SPORTS WRAP
Brooklyn Christianson and Gabby Needham. Staff photo by Roy Koenig
Tis the season. If you missed the local school concerts, now is a good time to find the archives on OwatonnaLive.com. If you enjoyed them in person, you might want to experience them again.
Owatonna High School held its winter concert on Dec. 8. Junior Brooklyn Christianson told Owatonna Live, “What makes that a special event is that all of the kids that are involved in band, orchestra, choir will all be there. It’s the top groups and the top people in every ensemble there and ready to make some beautiful music.”
She participates in various bands, ensembles and sings in the choir. “I have a lot of musical family. I’ve grown up loving music and participating in music and my sister was in band in high school, both of my sisters. I have a sister in orchestra.”
Sophomore Gabby Needham looks forward to the class time. “It’s not just the music nerds or the jocks. It’s everyone all come together. We all get to play music and have a good time. You’re always meeting someone new. There’s not usually a day that goes by that you don’t see someone that you normally don’t see every day.”
Director of Bands Pete Guenther says band is for everyone. “Maybe they have a desire just to belong to something and be part of a team. Music is a great way to connect that. Let’s say you’re an introverted person. Well, you don’t have to talk to anybody when you’re playing your instrument. You can actually play music and speak your voice through your instrument.”
Needham, who plays the clarinet, likes the involvement. “I just love the football games. Even if it’s cold outside. We always have a good time. It’s not your usual band music. It’s upbeat. You have fun music and everyone has a fun time. There’s always a smile on everyone’s face.”
She enjoys pep band at hockey with how the music sounds in the arena and watching the game.
Christianson looks to pursue a career in music education, “All of my music teachers that I have had have inspired and enlightened that for music and my love for teaching.”
She qualified to play the bass trombone for an all-state band that performs at Orchestra Hall this February.
The band department is getting excited for the musical Les Misérables in late February and early March says Guenther. “That is a huge undertaking because it’s literally an opera. I’m doing the pit for that musical and I can tell you the music does not stop for the entire show. They will never stop playing. I think it will be something amazing to behold.”
Find the full conversation on OwatonnaLive.com
Off and running
Blooming Prairie boys basketball is picking up where they left off last season, winning games. They graduated several starters from a 21-7 squad that reached the section semifinals. They are 7-0 through Dec. 19.
Coach Cam Rutledge indicates, “We have two guys that played a lot of varsity last year, Gabe Staloch and Bradley Boyd. Both of those guys have been really great leaders for us over the summer coming into this season.”
He’s proud of those who have made the move from junior varsity. “They play really good minutes for us. Kingston Lee, Wyatt Rafdal and Jared Lee. Those guys are playing phenomenal basketball right now for us.”
Staloch commends the team’s defensive approach. “We’re talking a lot, switching, knowing where guys are gonna go. Helping others out when they’re getting screened.”
Sharing the ball on offense is the key to success according to Boyd. “We’re getting a lot of guys open just by moving the ball anywhere, everywhere. We’re getting it to the post a lot. Getting good buckets off of that.”
An imposing force in the paint is six-foot-three junior Lee, described by Boyd, “He’s a monster down there. He gets a lot of rebounds.”
Rutledge says, “(Lee) works so hard and he’s such a good athlete. He puts himself in really good spots. And most of the time he’s outworking the opponent in the paint. His first four games, he’s had 20, 21, 19 and 18 rebounds,” while averaging 15 points.
Staloch, lighting it up with 26 points per game, says the Awesome Blossoms have options, “We’re a really good three-point shooting team too. We got a couple kids that can shoot the ball real well. We’ll hit it from downtown too.”
Jared Lee says an aggressive mindset is paying dividends, “Be aggressive. Pass the ball. Have a share the ball mentality. We’ve been scoring a pretty good amount of points every game.”
Four years of experience at point guard is paying off for Staloch, “Knowing when you’re with your guys, what they like to do. So, when you’re running an offense, like we run a lot of motion, making sure that guys aren’t taking bad shots (and) getting them the ball where they really like it.”
Blooming Prairie shifts to Section 2AA this season, “It doesn’t seem like a big jump, but it really is,” states Rutledge. “That competition level and this level of basketball, it improves greatly as you go up. There’s a lot of good teams.”
One’s enough
If there ever was a game worth driving through a blizzard to attend, Owatonna’s 1-0 win over Rochester Mayo in boys hockey on Thursday, Dec. 18 was it. Senior Landen Sturges scored from the blue line 47 seconds into the game with assists from sophomore Samuel Monson and junior Zach Klecker.
Two sophomore goalies spent the rest of the night exchanging marvelous saves. Owatonna’s Braxton Ringhofer turned aside 21 shots, four of those in rapid succession with under a minute to go and the Spartans reinforced with an extra attacker. Mayo’s Colton Brandt stopped 25 shots.
Huskies’ senior defenseman Wyatt Macy had a solid game with numerous blocked shots and disrupted passes. Junior center Cameron Molina was strong in the faceoff circle. It was Owatonna’s fifth straight win over Mayo.
OHS plays in a Duluth tournament Dec. 29-31. Their next home game is Thursday, Jan. 8 against Rochester Lourdes.
Overtime clincher
The Steele County Blades treated their fans to a come-from-behind, overtime 5-4 win against the Northwest Express on Friday, ending a four-game losing skid and earning their first victory of the season over the team from Spooner, Wisconsin in four tries.
Trailing 4-3 with time winding down and an extra attacker on for the departed goalie, Kade Phillips hammered home the equalizer. The Express held the early possession advantage in the three-on-three overtime but didn’t generate any great scoring chances.
John Scott won a defensive faceoff to a Blades’ teammate and busted up the ice where he caught a breakaway pass and converted at 1:14 of the extra session with assists to Mason Ford and Alexander Wilkey.
Steele County opened the scoring on a Wilkey breakaway one minute into the game but spent most of the night behind. The Express twice had a two-goal lead. Zachary Stinski and Davin Seibel also scored. Braedyn Sullivan had 28 saves.
The Blades are on holiday break until Jan. 3 when they play at Hudson, Wisconsin. Their only home game in January is on the 23rd when they entertain the Minnesota Mullets at the Four Seasons Centre.