The Otter Tail Central Bulldogs put together a strong team performance under the lights at the Dragon Twilight Meet, competing against a deep field of 30 teams and turning in season bests, personal records and top finishes across multiple races.

In the middle school races, Jude Hagemeister impressed with a seventh place finish in the boys 3000-meter with a time of 11:06 PR. Claire Mansker with a time of 12:16 PR and Bella Scholten with a time of 12:58 PR ran strong in the girls 3000-meter, placing seventh and 17th respectively.

On the varsity side, senior Peter Newark led the way, clocking 16:13 for eighth place in the boys Terry Harrington 5000-meter, just 3 seconds off his own school record. Seniors Talyn Setterholm with a time of 17:27 and Phoenix Allison with a time of 18:47, along with freshman Drew Robinson with a time of 18:17 and sophomore Benjamin Sanmoogan with a time of 20:06, all set big personal records. Junior Oren Brackin with a time of 21:04 and senior Nelson Hubert with a time of 20:48 turned in strong season marks, while junior Jack Robinson with a time of 21:40 rounded out the varsity group. 

The JV boys squad saw improvements across the board, highlighted by PRs from Ethan Sonju with a time of 18:51, Fred Scott with a time of 19:19 and Nathan Sanmoogan with a time of 25:32. Freshman Liam Daniel with a time of 18:20 and senior Gabriel Smedsrud with a time of 21:04 added valuable depth.

On the girls’ side, the varsity 5K featured standout performances from a young crew. Quinn Hagemeister with a time of 22:05 led the way with a PR, while Tegan Brandon with a time of 22:29 SB, Kailie Robinson with a time of 22:41 PR, Delia Tebrugge with a time of 23:57 SB and Mae Hagemeister with a time of 24:18 PR packed up well and showed major progress. In the JV 4000-meter, senior Jasmine Sanmoogan capped the evening with a personal best of 23:04.

Next up, the Bulldogs travel to St. Paul on September 20 for a varsity-only showdown at one of the nation’s premier meets — The Roy Griak Invitational.