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 pretty close to that huge landmark and he was keeping track of it, and it was just awesome to see that moment for him, seeing all that hard work and dedication pay off,” Coach Adam Woitalla said.
Unlike Johnson, the Owatonna wrestling team was not able to capture a win in all their appearances, losing to Northfield 41-34 on Friday.
The team escaped the week with more wins than losses though, squeaking past Albert Lea 35-32 and scoring two wins at home on Thursday against Mankato East 56-20 and Lakeville North 40-29.
The team put on quite the show for its home audience against Mankato East, as after the starting the night off with two wins via forfeit they tallied four-in-a-row by pinfall, eventually ending the match with six.
“It is always good winning at home. We have great fans here in Owatonna, we love their support, so it is good to go and compete in front of them and get two solid wins,” Woitalla said.
 
Looking ahead, the team will travel to Smiley High School on Thursday, for another triangular, this time against Smiley and Prior Lake, hoping for continued improvement.