PERHAM, Minn (KWAD) — The Perham Yellowjackets hosted their annual Brave Like Gabe meet at Arvig Park to kick off the 2025 Cross Country season, and showed why their boys team is ranked #1 in Class AA and the Yellowjacket girls are ranked #2 with dominant first place finishes over some of the biggest programs in the state.

The Sixth Annual Brave Like Gabe, which began in 2019 with only about a dozen schools, was created to celebrate the life and legacy of Gabriele “Gabe” Grunewald — the Perham native, NCAA All-American, and professional middle-distance runner whose inspiring fight with adenoid cystic carcinoma, a rare cancer, touched athletes across the world before her passing in 2019. The meet supports the Brave Like Gabe Foundation, which raises awareness and funds for rare cancer research. In just a few short years, it has blossomed into a must-run stop on the fall cross-country calendar. In 2025, the Invitational had swelled to more than 1,000 runners from 46 schools from North Dakota, greater Minnesota as well as the Metro area, and nearly 6,000 spectators at Arvig Park. Over the years, more than $10,000 has been raised through donations, merchandise, and concessions, money that has gone directly toward the fight against rare cancers.

The Invite features seven races across two divisions: a Mighty Mite run, followed by a 3200m boys and girls junior high race, Black and Gold division boys and girls JV races, and Black and Gold division boys and girls varsity races.

Perham XC swept the Gold Division (made up of AA and AAA schools), with all boys five scorers finishing in the top 12, and the top five girls’ scorers finishing in the top 20. Senior Matt Jorgenson was the first Perham runner across, placing fourth overall with a time of 16:17. Senior Dylan Guck (16:42), sophomore Bryce Brown (16:44), and freshman Brody Freeland (16:44) packed in together to finish seventh, eighth, and ninth. Senior Henry Mathiason (16:47) was close behind in 12th place to give the Jackets 40 points for the race. The overall winner was Lucas Capistrant of Maple Grove, who blazed to a personal-best 15:49, while Edina’s Sander Ohe (2nd, 15:58) and Detroit Lakes’ Connor Malecka (3rd, 16:04) rounded out the podium.

In the Girls Gold Race, senior Gracie Morris began her senior campaign leading Perham to 66 total points with an eighth-place finish and a time of 19:33. Freshman Julianna Scraper (19:36) and senior Avalee Brown (19:38) finished eleventh and twelfth. Seniors Chayla Sweere (19:45) was 18th and Caidyn Breid (19:55) was 21st. Freshman Rory Kaldor was the sixth runner in with a 22nd place finish and a time of 19:56. Eighth-grader Claire Grinde of Hillsboro/Central Valley (ND) won the race with a time of 18:28, eking out junior Mykenna Johnson of Shanley by .01.

In the Black Division (Class A schools), St. Cloud Cathedral’s girls team cruised to a win with 30 points with all five scorers in the top 11. Senior Lilly Jamison (3rd, 20:14), junior Katelyn Waldoch (5th, 20:28), sophomore Enya Scanlon (6th, 20:34), eighth-grader Kaylee Prom (9th, 20:47), and eighth-grader Rosalie Schad (11th, 20:53) sealed the victory. Norah Froslee of Parkers Prairie took the individual title in 19:48, just ahead of Riverside Christian sixth-grader Emelia Arntson (2nd, 19:52). Parkers Prairie also placed senior Sophie Pfeffer 10th.

Wadena-Deer Creek placed three runners in the top 20: Junior Karly Haverkamp (20:55), was 12th, senior Lydia Oldakowski (21:41) was 16th, and junior Brielle Kern (21:57) was 19th to lead WDC to a third-place finish with 86 points, one point behind Riverside Christian’s 85 for second place.

In the Boys Black Division 5K, Ottertail Central senior Peter Newark claimed the individual championship in 16:50, while Wadena-Deer Creek senior Grant Nelson finished runner-up in 17:01. Nelson’s Wolverines finishes second as a team with 72 points, trailing only Kindred (ND)’s 49. Hawley finished third with a team score of 77.

WDC senior Owen Anderson finished 12th (18:00), senior Evan Schmidt was 17th (18:18), and freshman Lane Kaufman was 19th (18:28).

