Our Panther Cross Country and Volleyball teams are on the road tomorrow, Thursday, October 8!
🏃 BEMIDJI CROSS COUNTRY INVITATIONAL
📍 Greenwood Golf Course
• Varsity Girls: 3:00 PM
• Boys Cross Country: 3:30 PM
• Additional Boys Race: 4:00 PM
• 7th and 8th Grade Boys: 4:30 PM
• 8th Grade Girls: 4:30 PM
🏐 PANTHER VOLLEYBALL AT NEVIS
📍 Nevis High School
• 7th Grade: 4:45 PM
• 8th Grade: 5:45 PM
• Junior Varsity: 5:45 PM
• Varsity: 6:45 PM
Good luck to all our Panther student-athletes! Compete hard, support one another, and represent Cass Lake-Bena with pride!
Thank you to Western Bank, our Game Day sponsor, for supporting Cass Lake-Bena activities!
GO PANTHERS! 🐾
#PantherPride #CLBCrossCountry #CLBVolleyball




🍂 Fall Special = Yearbook Savings!🍂
Don’t miss your chance to lock in your 2026–2027 Touchstones Yearbook at the special price of $65 + tax!
📸 A whole year of memories, friends, events, activities, quotes, surveys, sports, and everything that makes CLB unforgettable—all in one book.
⏰ Order by October 16 to get the $65 price!
💻 Order online at Jostens.com or pay in cash or check to Ms. Engel
Buy it now. Thank yourself later. 🐾📖
#CLBPanthers #TouchstonesYearbook #Yearbook2027 #CassLakeBena #PantherPride #YearbookMemories

On the girls varsity side, Tiara Wilson battled through her first 5K dealing with a hurt ankle. She finished in 27:06/ running 8:43 a mile for her very first 5k is no joke.
Tiara is human sunshine.
She brings energy, encouragement, and humor wherever she goes. She has a way of lifting the mood of the entire program simply by being herself. It’s fun watching her step into a new sport and compete.
Tiana Wind is also a very tough athlete, she finished 97th while battling an extremely tight soleus.
The soleus muscle is a shock absorber. It absorbs up to eight times your body weight when you run. She could have dropped out.
But that’s not Tiana.
For her, the victory was refusing to quit, pushing through the discomfort, and seeing it through all the way to the finish line.
Our younger Panthers got after it, too.
Jordince Wind battled runners from Bemidji and Roseau finishing 9th in 15:44.8 (7:52 pace). She came through the finish breathing hard and feeling that familiar pain every runner learns to appreciate.
Ask any runner, there’s magic in the misery. All that hard work earned her a medal in a DEEP field.
Jacie Robertson-Lyon crossed in 18:18.4 at 9:09 per mile, running almost exactly the same time as her previous meet, except this time she did it on an even TOUGHER course.
Jacie is a joy to watch because she is always smiling and eager to improve.
For the JH boys, Gavin Fineday ran 15:41.8 (7:50) for 39th, making another huge leap from last year. His PR last season was 17:09, meaning he has cut 90 WHOLE seconds off his best time.
His confidence has grown. At practice, Gavin now wants to run with the faster athletes. He is challenging himself to find out just how good he can become.
Keegan Cooper was right behind him in 15:46.6 for 41st out of 65 runners. He started cross country a month late, but he showed up, competed, and made the most of every opportunity.
Every meet teaches you something.
The Bagley Invitational showed the Panthers can compete with some of the strongest programs around.
The Panthers don’t back down.
They bite back.
Momentum IS a beautiful thing, and it’s fun watching the Panthers carry it forward.
The fields get deeper. The names on the starting line get tougher.
Good.
That’s exactly where we want to be.












