The Challenge Cup is a statewide, year-long competition among League member schools. Schools earn points for their success in post-season tournaments, and two schools — one in  Class A and one in Class AA — with the most points are awarded the traveling Challenge Cup. The award is sponsored by Wells Fargo, the League’s premier corporate sponsor.

In the contest for the Class AA Challenge Cup, Eden Prairie outscored big school powers Edina (664 points) and Wayzata (630 points) to win the cup. The Eagles also won the Cup in 2006 and finished second in 2007 to Wayzata. During the 2007-08 school year they earned 743 points in 24 activities, including championships in football and girls’ hockey, and had individual champions in girls’ track (3200 meter run and 4x800 meter relay) and in girls’ swimming (100 backstroke).

Perham earned 548 points for its high finishes in 12 different athletic and fine arts tournaments. The Yellowjackets finished first in boys’ cross country running and in girls’ gymnastics. They also had individual first-place winners in speech (Great Speeches) and in girls’ gymnastics (uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise). The 2007 winner, The Blake School of Minneapolis was the runner-up with 388 points. Other top finishers in Class A included St. Cloud Cathedral (387 points), Breck School of Golden Valley (308 points), Mounds Park Academy of St. Paul (279 points), Albany (243 points), Staples-Motley (217 points), Marshall School of Duluth (203 points), Rochester Lourdes (191 points), and Adrian (189 points).

Others top finishers in the Class AA competition included Stillwater Area (540 points), Apple Valley (529 points), Eastview of Apple Valley (518 points), Burnsville (511 points), Minnetonka (489 points), Mounds View (478 points), and Roseville Area (472 points).

“Hundreds of schools, big and small, scored points during this year’s Challenge Cup competition,” noted James Prunty, Great Lakes Region president for Wells Fargo. “We are proud to recognize Perham and Eden Prairie for winning the 2008 Challenge Cup.”

Representatives from the League and Wells Fargo will present the traveling Challenge Cup to Perham at a school-sponsored Tailgate Party on Friday, August 29, 5:00 pm., at Fritz Hanson Field. A similar presentation will take place at Eden Prairie High School in the near future.

The Challenge Cup program began in 2003. Previous winners were: St. Cloud Cathedral in 2004 and 2006; Eden Prairie in 2006; Lakeville in 2004 and 2005; The Blake School in 2005 and 2007; and Wayzata in 2007.

“This program creates excitement throughout the year as schools compete for the Challenge Cup,” said Dave Stead, executive director of the Minnesota State High School League. “We will continue this tradition of recognizing and rewarding our membership for a job well done.”

For a complete list of all the schools that earned Challenge Cup points for the 2007-08 school year, visit the League Web site—www.MSHSL.org.—and click on the Recognition tab.