OHS recognizes top athletes

Owatonna High School recognized its exceptional student-athletes in an athletic awards ceremony at the high school auditorium this past week.

Amongst the awards handed out were the ExCel Award, Triple “A” Award, “O” Club Award, 110% Award, Junior Athlete of the Year Awards and Senior Athlete of the Year Award.

“Anybody that has participated in sports knows that it’s not always an easy road… it’s really tough. To get to this point in their careers, to be here being honored tonight is pretty special and pretty rare,” said Owatonna High School Activities Director Marc Achterkirch.

First to be introduced at the award ceremony were ExCel Award winners Nils Gantert and Sarah Snitker who won the award for their excellence in community, education and leadership during their high school careers.

After the ExCel Award, the Triple “A” Award was presented to Connor Ginskey and Arianna Shornock for representing Owatonna in the MSHSL award selection.

Ginskey actually won the Triple “A” Award at the state level after advancing through the regional selection process in December and winning the final award in March.

Next on the docket was the Club “O” Award presented to Husky athletes who participated in three sports over the course of a year and earned a minimum of five letters in their careers.

The Club “O” Award saw 13 separate recipients and was by far the school’s most earned award across a host of different sports programs.

Athletes Rian Grunwald and Noah Kubicek took home the 110% Award for the school’s most improved and hard-working athletes.

Grunwald was praised for her historic state title win in December, becoming the first-ever girls state champion at 114 pounds, while Kubicek was praised for his improvements on the basketball and track and field teams in becoming a team leader in both sports.

Ezra Oien was the Huskies recipient of the Female Junior Athlete of the Year Award after being chosen for her consistent excellence across soccer, hockey and track and field.

For the Male Junior of the Year Award Trever Schirmer took home first place for his excellence on the football field and track and field team.

Rounding out the award ceremony was the Female and Male Senior Athlete of the Year Awards, which were won by Ava Wolfe and Preston Meier.

Wolfe won the award for her excellence in both hockey and track and field, while Meier was commended for his work on the cross-country, hockey and lacrosse teams.