SPORTS WRAP
Owatonna’s section semifinal wrestling dual came down to heavyweight at Mayo High School last week for a spot in the Section 1AAA final. Top-ten ranked 220-pounder Ethan Peper bumped up to face the Huskies’ Grant Lower, who had won by pin against a different Spartan during the regular season match to secure an OHS win. Peper earned the pin to lift Mayo to a 36-27 win.
It came down to that thanks to an inspiring rally by Blake Fitcher at 220. Coach Derek Johnson said, “For Blake to overcome a little adversity in the match, getting reversed with 20 seconds left and then getting what probably was a reversal or at least loss of control with four seconds left was huge to push it into overtime.” Fitcher won to set up the dramatic conclusion.
“It was a tough loss,” said Johnson, “But, there’s a lot of silver lining there. From being such a young team, we had a considerable turnaround, even from the Mayo dual we had just a couple of weeks ago. We had guys like Donny Sorenson at 113. Lane Karsten is getting much more mature with his wrestling.”
The Huskies fell behind 14-0 before three straight major decision victories from Karsten, Trey Hiatt, and Michael Reinardy pulled Owatonna close at 14-12. After a Mayo pin, the Huskies ran off three in a row. Jack Sorenson won 4-0, RJ Reinardy prevailed 1-0, and Cael Robb stuck his man in the first period to put OHS up 24-20. Mayo retook the lead 30-24 with a pin and a major.
FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT
“We had a lot of gutsy performances from a lot of young guys. That was the message right after.” Johnson also added, “A lot of the teams in the section are bringing back almost full squads next year, but we feel as a coaching staff and a community that our ceiling is much higher.”
Owatonna beat Century 56-21 in the quarterfinals. Mason Blum suffered a dislocated elbow and couldn’t wrestle against Mayo. Lower reinjured his shoulder. Robb and Blum are the only seniors on the roster.
Johnson believes the team can rally in the individual tournament, “We had a disappointing loss to Northfield in the semifinals last year and then turned around and ended up being the second-best team in individual sections, if you were to tally that up like college nationals.” The individual tournament is Feb. 24-25.
TOWNLEY, FISCHER TO STATE
Isabelle Townley and Aliah Fischer punched their ticket to the state girls’ wrestling tournament recently.
“Both absolutely cruised their way to the finals. Isabelle had a really tough, close match with Maggie Olson of Albert Lea,” said Johnson. She had to turn right around and wrestle for true second. “To pick herself back up, and basically wrestle like an absolute demon in her true second match and destroy her opponent was amazing.”
“Aliah took second. She got caught in a headlock right away in her finals match. That’s a girl she beat just a week before. It’s not like she’s far away.” The state tournament is March 2-4.
MAY THE FORCE BE WITH THEM
The OHS robotics team is ramping up to their competition season. Senior Aiden Engel is one of the Rebel Alliance admirals. “I watch over all the different teams and make sure everyone’s on task and that we have plans, so that we know what we’re doing.” He told the Owatonna Live Coaches Show, “I started out as a programmer and last year was the programming lead.”
He didn’t want to get too far ahead of things, but wanted to set the bar high. “It’s a little hard to talk about goals before we have a robot built, but I think making it to state is a really solid goal.” Engel plans to pursue computer science in college.
Lileigh Nguyen leads the build team, which “does the infrastructure of the robot, pulls it together with all the motors and stuff before handing it off to programming and electrical.” The senior says there are adjustments made throughout the season, “We’re doing a lot of machining. We’ve got a good wood and metal shop down here. We got a cobalt saw and a drill press in there we use frequently.”
Nguyen says being in robotics has helped shape her future. “Having all of this hands-on intensive experience has definitely pushed me toward mechanical engineering.” She is also involved in speech, knowledge bowl, and mock trial.
NO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE NECESSARY
Jack Ruiter joined as a freshman without much knowledge of robotics but has grown to become a team admiral. “The seniors, they really take you under their wing. You learn a ton about programming. Pneumatics, it’s a whole new world, building the robot… This year we get that opportunity to pass that down to our freshmen.”
Ruiter says competition day “brings lots of energy.”
“It’s really neat being able to work with those other teams to win.” He enjoys the challenges. “We’re figuring out problems. I love problem-solving. It’s kind of a fun thing for me.” He’s currently working with recent OHS grad Nolan Baker at his business and plans to continue in information technology.
Freshman Eric Xie is in his first year. “We program the controls of the robot so it can move and do other tasks that it needs to do…I think it’s pretty cool working with other people from different areas in Minnesota and see what they have and see if we have any strategies that we can implement together.”
The team has numerous business partners and community mentors. Shaun Robbins is the advisor. “The amazing part of this is the kids do all the work,” said Robbins. Competition and cooperation come together in robotics. “When we’re in the pits and a team breaks something, they throw an announcement up over the PA and four, five, or even six teams go running with whatever part that they need.” Owatonna has about 40 students in robotics this season.
PLAYOFFS OR BUST
One of these games Anders Thorager will put on his Steele County Blades sweater for the last time after playing his entire junior hockey career in Owatonna. Connor Homan has suited up for a handful of teams over his career and is also aging out.
Joey Bunton has become a fan favorite over his three seasons in Owatonna. He has taken pictures for the Steele County Times and plans to pursue digital media at the University of Kentucky while playing club hockey. Brady Rossbach was the last to leave the ice after the final home game at Four Seasons Centre, reflecting on his time in town following a game in which he scored four goals.
All four hope that the final game doesn’t come too quickly as the team pursues playoff success in March.
Thorager (Stillwater, MN) was the captain. “It gave me a lot more responsibility, but also felt good to know a lot of people look up to me. A lot of people follow me. Just to know I can be the leader the team needs and give some of the new guys small pointers throughout the year. Helping them through practice, helping them in the locker room, making sure they’re fitting in well.” His father David is an Owatonna High School graduate. Anders enjoyed skating in the same rink.
Bunton (Danville, IL) says it’s hard to believe this segment of his hockey career is ending, “This team has such a family environment that I’m going to miss for the rest of my life. And that I’ll know that I played on one of the coolest teams I could’ve.” A different sort of excitement awaits him in Kentucky. “I’ve heard that their environment is electric. They play at midnight. I think that will be fun… It’s a cool little barn.”
Rossbach (New Berlin, WI) spent two winters in Owatonna. “I liked what they had to offer here. I like the town. I like the community we have here. All those aspects played into the reason why I ended up staying here… It’s hard to believe that this is my fifth year playing juniors. It seems like a long time when you say five years, but in all reality, it seems so quick.”
Homan (Anchorage, AK) has grown during his tour around the country playing junior hockey. “I think the maturity that comes from it is a major thing. A lot of people go to college right out of high school, and they might not be ready to be away from home. It was hard the first year when I was seventeen. I was still a senior in high school, but it’s matured me a lot and helped me become a little more independent.”
Rossbach and Homan plan to play college hockey.
OWATONNA LIVE SCHEDULE
Thursday, Feb. 23:
OHS boys’ hockey in the section tournament, 7 p.m.
OHS girls’ basketball vs. Mankato East, 7:30 p.m.