Huskies repeat as section champs
Owatonna’s 4x200-meter relay team of Nolan Ginskey, Keanan Larson, Lucas Webber, and Justin Gleason stands victorious atop the podium. The four athletes qualified for state with a time of 1:28.07 and set the second-best mark in the state for the 2023 season. Staff photo by Johnnie Phillips
The Owatonna boys’ track and field team repeated as section champs last week at the Section 1AAA meet at Lakeville South High School.
The Huskies took first with 176.5 team points and qualified three individuals and one relay team for the state meet at St. Michael-Albertville High School on Thursday, June 8.
Qualifying for the Huskies were Justin Gleason (200-meter, 4x200-relay, triple jump, and long jump), Seth Johnson (110-meter hurdles) and Trever Schirmer (discus).
Outside of Gleason qualifying for every event in which he competed, the highlight of the meet was the team’s 4x200-meter relay squad that set a new school record and current 2023 Minnesota state best time of 1:28.07.
Competing for the Huskies in the event were Gleason, Nolan Ginskey, Lucas Webber, and Keanan Larson.
Fans in attendance watched Larson cross the finish line with his arms raised high as the team’s final leg runner knew they had the record in hand as he finished the last few meters.
On the girls’ side, Owatonna finished in sixth place with 101 points.
Qualifying for the girls’ team were Jozie Johnson (triple jump) and Carsyn Brady (800-meter).
Johnson made school history with a record jump of 36 feet and one inch in the triple jump to take second place and qualify for the state meet.
Meanwhile, Brady took second place in the 800-meter race with a time of 2:16.63 – good for the 18th-best time in the state in 2023.
Class AAA preliminary rounds for the 2023 MSHSL state meet at St. Michael-Albertville will begin at 9 a.m. on Thursday, June 8.
Races will span from 9 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. with field events beginning at the same time and concluding at 10:30 a.m.
Athletes who qualify for the final round at the state meet will return to competition on Saturday, June 10 with the first races and field events beginning at 3:30 p.m.