SPORTS WRAP

            Showing beef at the Steele County Fair during the first week of high school soccer practice makes for some long days.

            “Fair week’s a little hectic,” says Owatonna High School goalkeeper Carson Van Gelder.

            Wednesday is show day at the fair for beef cattle. “I get everything ready by 5:15-5:30 in the morning to get to practice by 6 a.m. And then I’ll head here. Work with the calves. Wash them. Get them ready for show day. Kind of chill. Make sure they’re doing alright.

            “Then, we have afternoon practice. Come straight back with my brother, Brendan (who’s also showing beef and is a soccer player). Go shower in the goat barns and then get ready for the show,” said Van Gelder. He didn’t get home until nearly midnight.

            Van Gelder is going on 10 years of exhibiting animals and fine arts for 4-H at the fair, overlapping with his time on a soccer pitch. “I’d say there’s a little bit of trust in the process. A lot of time goes into working with these animals… Working through those frustrating moments both on the field and in the barns.”

            His beef steer is named “Gavroche” since it was born during the OHS production of Les Misérables, in which the Van Gelders had roles.

            He’s excited about his senior season, working with new head coach Jeremy Wood and reviewing his options for college soccer. Brendan, a sophomore, will be the back up keeper. “It’ll be a cool dynamic this year, having a younger brother on your team,” stated Carson.

            But first things first, “The fair ain’t done yet. We’ll be going back and forth driving to and from the Cities and the (state) fairgrounds, to get to practices, wash calves and keep working with it.”

            The beef show is Friday, Aug. 28. OHS opens their season at home on Saturday, Aug. 29 against Lakeville North at 1 p.m.

4-H farewell

            This year marks the last go around in 4-H for 2025 OHS grads Isabella Schultz and Finn Loveless.

            Schultz shows dairy. She’s learned life lessons and met people she may not have otherwise. “They’re just some incredible people. I really found a passion for the dairy industry… I think it’s cool for my grandpa (Bill Jewison) to see me getting into something that he remembers doing as a kid.”

            That interest led to becoming a dairy princess for the county, “To get to share my love and passion for this industry with anybody that I meet.”

            While going to school at University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota and studying occupational therapy, Schultz has run across students with no agricultural background. “It was cool to get to share, ‘Hey, I show cows at the fair. These are the animals that produce milk but also cheese and ice cream’ and all of these products and share what it means to be a farmer.”

            Loveless says next summer will feel different. “It takes up so much time every single summer and it’s what you look forward to, and I think it will be weird, especially next summer if I come back to Owatonna, to be not doing 4-H.

            “I think the biggest lesson I learned was knowing that you can control what you put into it. But you can’t control all the variables and what comes out of it. So, just focusing on the work you put it,” said Loveless.

            Loveless, who has a reserve champion market lamb, played tennis at OHS. “Getting to learn how to play an individual sport with a team. How to be a part of a team which is a little different than the livestock which can be a little more of a solo endeavor,” he said.

            He is pursuing industrial engineering at University of Wisconsin-Madison. “I got really lucky at school. My dorm at Madison, it was right next to a dozen brand new tennis courts. It was super easy to always find someone down there playing.

            “Playing with people of different skill levels, friends who had never played before. It was just a fun thing to go and mess around with, in a little bit of a less serious situation,” he said.

Schultz ran cross-country and track for the Huskies. While running is an individual effort, “The team is still there. It’s very important. Everybody there is a great person and builds each other up and pushes each other to be their best.”

Now she runs for herself. “I realized that I have a passion for running too. Same with dairy. It’s just something that I love doing. It makes me happy. I want to keep doing it,” said Schultz.

She ran her first half marathon in May in Rochester and has her sights set on a full marathon.

Mini golf debut

            For the first time the Steele County Free Fair had a mini-golf course this year. Scott Limberg owns the portable course through his Tent Rentals and More business. “Nine simple holes. Everybody can play it, from the little, tiny kids to the grandparents. It’s pretty simple. They’re all lit up with LED lights,” said Limberg.

            Unlike other fair attractions that left town on Sunday, mini golf can be rented by families for birthday parties or get-togethers and by corporations for company functions like Christmas parties. Limberg says OHS has had it for multiple events.

            “It can be set up indoors or outdoors, on a parking lot, or in the grass, or in the gymnasium. It’s very portable.” Rental includes transportation and set-up.

            He saw a niche for this type of entertainment locally. “When I was doing my research, I saw a lot of rental businesses down south that had them but nobody in this area… That’s what we were looking for, something unique,” he said.

            He also has a two-person dueling basketball game. “As they make the baskets, the ball goes to the other side. So, the idea is to get rid of all your basketballs before the other person does.”

            Find his full array of games and party supplies at tentrentalsandmore.com.

Football honor

            NRHEG grad Quinn Vanmaldeghem had an “amazing experience” at her first Minnesota Vikings’ game. She was part of an on-field ceremony for the all-state flag football team at Saturday’s preseason game. “When I was going back to my seat everyone was saying ‘Congratulations.’

            “This is our first time ever having a team. For me being the first one to ever get all-state was really kind of special to me. I never got anything like that,” said VanMaldeghem.

Playing multiple positions during the season, running back was her favorite. She led the state in rushing.

            The Panthers had a stellar debut season. “I think we did an amazing job for being our first time. We made it really far. We only lost one game and that was in the playoffs. Going into the playoffs at 8-0, I couldn’t be more proud of how we did.”

            NRHEG Activities Director Dan Stork coached the team. “The Vikings are really responsible for getting all this going. We got a huge grant to get this off the ground.

            “All of our athletes were multi-sport athletes. We tailored around that. Being that it was run through community and not the Minnesota State High School League, we could do things on Sundays.

            “We had a fun, fun year. Some of those girls picked it up quickly and ran with it. They’re a fun group of kids,” Stork added. The Panthers had varsity and junior varsity and should have good numbers returning.

            VanMaldeghem was excited to have flag football be a Sunday sport allowing her to continue her high school spring sport. For college she will play basketball at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato. “I can’t go without sports,” she said.