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SPORTS WRAP

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Junior Athlete of the Year award winners Carsyn Brady and Jacob Ginskey stand in front of a panel of their peers. Brady won for her outstanding accomplishments in cross-country, basketball and track, while Ginskey was recognized for his participation in football, basketball and track. Staff photo by Johnnie Phillips
Huskies Hall of Fame adds six
By
Roy Koenig, Sports Analyst
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The Owatonna High School (OHS) Athletic Hall of Fame is growing with the addition of six members, including a coach, four student-athletes, and a community member. Keith Bangs, John Cummings, Chuck Pribyl, Kerry Shea and Cory Urban, and Dave Furness make up the 2023 class. 

Bangs coached boys’ golf from 1982 to 2016 leading the team to seven Big Nine Conference titles. OHS won six section titles and was the state runner-up twice. Bangs is a seven-time Section Coach of the Year, winning the state honor three times. He is a member of the Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Bangs, a retired math teacher, spent 30 years strolling the sidelines compiling football stats and coached volleyball from 1982-85. 

Cummings (Class of 1944) lettered in football, basketball, baseball and track. He was an All-Conference selection in football in 1942. He served in World War II during his senior year. Cummings passed away in 1981. 

Pribyl (Class of 1972) played football, hockey and baseball. He was an All-Big Nine Conference selection in hockey and had a four-year career at the Air Force Academy where he was a senior captain. He set the school assist record during his senior season. Pribyl was a two-way starter in the early years of Jerry Peterson coaching Indians’ football. 

Urban (Class of 2000) participated in football, wrestling and track. He was a three-time All-Big Nine Conference selection in football and part of two state tournament teams. He graduated as the all-time leading rusher in school history. 

In wrestling, Urban was on the state championship team in 1998. OHS won the section all five years he lettered. Urban also won 109 varsity matches and qualified for state individually once. He ran at state in track relays his junior and senior seasons. 

Shea (Class of 2002) played soccer, basketball and golf. Her freshman year in basketball the Huskies were the state runner-up. Shea earned 10 total letters, was a two-time All-Conference selection in soccer and golf, and was captain for all three sports. She played golf and basketball at the University of St. Thomas. 

Furness had a hand in developing soccer facilities in Owatonna, spearheading efforts to build the nine-field Soccer Complex around 2000. He co-chaired the campaign to build additional fields at the Daikin Complex in 2021. Furness also coached and served on soccer boards. 

The Hall of Fame committee has started a fundraising campaign to create an interactive display at the new high school. The induction is Friday, September 15. Go to OwatonnaLive.com for the Coaches Show unveiling with Doug Wanous. (Biographical information was provided by the OHS Athletic Hall of Fame committee.) 

 

Athletic awards 

The OHS Athletic Department recognized the top senior and junior male and female athletes at an awards ceremony on May 24. The Oldenburg Senior Athletes of the Year are Ezra Oien and Justin Gleason. Junior athletes of the year are Carsyn Brady and Jacob Ginskey. 

Oien is a 10-time letter winner in hockey, soccer and track, earning All-Conference nine times. She is a four-time Offensive Player of the Year in hockey and the second-leading scorer in OHS history. She will play Division I hockey at the University of Vermont. 

Gleason won the state long jump title in 2022 and is the school record holder in long and triple jump plus the 4x200 relay. He was voted football MVP last fall. He will compete in track at Northwestern College in Iowa next fall. 

The other finalists were Benny Bangs, Anni Moran, Ava Stanchina and Collin Vick. 

Brady qualified for the state cross-country meet four times. She was the Big Nine Conference champ as a freshman. She played basketball and ran track. Ginskey is the two-year starter at quarterback, was the sixth man for the basketball team, and was a member of the 4x800 state track relay last season. 

The other finalists were Molly Achterkich, Samantha Bogen, Caleb Hullopeter, and Mitch Seykora. 

 

Giving 110% 

Seniors Moran and Blake Burmeister are the 110% award winners. Moran is the number one scorer in OHS girls’ lacrosse history and played basketball and ran cross country. She will play lacrosse at Division II Quincy University.  Burmeister played soccer, basketball and golf. He holds the boys’ basketball school record for points and three-pointers made in a game. 

 

Lucky 13 

The O-Club grew by 13 at the ceremony with the recognition of student-athletes who lettered three times their senior year and five times in their high school career. They are Bangs, Burmeister, Mikah Elstad, Nils Gantert, Kiara Gentz, Natalie Krumholz, Moran, Oien, Cole Piepho, Macy Stanton, Ty Svenby, Vick and Ayden Walter.

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