Perham High School honors 14 Yellowjackets on College Signing Day

Fourteen Perham Yellowjackets signed National Letters of Intent, turning College Signing Day into a measurable snapshot of how the school’s athletic pipeline is producing college-bound athletes in Otter Tail County. Friends, family and coaches filled the celebration as Perham High School recognized students who will keep competing at the next level.

The total matters because it shows depth, not just one standout season. A class of 14 signees suggests multiple programs are feeding college rosters, and Perham has made the celebration itself part of that system. The Perham Activities Department has used the Studio of Perham High School for its annual Signing Day Celebration, giving athletes a public stage and younger students a clear view of where Yellowjackets sports can lead.

The school has already shown the pattern. On Nov. 12, three seniors signed National Letters of Intent to continue in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Kaia Anderson chose Southwest Minnesota State University for basketball, Drew Ellingson headed to the University of Minnesota Crookston for baseball, and Reid Wokasch signed with Crookston for cross country and track.

Those three names show the range of Perham’s production line. Anderson helped the Yellowjackets win back-to-back Section 8AA championships and became the 15th girls basketball player in program history to reach 1,000 points, finishing that stretch with 1,113 career points and a spot 10th on the school’s all-time scoring list. Ellingson went 11-1 over two seasons, posting a 0.824 ERA in one season and a 0.761 ERA in another, with 69 strikeouts and one save. Wokasch added another sport to the college track record and showed that Perham’s reach extends beyond the gym and the diamond.

The recognition also reflects the support system built around those athletes. Erin Anderson has said the event matters to the students, their families, the school and the community, and that is clear in the way the signing day draws parents, classmates and coaches into the same room. The school’s athletics coverage has helped turn those moments into part of the public record, with photo galleries and news updates that keep the accomplishments visible long after the signing pens are put away.

For Perham, 14 college signees is more than a ceremonial count. It is evidence that the Yellowjackets’ athletic culture is producing student-athletes with a path to the next level, and that pipeline continues to shape the expectations of the next generation watching from the stands.