Otter Tail Central hosted this year’s Park Region Conference cross country championships at Balmoral Golf Course, where the Bulldogs put together an impressive showing across all divisions. Competing against strong teams from across the region, OTC runners displayed grit, teamwork and steady improvement to cap off their regular season.

Junior high boys 

(3,200-meters)

Seventh grader Jude Hagemeister led the way for OTC, racing to a strong first-place finish in a time of 12:08.01, securing an individual conference title. Teammates Stone Spanswick (15:08.82) and Ronan Armstrong (15:29.92) rounded out the Bulldog trio in the top half of the field.

United North Central captured the team title with a perfect score of 15 points.

Varsity boys 

(5,000-meters)

The OTC boys’ varsity team battled through a competitive field to place third overall with 68 points. Senior Peter Newark continued his standout season, earning runner-up honors in a time of 16:27.69, trailing only Bertha-Hewitt’s Brady Rach (15:49). Senior Talyn Setterholm delivered a clutch performance, placing 9th in 17:27, while Drew Robinson (17:54), Phoenix Allison (18:25), and Benjamin Sanmoogan (19:16) rounded out OTC’s scoring five.Oren Brackin (19:25) and Nelson Hubert (19:54) provided solid depth for the Bulldogs.

Bertha-Hewitt claimed the team title with 30 points.

Junior varsity boys

(5,000-meters)

The JV boys earned a runner-up team finish with 57 points behind Wadena-Deer Creek’s dominant squad.

Jack Robinson paced OTC with an eighth place finish in 20:12, followed by Liam Daniel (21:21), Ethan Sonju (23:02), Fred Scott (23:03) and Gabriel Smedsrud (23:23) to complete the team’s scoring effort.

Junior high girls 

(3,200-meters)

Seventh grader Bella Scholten brought home the individual conference championship with a winning time of 13:48.35, finishing just ahead of ABE’s top runners.

Her victory led the way for the future of OTC cross country, as she continues to build momentum heading into the postseason.

ABE captured the team title with 23 points.

Varsity girls 

(5,000-meters)

The OTC girls placed fourth overall in a competitive field of nine teams, finishing with 97 points.

Eighth grader Claire Mansker was the Bulldogs’ top finisher, placing 12th in 20:20.14, earning All-Conference recognition.

Junior Brielle Malone (21:30), senior Kailie Robinson (21:52), sophomore Tegan Brandon (21:52) and freshman Quinn Hagemeister (22:15) rounded out the top five scorers for the Bulldogs.

Senior Delia Tebrugge (23:32) and senior Mae Hagemeister (25:16) added valuable depth to OTC’s lineup.

United North Central claimed the team title with 51 points.

Junior varsity girls

(5,000-meters)

Senior Jasmine Sanmoogan led the OTC JV girls with a 7th-place finish in 27:15.59.

“Hosting the conference meet at Balmoral was a great way to showcase our program and community,” said head coach Brady Speicher. “We had some outstanding individual performances, and both teams ran with heart. I’m proud of how our athletes competed and represented OTC. Huge thank you to Balmoral for letting us host this event.”

Next up, the Bulldogs turn their focus to the Section 6A championships, where several runners will look to punch their ticket to the state meet.