SPORTS WRAP
With the speed the mercury raced up the thermometer this month, the winter sports season seemed like a distant memory. Then came a drop in temperature and a return of snow. Not much compares to April in Minnesota. Before fully turning the page to prep spring sports, Owatonna boys’ basketball and boys’ hockey held their season-ending banquets this past week.
In addition to the success of a 20-victory season, Huskies’ boys’ basketball coach Josh Williams spoke of the joy he gets from going to practice each day. He expressed his pride in hearing from the community how the players’ hard work showed and how much heart they put into the season. The seven seniors were each an award winner: Blake Burmeister (MVP), Nils Gantert (Defensive MVP), Jason Klecker and Ayden Walter (Most Improved Players), Collin Vick (Blue Collar and Teammate of the Year), and C.J. Theis and Mikah Elstad (Coaches Award).
Burmeister and Vick earned academic all-state honors. They were joined by Elstad and Gantert as Big Nine scholar athletes. Burmeister and Vick landed all-conference honors. Walter was honorable mention. Burmeister set a school scoring record this season at 44 points and in the same game set a new mark with 11 made threes. Vick recorded the school’s second-ever triple-double.
The Huskies finished as runner-up in the Big Nine at the varsity and b-squad levels. The junior varsity and ninth grade won the conference. Longtime coach Greg Sullivan is stepping down after 32 years, serving the last 13 with the b-squad.
Hockey awards
Owatonna boys’ hockey turned in a strong season despite a limited amount of varsity experience returning after a huge senior class graduated last year. This season’s seniors include captain Benny Bangs, Porter Kuchenbecker, Collin Martin, Andrew Skov, and Charles Valento. Next season the Huskies could have about 20 seniors on the team.
Award winners are Bangs (Ken Austin Award for dedication and enthusiasm), Kuchenbecker (Lee Harra Most Valuable Senior), junior Brody Goodnature (Dudley Otto Most Improved Player), junior Justin Beamon (Ken Wilcox Award for commitment to youth hockey), and sophomore Andrew Mitchell (Hobey Baker Character Award).
Mitchell, who led the Huskies in scoring, was named all-Big Nine Conference. Bangs and juniors Joseph Webster and Mark Spurgeon earned honorable mentions. Spurgeon was named the captain for 2023-24. Assistant captains will be added next season.
Second-year head coach Dave Fromm is excited for the potential with so much experience set to return. That includes at the blue line. “Our defensive corps should be pretty special next year,” he said at the banquet. The offense looks good for next winter as well with most of the scoring coming back.
Veteran softball team
The Owatonna softball roster looks a lot like last year’s with the loss of just one varsity player, Parris Hovden. She is currently playing at MSU-Moorhead. Replacing a four-year starter is no small task but head coach Jeremy Moran has the players to do it. “That’s going to be a strength, to have an experienced group like this. A lot of people with several years of varsity experience.”
Senior catcher and third baseman Paiton Glynn told the Owatonna Live Coaches Show that the team can build off last season’s success. “We’re already a tight-knit group. We are really just like a big friend group. So, it’s really fun practicing and playing together all the time.”
Moran says there’s depth at pitching. “Kennedy Hodgman took over that number one spot last year in the circle and she’ll continue to do that. She’s had a great off-season and summer of pitching. She’s ready to roll. Katelyn Bentz, who did pitch a couple of years ago, will step back into the circle and pitch as well.” Mehsa Krause will get a chance at the varsity level after a strong summer.
“[Hodgman] is a person I’m used to catching a lot. It’s just getting to know, not only who they are as an athlete, but who they are as a person. It takes a lot of communication to know what pitch they want to throw that day and what’s not hitting too hot that day,” said Glynn.
Shortstop Bentz emphasizes the importance of being in synch. “As a team, if you’re not on the same page, you can’t work. Communication is huge and being with each other every day, it’s kind of a sister-sister thing.”
Bentz, a two-time All-Big Nine selection, has worked heavily on her batting. “I focus more on it because I feel like that is my success. I do a lot of practice at home in my garage.” She hit nearly .500 last spring with three home runs. “Right away, you can feel it. It’s just a different type of feeling on the bat… and there’s just a different type of angle too. You know it’ll go over.”
The Huskies will also look to push the envelope on the bases. “There’s some speed up and down the lineup,” says Moran. “We’re going to try to be a little more aggressive on the bases this year.” Even if that means an occasional out. “Maybe less conservative on my part and being a little more aggressive and hopefully some of those outs will turn into more runs, if that makes sense.”
Mankato West and Winona shared the Big Nine title last spring with the Scarlets beating the Winhawks in the Class AAA state championship. Moran expects those teams to be strong again, along with Mankato East, Northfield and Rochester Mayo. “The Big Nine will be challenging again this year.”
State parks for free
Saturday, April 22 is one of four days each year the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR) opens the gates to all 75 state parks for free. That includes Rice Lake State Park in Owatonna. MNDNR Information Officer Dan Ruiter told the Owatonna Live Coaches Show, “We are really lucky to have a resource like this. We’ve got fantastic birding opportunities out here. We’ve got fine examples of prairie and hardwoods as well. A really nice mix. What I would term one of the more underappreciated state parks in the system. But folks that come here know. There is great birding, great canoeing, and just great wildlife viewing opportunities out here.”
Owatonna will host the Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener for the first time on October 13 and 14. “This is really a great way for Owatonna to showcase all that is going on. Not only natural resource wise, but in the community as well.” Ruiter added, “We’ve got some great pheasant hunting opportunities around Steele County. We’ve got our Wildlife Management Areas and we also have some walk-in-access areas as well.”
Hunter hosts needed
South Region Director for the MNDNR Scott Roemhildt said on “Straight Talk” that the spotlight expands past hunting. “We’re excited to be able to talk about all the things that Owatonna has got going on, especially related to outdoor recreation.” Public events include a land dedication on Friday, October 13 and downtown activities featuring food trucks that evening.
“We’re looking for hunter hosts. These are people that will actually take our guests out on a couple-hour hunting experience on Saturday morning on October 14.” He says it’s a lot of fun. “Somebody with a little bit of pheasant hunting experience, that has a dog I preferred. They’ll take two or three invited guests with them out on a piece of public land and serve as a local ambassador for the community.”
About 40 hunter hosts are needed. Contact Glenda Smith at the Owatonna Chamber office for more information at 507-451-7970. The hosts won’t actually hunt that day, but focus on leading their party. “Most of all make sure that they just have a nice experience in Owatonna,” Roemhildt said. Explore Minnesota is also a partner of the Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener.
Owatonna Live play-by-play schedule
Thursday, April 20
OHS softball vs. Red Wing, 5 p.m.
OHS boys’ lacrosse vs. Holy Angels, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 22
OHS baseball vs. Rochester Century, 11 a.m. (DH)
OHS girls’ lacrosse vs. Lakeville South, 2 p.m.
Monday, April 24
Medford baseball vs. Blooming Prairie, 4:30 p.m.
OHS boys’ lacrosse vs. Farmington, 7:30 p.m.