In junior varsity action, sophomore Ethan Sonju (25:43.6, 24th place), junior Fred Scott (26:11.0, 25th place) and senior Gabriel Smedsrud (29:09.0, 28th place) gained valuable racing experience.

The varsity girls showed tight pack running, led by senior Kailie Robinson in 24:17.3 (47th place). Just behind her were sophomore Tegan Brandon (24:31.5, 50th place) and junior Delia Tebrugge (24:33.5, 51st place), keeping the Bulldogs grouped together.

At the junior high level, eighth-grader Claire Mansker ran a personal record 13:13.2 to place ninth in the girls’ 3200. Seventh-grader Bella Scholten finished in 14:35.4 for 32nd place, while eighth grader Stone Spanswick clocked 15:54.7 for 105th place in the boys’ race.

The youngest Bulldog in action, fifth-grader Patrick Tebrugge, turned heads in the Mighty Mite races. He placed eighth with a 7:07.6. 

The Bulldogs will be back in action on Sept. 2 in Wadena and Sept. 5 at MSUM.