Sports

Blooming Prairie’s Bobbie Bruns rises up for a left-handed jump shot during the final minutes of the Awesome Blossoms’ 38-35 win on Tuesday, Feb. 16.

Blossom girls extend winning streak to four

The Blooming Prairie girls basketball team isn’t winning by as much as they did at the beginning of the season, but they are winning and that’s all that matters. This past week, they beat the Kenyon-Wanamingo Knights 38-35 on Tuesday, Feb. 16, and then they beat the Faribault Bethlehem Academy...

With his parents by his side, Medford’s Kael Hermanstorfer is all smiles after signing his National Letter of Intent to play college basketball at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota.

The eye of the Tiger set on St. Mary’s

Coming from a small town in Medford, Tigers basketball star Kael Hermanstorfer knew he wanted to continue his basketball and academic career at a university in a bigger town and he had multiple options in the University of Minnesota-Duluth, St. Scholastica, which is also in Duluth, and North...

Bobbie Bruns, left, her sister Maggie and the Blooming Prairie girls basketball team have developed a close bond due to playing together for the past few years. The Bruns sisters have been playing together on varsity for the past four years, but this will be their last season playing together since Maggie will graduate this spring.

Bound by basketball… and sisterhood

Sisters Maggie and Bobbie Bruns have been playing basketball together for most of their lives yet their bond with their Blooming Prairie teammates might be just as strong. The Awesome Blossoms’ strong bond started early. Four of the five starters are seniors, so they all grew up playing together....

Hess earns statewide award

Owatonna junior Ava Hess said she was completely surprised when she learned she’d been nominated for the Excellence in Community, Education and Leadership (ExCEL) Award, which recognizes high school juniors who are model citizens in their communities, who are active in fine arts and/or athletic...

NRHEG grad joins Mavericks’ coaching staff

Sam Lundberg’s journey as a football coach has taken him from New Richland to New Mexico and now back to southern Minnesota as he was named the Minnesota State University-Mankato’s (MSU) tight ends coach on Thursday, Jan. 28. MSU Head Coach Todd Hoffner stated, in a press release, that he was...

Huskies’ Seykora picks SMSU

Another week, another Steele County student-athlete committing to continue their athletic and academic careers at Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU). This week it’s Matt Seykora, Owatonna’s star shortstop, who received a scholarship to play Division II baseball. Turning one of his dreams...

Under the watchful eye of his parents, Elaine and Tim, Owatonna senior Brayden Truelson signs his letter of commitment to St. John’s College to play baseball and major in business.

Family advice leads Truelson’s college decision

The decision on where to go to college is a tough one for any high school student. On Wednesday, Feb. 3, 18 Owatonna high school student-athletes made that decision in celebration of National Signing Day, signaling not only would be furthering their education at these schools but also, furthering...

Landen Johnson poses after scoring his 100th pin Friday in Northfield.

Owatonna’s Johnson achieves 100 pins

Landen Johnson reached a major milestone Friday night, as he grabbed his 100th pin of his career. The highlight proved to be the capping point of a successful week for Johnson, who scored four pins in four matches during the week. “It was something that he had from last season knowing that he was...

Each Blooming Prairie girls basketball player presented a Hayfield player with a gift in memory of classmate Macy Holtan who tragically died last week.

Blossom girls stay undefeated

The Blooming Prairie girls basketball team not only haven’t lost a game yet, they haven’t won by fewer than 10 points after beating Hayfield 53-43 on Tuesday, Jan. 26, and Maple River 58-41 on Friday, Jan. 29. Before the Blossoms’ game against the Vikings started, the two teams shared a special...

Medford’s Charley Elwood scores a takedown against Westfield’s Sam Skillestad. Elwood won by fall in the final seconds of the third period. Elwood’s win increased Medford’s lead to 24-9, a lead they would never relinquish, winning 54-21.

Westfield’s struggle continues with pair of losses

The Westfield wrestling team’s disappointing start to the season continued this past week when they went 0-2 at a pair of triangulars. In the first triangular, the Razorbacks lost to Maple River 45-28 and lost to perennial power Scott West 60-12 on Tuesday, Jan. 19. In its second triangular, which...