Sports

Payton Beyer (3) turns upfield after catching a pass from Brayden Truelson in the third quarter of the Huskies' 14-35 loss to Mankato West. Beyer, Truelson and six of their teammates were named to the Big Southeast Football All-District Team.

Eight Huskies elected to All-District team

The list of student-athletes who made the 2020 Big Southeast Football All-District Team was recently released and the Owatonna Huskies tied with Mankato West and Kasson-Mantorville for the most honorees with eight. The eight Huskies are Payton Beyer, Zach Stransky, Brayden Truelson, Tanner Hall,...

Josiah Hedensten (17) breaks off a long run during the Tiger's 38-14 win over Fillmore Central on Oct. 9. He finished the game with 90 rushing yards and he led Medford's defense with nine tackles.

Medford football star earns statewide academic honor

Only 15 players in the entire state of Minnesota are selected to the Class AA All-State Academic Team and one of them calls Steele County home. That student-athlete is Josiah Hedensten who starred at running back and linebacker for the Medford Tigers. Medford Activities Director and Hedensten's...

Dan Williams shows off the two deer he harvested during last weekend’s special deer hunt in Rice Lake State Park. Williams was the first hunter to bring back his haul, finding some good luck early in the day.

Thinning the herd

Visitors to Rice Lake State Park this past weekend may have noticed a few signs up notifying them of a special hunt underway, while hunters had free reign over portions of the park in order to control the local deer population. The special hunt was deemed necessary by the Minnesota DNR and allowed...

Owatonna captains Zach Stransky, holding championship plaque, and Brayden Truelson (10) can't wait to celebrate with their prize, especially after having endured a lot of new protocols in order to just have a season. While winning a fifth straight section ttile is a great accomplishment, they're more thankful for the friendships, fun and memories they created throughout this season.

Huskies thankful for each and every snap

This season, the Owatonna football team had to adjust to a multitude of changes in order to abide by COVID-19 protocols and have a season. Those changes included putting their pads on and taking them off in the parking lot or in their car, riding with their parents to road games, no team dinners,...

The Huskies mob their teammates after receiving their section championship plaque.

Huskies snag another section title

Very rarely do football games come down to one play, but that seemed to be the case when Rochester Mayo had the ball in Owatonna territory with the chance to take the lead in the final minute of the Section 1AAAAA Championship game on Nov. 16. Trailing 28-30, the Spartans needed just a field goal...

Senior receiver Alex Piller (84) refuses to go down easy. Instead, he drags a Randolph defensive back into the red zone. Shortly thereafter the Awesome Blossoms scored another touchdown to extend their lead to 49-6.

FOOTBALL CHAMPS

The Blooming Prairie offense struck early and often and the defense held Randolph scoreless for the first three and a half quarters to propel the Awesome Blossoms to a 49-6 win in the Section 1A Championship Friday night. Blooming Prairie quickly took the lead when Bradley Simon caught a 21-yard...

Four cheerleaders from NRHEG High School will be traveling to Florida to take part in the Varsity Spirit Spectacular in the Universal Orlando Resort. The cheerleaders are, from left: Evan Wayne, Avery Hill, Isabel Stadheim and Payton Bunn.

NRHEG cheerleaders head to Florida

Do you have spirit? For four cheerleaders from NRHEG High School, they certainly have lots of spirit, and they will be displaying it by performing in the Varsity Spirit Spectacular in the Universal Orlando Resort. Avery Hill, Eva Wayne, Isabel Stadheim, and Payton Bunn from NRHEG in New Richland...

Micalyn Trihus and her parents, Mike and Melissa Trihus, are all smiles after Micalyn signs her national letter of intent to play volleyball at Bemidji State University.

Pair of Blossoms pursue collegiate ball

Blooming Prairie seniors Megan Oswald and Micalyn Trihus had already done the hard part by deciding where they wanted to continue to play collegiate basketball and volleyball, respectively, and on Wednesday, Nov. 11, they did the easy part: signing their national letter of intent to make their...

A swimming sensation

Only a small percentage of high school student-athletes participate in a state tournament, even fewer make it back-to-back years and then there's the cream of crop: students like Owatonna swimmer Logan Norrid who make it three straight years. She recently achieved that feat by beating the state cut...

Tigers race out to early lead, hold on to beat Wildcats

After a tough loss to the defending Class A state champion, Blooming Prairie, the previous week, the Medford football team’s offense and defense bounced back during its 14-6 win over Goodhue on Saturday, Oct. 24. The offense got going right away thanks to a 42-yard run by Josiah Hedensten. That set...