Tonight, our Junior High Panther Football team travels to Blackduck for a special night game!
🐾 Cass Lake-Bena Panthers
🆚 Blackduck Drakes
📅 Tuesday, October 6
⏰ Kickoff: 7:00 PM
📍 Blackduck High School Football Field
This will be more than just another football game! The Panthers will get the full Friday-night experience under the lights, complete with all the bells and whistles!
Make the trip, wear your maroon and black, and help create a great atmosphere for our Junior High student-athletes. It is going to be a fun night of Panther Football!
Thank you to Western Bank, our Game Day sponsor, for supporting Cass Lake-Bena student-athletes!
GO PANTHERS! 🐾

🏐 WESTERN BANK PANTHER GAME DAY! 🏐
Our 8th Grade Panther Volleyball team is back on the court today as they welcome Circle of Life to Cass Lake-Bena!
🆚 Circle of Life
⏰ 4:30 PM
📍 Cass Lake-Bena Middle School Main Gym
📺 Middle School Livestream:
https://fan.hudl.com/clbmspanthers
🏈 JUNIOR HIGH FOOTBALL SCHEDULE UPDATE 🏈
Tomorrow’s Junior High Football game at Blackduck has been moved from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM.
📅 Tuesday, October 6
📍 Blackduck
⏰ NEW START TIME: 7:00 PM
Please help us spread the word about the time change!
Thank you to Western Bank, our Game Day sponsor, for supporting Cass Lake-Bena activities!
GO PANTHERS! 🐾

If you can’t hang with the big dogs, better stay on the porch.
The Bagley meet is a big meet. Big competition.
The big dogs were there.
The question is: Are you a dog who bites back, or a dog who backs down?
The Panthers aren’t dogs. They’re cats, but they are BIG cats.
With strong programs from larger schools, including AAA Bemidji and AA Thief River Falls, the Panthers had a chance to see exactly where they stacked up against some serious competition.
Turning a corner with half a mile to go, the Bagley course winds around and heads to the finish line. As coaches and spectators, it’s one of the best places to stand because you get to watch the Panthers come around that corner and GO.
All-Conference and 5k school record holder Markis Washington was the first to turn it, and he looked smooth.
Then came the gear shift. He looked like he was out for blood.
He led the Panthers across the line in 18:30.9, finishing 14th and earning a medal in a STACKED field. He fought for every step down the final stretch,going stride for stride against AA Thief River Falls runner Lincoln Davis.
The intensity continued to build throughout the race, and his finish was the kind that gives you goosebumps. In a race with AAA teams, earning a medal is a huge accomplishment.
Behind him, the Panthers kept coming.
School Record holder in both the 1 mile and 2500 meters, Fabian Wittner came through looking super strong. He unleashed his famous Panther kick.
Fabian hammered the final stretch, turning heads while fighting off Roseau runner Abrahm Huener. He crossed in 19:28 (6:16 pace) and knocked 16 seconds off his previous best.
And then there was Brayden Dahl, RIGHT behind.
3200 meter school record holder Brayden has been spending his time putting on the football pads, but he showed up to Bagley and proved the fitness is definitely still there. He finished in 19:52 (6:24 pace) putting on a very impressive performance despite no recent practice.
Into the finish, he battled hard keeping AA Thief River Falls runner Tobias Sobota at bay.
Watching Markis, Fabian, and Brayden battle through that stretch was a lot of fun. As coaches, it’s hard not to smile when you see a tight pack of Panthers round that final corner.
Zane Halse also had a strong showing after some time away, finishing in 21:52, a 7:02-per-mile pace. He showed that he is right back in the fight.
Kenny Litzau continues to put himself in a strong position as the season moves forward. He finished in 23:27 for a strong pace of 7:32/mile, more than THREE whole minutes ahead of where he was at this point last year.
Senior William Staples joined the Panther squad this year, he brings something special to the team beyond racing. He encourages his teammates with words in Ojibwe bringing them strength.
He finished his 5k on a difficult course with a shiny new PB of 29:56 (9:38 pace).
When the scores were totaled, Cass Lake-Bena finished 8th out of 15 teams, AHEAD of Roseau, the conference champion team last year.
For a Panther program that continues to grow, that matters.

