SPORTS WRAP
Owatonna boys basketball has been known for having an aggressive man-to-man defense. This winter they are shifting to a 1-2-2 zone.
Coach Josh Williams, in his 22nd year, explains, “We’ve always been a run-and-jump, man-to-man team…This is a defense where you can still cause as much if not more turnovers and still play that way. It’s just a different alignment. Instead of man, you’re in a zone.”
Between their first two games of the season they forced 55 turnovers, “I don’t think we’ve ever done that before in two games to start a season. It’s doing what we hoped.” He had some help installing it from now-retired hall of fame Austin coach Kris Fadness.
While they are giving up some good shots to their opponents, Williams believes in its effectivenesss. “We’re going to learn each day. Get better each day. Try to preach to the guys that we want to be really good come middle of January into February and March,” said Williams.
Senior captain Nolan Ginskey is ready to keep up the pressure.
“We’re mixing it up. We’re still going to get in people’s grills. Still going to have a lot of ball pressure, force turnovers, and hopefully that leads into offense.”
Darian Stansky, a senior captain, says everyone must fill their role.
“Making sure we’re finding the cutters, getting to our spots in that zone. Make sure we don’t give up passing lanes. Getting tips on passes. I think with our talent and athleticism it’ll help us create a lot more turnovers this year.”
Say ‘Cheese’
Speaking of learning something new, Aaron Guzman is a regular fixture nowadays at sporting events taking pictures and videos. He started snapping shots of nature in 2018. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he took a deep dive into photography.
“I bought into certain genres: weddings, senior photos, sports stuff. So, I learned it from an education standpoint and said, ‘If I’m going to do this, I’m going to try and excel.’ When COVID-19 came off, I was ready to hit the ground running. I did some wedding workshops across the country. I really just sped up my learning curve by education.”
Sports offers up a couple of challenges.
“The equipment is super expensive to get into. You need super long lenses. You need lenses that are fast, that can shoot in low light.
“The other thing is knowing the game as well. Understanding how that game is played, where to position yourself in order to get ball, face, full body in the frame.”
A great capture of a Seth Johnson one-handed touchdown catch came in at 150 frames. Guzman would typically go home from a football game with as many as 5,000 photos. Computer software assists in narrowing down that stockpile.
As a former Division One football player, he had a special attachment to this year’s team.
“I was emotionally involved with the guys. So, I was trying to stay in the camera, but I was rooting at the same time. Probably missed some frames. But I’ve known those guys since they were freshmen,” said Guzman.
He gets around to many sports. I’ve spotted him at hockey games frequently where he gets elevated to avoid the obstruction of the glass at floor level. He’s worked with the Owatonna chamber on projects including the Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener in 2023 and the recent holiday-lighted parade. He shares his passion with his wife, who takes wonderful nature photos.
Guzman helped make the recent Give Week at OHS a big success, according to student council member Emery Vick.
“He created an amazing video for us that really just helped push our message about the different charities and the many different days that we were doing. So, we’re very thankful for that,” said Vick.
Give Week raised $1,500 for the United Way of Steele County. It brought in nearly 600 boxes of cereal for Community Pathways, almost 300 items for Toys for Tots, and many coats for the Husky Pantry.
Taming the Tigers
Owatonna boys hockey picked up a dramatic 4-3 overtime win against Farmington on Thursday, a key section victory. Zach Knott batted in a rebound after Andy Mitchell won a faceoff and walked in on the goalie.
The Huskies withstood a 16-shot onslaught by the Tigers in the third period. Garrett Stelter had 29 saves. His teammates blocked a myriad of shots.
Coach Dennis Will said before the game, “It’s a big game. We only see them once and we prefer to be seeded ahead of them at playoff time.”
Mitchell and Zach Klecker traded scoring plays on odd-man rushes. Grady Roush scored his first varsity goal, at the time evening the game at 1-1 in the first period. He’s the sixth Husky to earn a ceremonial puck this season.
