SPORTS WRAP
Pitching for the Blue Devils
Kennedy Hodgman (OHS Class of ’24) announced recently she’ll play softball at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. She told Beyond the Game’s Todd Walkingstick that she started playing in first grade and began pitching at age eight.
“My mom and dad taught me how to pitch. It took me a couple of years to be able to hit the catcher’s glove and be pretty consistent with it,” she said.
She remembered her first varsity start as a sophomore.
“It was very nerve-wracking being there for the first time and having to start the game,” she said. Her repertoire of pitches has grown over the years.
“I throw a fastball, change-up, drop ball, rise ball, and a screwball,” she said.
Hodgman and the Huskies shut down Morehouse Park last spring with a win over Rochester Mayo.
“It was very exciting because we played very well, and it was nice to have a very good game in our last one at Morehouse.”
She’s looking forward to games at the diamond at the new high school. She will miss many things, but not everything from Morehouse.
“Probably not the trains, but that field is very nice. I really like that it was dirt too,” she said.
Hodgman has played four years of club ball and has plenty of experience on turf fields.
“There’s not a hole like there is in the dirt. So, I think that makes it a little bit easier,” she said.
She tossed about 100 innings, striking out nearly 80 batters last spring for a team that won 15 games and finished in the top third of the Big Nine Conference.
“I’d like to win the Big Nine Conference. I think that’d be a really good goal for us to have because we’ve been close every single year that I’ve played on varsity,” said Hodgman on her team goals for the upcoming spring season.
She plans to pursue biology and a pre-med track at Stout.
Wins and titles
Huskies’ grad Carson DeKam was one of the defensive leaders in Saturday’s 38-35 Gustavus Adolphus win over No. 7 St. Johns. DeKam had a sack and six tackles, with one for a loss. It was the Gusties' first win over the Johnnies in ten years. The senior leads the team in tackles.
OHS grad Grace Wolfe and her St. Cloud State University women’s hockey team won the Ice Breaker Tournament in Connecticut over the weekend. Wolfe had six blocked shots in a win over Northeastern. The junior has a goal and four assists this season and leads the team in blocks.
First career goals
Nate Rakness (Fairmont) and Roberts Briedis (Bauska, Latvia) scored the first goals of their junior hockey careers in the Steele County Blades 6-4 win over division-leading Wisconsin Rapids on Saturday. Brody Ward (Annandale) had two power-play goals. Noah LaFleur (West Salem, Wisconsin) and Steven Pribula (Baxter) also scored at Four Seasons Centre.
Briedis is in his first year with the Blades after spending a season of AAA hockey in Canada.
“It was hard being away from home. It was my first year away from my parents. That was kind of hard. But then I got used to it. My agent knew the coach from Canada. They got together and I had one week to decide if I wanted to go or not. I went and I had an awesome year. I was leading the team in goals,” said Briedis.
He misses his hometown of Bauska.
“It’s in the south side of Latvia, bordering Lithuania. The border is 17 kilometers away. Our town is not too big. It’s 10,000 people. Our town is kind of cool from a bird’s point of view because it is covered by two rivers. The rivers kind of collide and make one big river, and we are in the middle of the two rivers. We have a big castle with a park where I like to go for walks to relax there. I love my country and my town,” he said.
Done in the ring
After a 15-year professional wrestling career, Kenny Dreyling retired in Owatonna and began working a few years ago at Hy-Vee Foods, where he is a Food Service Manager. When a pro wrestling event was added to the opening day of the Steele County Fair in 2022, he resurrected his “Cody O’Neil” persona and entered the ring.
“Kind of a hand and glove fit,” was his reaction when fair manager Scott Kozelka reached out.
At this year’s fair, he indicated he is again retiring from the ring. We spoke about his unique hobby during a recent appearance on Owatonna Live’s Business Talk program.
“I had been out of the ring for about five years up until last year, but my wife has made it blatantly obvious that was the last show that I’m going to do this,” he said.
He looks back fondly on his time in the ring.
“What a cool experience. From being a little guy and sitting with my grandpa and watching AWA wrestling events and saying, ‘Grandpa, I want to do that.’ And being able to have a dream come true… it’s been fantastic,” he said.
He enjoys his current role with Hy-Vee, where he says it feels like family.