Our Panther JV Volleyball team travels to Nevis tomorrow for the Northland Conference JV Tournament!
📅 Saturday, October 3
📍 Nevis High School
⏰ First Match: 9:45 AM
🆚 Lake of the Woods
Good luck to our student-athletes as they represent Cass Lake-Bena at the conference tournament! Compete hard, support one another, and enjoy the opportunity!
Thank you to Western Bank, our Game Day sponsor, for supporting Cass Lake-Bena student-athletes!
GO PANTHERS! 🐾





Panther Football is back at home tomorrow, Friday, October 2, as Cass Lake-Bena takes on Park Christian!
🕔 Kickoff: 5:00 PM
📍 Cass Lake-Bena High School Football Field
🏈 Varsity Football
🎟️ Tickets: https://www.gobound.com/mn/schools/casslakebena/tickets
📺 Livestream: https://fan.hudl.com/clbhspanthers
Wear your maroon and black, bring your Panther pride, and help us fill the stands! Thank you to Western Bank for supporting our student-athletes.
Go Panthers! 🐾
#PantherPride #CLBFootball


The JV Volleyball Conference Tournament scheduled for Saturday, October 3, has been moved from Red Lake to Nevis.
📅 Saturday, October 3
📍 NEW LOCATION: Nevis
🏐 First Match: Cass Lake-Bena vs. Lake of the Woods
⏰ 9:45 AM
Please help us spread the word and make sure everyone travels to the correct location!
GO PANTHERS! 🐾

🐾PANTHER GAME DAY! 🐾
The Panthers are back in action tomorrow, Thursday, October 1! Junior High Football travels to Deer River, while Panther Volleyball welcomes Blackduck for matches at both the middle school and high school.
🏈 JUNIOR HIGH FOOTBALL
🆚 Deer River
⏰ 4:30 PM
📍 Deer River High School Football Field
🏐 MIDDLE SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL
🆚 Blackduck
📍 CLB Middle School Main Gym
• 7th Grade: 4:45 PM
• 8th Grade: 5:45 PM
🏐 HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL
🆚 Blackduck
📍 CLB High School Main Gym
• Junior Varsity: 5:45 PM
• Varsity: 6:45 PM
🎟️ Tickets:
https://www.gobound.com/mn/schools/casslakebena/tickets
📺 High School Livestream:
https://fan.hudl.com/clbhspanthers
📺 Middle School Livestream:
https://fan.hudl.com/clbmspanthers
Come out, wear your maroon and black, and support our Panther student-athletes!
Thank you to Western Bank, our Game Day sponsor, for supporting Cass Lake-Bena activities!
GO PANTHERS! 🐾


Our young Panthers have another busy Saturday ahead! On Saturday, October 3, our 3rd through 6th grade volleyball and flag football teams will compete at three different locations.
🏈 3RD–4TH GRADE FLAG FOOTBALL
📍 Walker-Hackensack-Akeley
📋https://drive.google.com/file/d/10jmx23PrWVD3GuKPszyfENjBJRJlfP_3/view?usp=sharing
🏐 3RD–4TH GRADE VOLLEYBALL
📍 Pillager High School
📋https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dUeT6wiPQCIu61NaMon-leFI0ZKqJkSc/view?usp=sharing
🏈 5TH–6TH GRADE FLAG FOOTBALL
📍 Cass Lake-Bena High School Football Field
📋 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o9EkEZgZaRwAPyFn1HTAw9Tzx-NFoPVO/view?usp=sharing
🏐 5TH–6TH GRADE VOLLEYBALL
📍Pillager High School
📋 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1woqet0MUKZz-MIIFie-dwywqnh3bLYmv/view?usp=sharing
We are excited for another great day of learning, competing, and having fun! Please cheer positively, support every participant, respect the officials and coaches, and help make this a great experience for all our young athletes.
Thank you to our coaches, families, volunteers, and everyone who continues to make Panther Youth Sports possible!

Drum and Dance!




