GLENWOOD, Minn (KWAD) – A chilly fall evening framed a fast Minnewaska Area Invitational on Tuesday afternoon, and two area programs made the most of it. Wadena–Deer Creek delivered a complete-team statement on both sides—boys runner-up and girls runner-up—while Parkers Prairie rode a veteran-led surge to the girls’ team podium (3rd) and posted valuable individual efforts in the boys’ race.

No one could match a loaded New London–Spicer group (30 points), but the Wadena–Deer Creek girls took the fight to everyone else and came away second with 87 points, powered by five scorers inside the top 30 and a tidy 1:49 scoring spread. Karly Haverkamp (9th, 20:10.8) was terrific again, breaking up New London–Spicer’s scoring train and banking single-digit points. Lydia Oldakowski (17th, 20:36.4) and Cambrie Geiger (22nd, 21:15.0) kept the middle tight, while Brielle Kern (24th, 21:33.9) and Annika Spicer (28th, 22:00.1) slammed the door to complete a 1:45:36 top-five total (21:07 average). Danya Spicer (41st, 23:03.8) and Katelyn Reinke (47th, 23:20.3) provided insurance that mattered in a crowded mid-pack.

Just four places and 16 points back, Parkers Prairie climbed onto the podium in third (103) with a classic front-led, gritty-pack performance and a 1:46:44 scoring total (21:20 average). Senior Norah Froslee hammered to 6th in 19:36.1 (SB), Kaylee Vogt followed with a PR—11th in 20:19.8—giving the Panthers two inside the top dozen. Chloe Patrick (21st, 21:10.5) and Sophie Pfeffer (23rd, 21:33.2) kept Parkers Prairie’s scoring pulse steady before Olivia Christians (58th, 24:05.3) capped it. Displacers Izabella Vogt (62nd, 24:17.6) and Jaeda Porter (71st, 26:52.2) rounded out the Panthers seven.

Karissa Anderson of Border West won the girls race with a PR time of 18:37.9.

The Wadena–Deer Creek boys stacked five scorers inside the top 17 to take second with 57 points, chasing only a sharp Sauk Centre (47). The Wolverines’ statistical headline was a clinic in pack running: a 51-second 1–5 spread and 1:28:28 total (17:41 average). Grant Nelson, fresh off his win in Duluth over the weekend,  led the way for the Wolverines in 5th (17:07.0). Evan Schmidt uncorked a PR—10th in 17:39.9—and Noah Stroeing matched with his own PR—14th in 17:50.9. James Seelhammer (16th, 17:52.4) and Lane Kaufman (17th, 17:58.2) finished the five-man wall, both under 18 minutes. Depth continued with Brennan Simmons (24th, 18:25.6), Levi Nelson (41st, 19:15.1), Cooper Damlo (47th, 19:34.9), and Charles Peterson (58th, 20:01.2).

For Parkers Prairie, the night was about racing the clock and the course. With only two entrants, the Panthers didn’t score a team total, but Jayme O’Brien finished in 20:00.4 (57th), and Landon Hermanson crossed in 21:39.0 (76th)

Logan Wiehoff of Sauk Centre won the race in 16:10.0.

Minnewaska Area Invitational