SPORTS WRAP
Playing college football wasn’t necessarily part of the plan for OHS senior Landen Sturges, let alone at the Division I level.
His first year of punting for the Huskies as a junior also did not inspire any big dreams, while averaging 33 yards per attempt.
Time in the weight room and improving on the “little things” changed all that going into his senior season. He upped his average to a school record 43.4 yards per punt. “I gained a lot of interest from (college) coaches, and coaches started reaching out, calling,” he said.
That’s landed him a spot with the University of St. Thomas and a chance to “compete for a starting spot my freshman year for punting.” He says last year’s punter and kicker left through the portal. There are several other kickers on the roster.
Sturges also converted three of five field goal attempts last fall, including a walk-off game-winner on homecoming, and went 18-for-20 on extra points.
“It’s a lot more cutthroat than high school. If you’re good that week, you’re on. If you’re not, well it looks like you’re not playing that week. I credit a lot of the success to lifting. A lot of it to coach (Jerry) Eggermont and coach (Ryan) Guenther for helping me get to the point I am strength-wise. And I would say a lot of drill work in my basement during the off season helped.”
A life-long soccer player, he was invited to try football by Drew Henson, a former soccer teammate and current kicker at University of Minnesota-Duluth.
Sturges is excited. “(St. Thomas) is a big school. Still small enough to be kind of like Owatonna. Big enough to where I’m in a big city with a bunch of new opportunities. Being able to play at the Division I level is a real cool experience. Being able to travel all around to play teams from across the country.”
He plans to study business management and sports management.
Family smarts
Seniors Lucy Jacobs and Will Halverson are Owatonna’s Triple “A” award nominees. The Academics, Arts and Athletics Award is a program through the Minnesota State High School League.
For Jacobs, it is a family tradition. Her mom, Sara, earned the honor at OHS with the class of 1994, while her dad was the Howard Lake Triple “A” winner in 1993. Calling the award “cool,” she says it’s “even cooler” to follow in her parents’ footsteps.
Lucy is active in music, from choir and carolers to orchestra and marching band. “Everyone in the music department at Owatonna is so talented and they’re so much fun to be around. The (theater) director (Erik) Eitrheim and (Paula) Asmus, they’re both insanely talented as well. And (Pete) Guenther, who runs the (orchestra) pit, he’s so passionate… It just fits together like a puzzle,” said Jacobs.
She was part of the winter musical Les Misérables. “It was just a crazy amount of work. But everyone was super great. The cast was so much fun… It was a real cool story for high school students to be able to tell. It’s a very intense show,” she said.
Jacobs runs cross country and track. “I love the team atmosphere, being around lots of runners and getting to hang out with the team every day.”
She is in Knowledge Bowl and National Honor Society. “You only get one chance of being in high school, may as well do as many activities as you can.”
She plans to attend the University of Northern Iowa to study to become a forensic psychologist.
Halverson was inspired by previous OHS Triple “A” honorees. “I’ve always looked up to them as mentors and leaders in the school. So, it’s really cool to be that kind of person for other kids that might want to do this in the next couple years,” he said.
He is a top-eight finalist in the state for Class AA.
Halverson has had a great experience in music in band and choir over the last four years. “It’s been all I could ask for. I’m more involved in choir, I would say, and my favorite part about that is that it feels just like a family. (Carolers) has probably been my favorite club. Going to nursing homes and businesses and being able to spread that holiday spirit.”
A student council member since sixth grade, he feels they have made a strong impact with the student body.
Halverson played football and basketball and throws shot put and discus in the spring. “Sports is such a great part of the high school experience. Because you have those two or three hours a day at practice that’s away from school, and away from everything else that you can hang out with your friends. You want to become better at the sport, but you’re creating those life skills at the same time that you don’t even realize at the time until it’s all done and over,” said Halverson.
He plans to throw discus and javelin at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire where he will study to become an actuary.
Activities Director Marc Achterkirch told The FAN-Owatonna radio station, “Triple ‘A’ for seniors is the big one, probably the biggest award in the state of Minnesota for high school that you can receive as a student-athlete.”