SPORTS WRAP

Owatonna High School senior Luke Webber is looking forward to his senior season on the gridiron and has his plans set for next fall with his recent commitment to the University of Minnesota, Duluth.

In an interview with Todd Walkingstick on Owatonna Live’s Beyond the Game, Webber said he didn’t feel many butterflies at the start of his junior year.

“Honestly, they weren’t as bad as I thought they would be. I felt like I had a lot of adrenaline, but not much going through my head. Just going out there ready to play,” said Webber.

He elevated to a starting role before the scrimmage a week ahead of the season opener due to a last-minute change in the depth chart.

“So, they just threw me out there. I really wasn’t worried during two-a-days,” he said. “That was my first year starting at defensive back. Through all the years I came up in the system, I’d mainly been a wide receiver. So, it was kind of new at the start, but I felt like I really got into my groove toward the end of the year. That’s what I’ve been training for all off-season.”

The feeling on opening night at the new high school will stick with him.

“That was surreal, honestly. There’s no other feeling like that. Just running out with all your buddies and then looking up and just seeing the whole stadium just packed, all wearing white. It was awesome,” said Webber.

Webber earned All-District Honorable Mention for the section champs.

“Luke elevated into a great cover corner. His speed and nose for the ball made it very hard for teams to get over the top of him for a big play,” said Owatonna head coach Jeff Williams.

He joins Drew Henson (OHS ’22, kicker/punter) on the Bulldogs roster. UMD comes south to play at Winona State on Nov. 2 and to St. Paul to face Concordia the following week.

Webber was a member of the state track championship 4x200 relay team with Garrett Karsten, Nolan Ginskey and Keanan Larson in June. Three were members of the third place finish last year.

“We worked our tails off in the winter speed and strength program. We were telling each other every day, ‘This is our year. We just keep at this; we’re going to go get it.’ And that’s exactly what happened,” said Webber.

City Golf Open

The Owatonna City Golf Open is this weekend, Aug. 3-4, at the Owatonna Country Club (OCC) and Brooktree Golf Course. The junior event is Aug. 1-2 and utilizes Havana Hills Golf Course for those aged 4-12.

“I think it’s amazing that there’s a tournament that people can come back to play in. I think it’s something that a lot of people take pride in, to be able to say, ‘Hey, I’m going back to my hometown to play in this tournament that I could potentially win.’ I think it’s a great opportunity for people to get to play with others that play at different courses and meet new people,” said OCC golf pro Brady Arnold.

Arnold (OHS ’01) is back in town after living in Los Angeles and loves the course.

“It’s a challenging course. It’s short. If you’re a non-member and you’re coming to this course, you kind of have this perception of, ‘Oh, I’m going to be able to overpower this course because it’s only 6,300 yards.’ So, not a very long course, but it’s tight. It’s got some tricky holes. If you haven’t played here before, the greens are not easy. You kind of have to get used to them. I think the members love the challenge. Some days you can play really well, and some days the course gets you.”

Frequent Open participant and OwatonnaLive.com announcer Jason Iacovino is a big fan of Brooktree.

“It’s one of the best municipal courses in Minnesota. Two distinct nine-hole sides that will test your length and accuracy. Cut through an absolutely gorgeous part of Owatonna along Maple Creek. It’s always the tougher course for the OCC members as every shot on the back nine needs to be precise,” said Iacovino.

Par 3 Challenge

The first Misfits Par Three Challenge was hosted at Havana Hills on Saturday, July 27, raising funds for the Owatonna Golf Boosters. Organizer and co-host of the Mic’d Up Misfits on The FAN/Owatonna Jon Weisbrod wrote in a social media posting, “I cannot thank everyone who helped make this possible enough. It was a smashing success.”

Below is the order of finish:

Flight 1: Will and James Brittain, Cooper and Danica Hager, Jason and Logan Eyberg.

Flight 2: Ryan and Cole Kennedy, Neil and Paige Thompson, Anna and Tracy Mollenhauer.

Flight 3: Tami and Jack Langlois, Cody Grems and Grayson Campion, Randy Grey and Keegan Klein. Flight 4: Matt and Tyler Smith, Fran Skala and William Hardy, Lisa and Mackenzie Eyberg.