The upcoming week features more Cross Country action for a lot of Park Region and Heart o Lakes Conference teams, with meets at Staples (Monday, 8/25), Breckenridge (Thursday, 8/28) and Brainerd (Friday, 8/29) this week.

FIND COMPLETE BRAVE LIKE GABE MEET RESULTS HERE

Brave Like Gabe Girls Varsity Black Division — Team Scores
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1. St. Cloud Cathedral 30
2. Riverside Christian 85
3. Wadena-Deer Creek 86
4. Barnesville 129
5. Hawley 149
6. Montevideo 165
7. Kindred 172
8. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 179
9. Parkers Prairie 185
10. Frazee 192

Brave Like Gabe Boys Varsity Black Division — Team Scores
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1. Kindred 49
2. Wadena-Deer Creek 72
3. Hawley 77
4. Sibley East 108
5. St. Cloud Cathedral 119
6. Hillsboro/Central Valley148
7. Ottertail Central 154
8. Montevideo 162
9. Barnesville 259
10. Pelican Rapids 269

Brave Like Gabe Girls Varsity Gold Division — Team Scores (Brave Like Gabe Invite)
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1. Perham 66
2. Hopkins 82
3. Shanley 101
4. Maple Grove 140
5. Moorhead 145
6. Little Falls 149
7. Willmar 152
8. Hillsboro/Central Valley169
9. Bemidji 178
10. Fargo North 311
11. Detroit Lakes 326
12. Fargo South 349

Boys Varsity Gold Division — Team Scores (Brave Like Gabe Invite)
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1. Perham 40
2. Eastview 94
3. Edina 114
4. Maple Grove 147
5. Shanley 149
6. Moorhead 151
7. Bemidji 154
8. Hopkins 173
9. Willmar 215
10. Detroit Lakes 270
11. Pequot Lakes 272
12. Fargo North 313
13. Little Falls 368
14. Fargo South 408

Brave Like Gabe Girls Varsity Black — Top 10
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1. Norah Froslee, Parkers Prairie 19:48
2. Emelia Arntson, Riverside Christian 19:52
3. Lilly Jamison, St. Cloud Cathedral 20:14
4. Paige Gardiner, Sibley East 20:19
5. Katelyn Waldoch, St. Cloud Cathedral20:28
6. Enya Scanlon, St. Cloud Cathedral 20:34
7. Ella Arntson, Riverside Christian 20:35
8. Cassidy Rotz, Barnesville 20:37
9. Kaylee Prom, St. Cloud Cathedral 20:47
10. Sophie Pfeffer, Parkers Prairie 20:50

Brave Like Gabe Boys Varsity Black — Top 10
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1. Peter Newark, Ottertail Central 16:50
2. Grant Nelson, WDC 17:01
3. Elija Deck, Kindred 17:28
4. Tyler Gronwold, Kindred 17:32
5. Julio Alejandro, Sibley East 17:32
6. Gage Horstman, Sibley East 17:34
7. Niko Zink, Hillsboro/Central Valley 17:51
8. Cade Westby, Kindred 17:53
9. Drew Knecht, Hawley 17:53
10. Carson Rolph, St. Cloud Cathedral 17:56

Brave Like Gabe Girls Varsity Gold (Brave Like Gabe) — Top 10
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1. Claire Grinde, Hillsboro/CV 18:28
2. Mykenna Johnson, Shanley 18:28
3. Lucy Grothmann, Shanley 19:07
4. April Watson, Maple Grove 19:23
5. Gabby Martinez, Willmar 19:23
6. Caroline Anderson, Hillsboro/CV 19:28
7. Morgan Waechter, Hopkins 19:30
8. Gracie Morris, Perham 19:33
9. Kyra Rohrbach, Pequot Lakes 19:33
10. Chloe Derby, Bemidji 19:34

Brave Like Gabe Boys Varsity Gold (Brave Like Gabe) — Top 10
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1. Lucas Capistrant, Maple Grove 15:49
2. Sander Ohe, Edina 15:58
3. Connor Malecka, Detroit Lakes 16:04
4. Matt Jorgenson, Perham 16:17
5. Rocco Hawthorne Arroyo, Edina 16:34
6. Owen Sampson, Eastview 16:35
7. Dylan Guck, Perham 16:42
8. Bryce Brown, Perham 16:43
9. Brody Freeland, Perham 16:44
10. Ethan Erickson, Shanley 16:45