“It’s a lot fun handing out pucks for first varsity goals. That is excitement. Hopefully, it’s not just a singular goal. We want lots of goals,” Will laughed. Owatonna (4-2) plays at Rochester Mayo on Dec. 19.
Packers prevail
Owatonna girls basketball recovered from a slow start to deliver a back-and-fourth performance with Austin on Friday the 13th on Federated Court. The teams traded the lead 13 times, and the Huskies were up at the half but faded down the stretch and lost 62-54.
OHS fell behind 9-2 due to turnovers and cold shooting. They settled down and handled the ball better while getting some steals of their own. Owatonna took their first lead at 13-12 and the game seesawed its way to halftime with the Huskies up 31-28.
The Packers went on a 9-0 run midway through the second half to go ahead 48-41. OHS went on their own 11-3 dash to pull within 55-54, fueled in part by shooting seven-for-eight at the free throw line. Austin’s Ajiem Agwa hit a couple of contested baskets late as part of a game-high 21 points.
Owatonna’s Jersey Coleman had 15 points and about 10 rebounds. Jessica Fisher scored 10 and Leah Leckner added eight – both off the bench. It was Austin’s fifth straight win to open the season. The Huskies slipped to 2-4 (2-3 Big Nine Conference) with road games up next at Winona on Dec. 17 and Rochester Century on Dec. 19.
Close games
Huskies boys soccer kept fans on the edge of their seats this fall with 10 games decided by one goal or less. Half of those ended in a tie. OHS went 4-8-5 overall and 4-3-4 in the Big Nine Conference. Senior Jack Mottl earned Most Valuable Player honors and Defensive Player of the Year.
He was also all-conference with senior Lukas Vargas and junior Gavin Burmeister. Senior Kellen Katzung was honorable mention. Vargas won the Golden Boot Award with seven goals and four assists. He also landed the Goal of the Year Award with his marker against Rochester Mayo during sections.
Katzung and Fletcher Marks were named Coaches Award winners. Captains for 2025 will be Burmeister, Carson Van Gelder and Andrew Beaver.
The Huskies compiled a 3.51 GPA to qualify for the Team Academic Silver Award.
Coach Bob Waypa says the final record doesn’t tell the whole story.
“We actually conceded less goals this year than last year. Last season, we won 11 games, this season, four. We possessed the ball more. We had more shots. The post kind of caught us this year,” said Waypa.
OHS had a couple of hard-to-swallow 1-0 losses in games he felt they outplayed their opponent.
Tennis shots
OHS girls tennis turned in a great fall season (11-3 overall, 9-2 in the Big Nine Conference) while reaching the section semifinals, where they lost to eventual state champ Rochester Mayo.
“We had a fantastic season where each player contributed to our success. We had great senior captain leadership from Emma Herzog, Hannah Nelson, Lauren Nelson, and Ellery Blacker,” said Owatonna Head Coach Curt Matejcek
Big Nine All-Academic players include Amanda Clubb, Joanna Haggerty, Lauren Nelson, Hannah Nelson, Blacker and Herzog, each with a 3.65 GPA or higher. Herzog and Blacker were all-conference. Blacker landed the Sportsmanship Award.
Big Nine honorable mention went to Genevieve Froman and Patty Procopio. Froman had the best record at 16-4. Most Improved Players were Lily Thiele and Sophie Grams in a vote by their teammates.
OwatonnaLive.com play-by-play
Thursday, Dec. 19:
OHS boys swim/dive vs. Rochester JM, 6 p.m.
OHS girls hockey vs. Rochester Mayo, 7 p.m.
Medford boys basketball vs. WEM, 7:15 p.m.
OHS boys basketball vs. Century, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 20:
OHS wrestling invite, 4:30 p.m.
Blooming Prairie boys/girls basketball doubleheader, 5:45 p.m.