Owatonna Wrestlers Have the Belief to Return to State

Owatonna wrestling opens up defense of its section championship Thursday, February 15 in their home gym at 7PM against the winner of the No. 8 seed Winona vs No. 9 Rochester Century which begins at 6PM. The Huskies are the top seed after a stellar season, including a close victory over Albert Lea February 3 and a solid victory over Faribault last Thursday to secure their second straight Big Nine title.

Huskies' coach Adam Woitalla said on Saturday's coaches show on KRFO that the team is wrestling well and they need to keep that in mind, "Right now we just have our kids believing. That's the message after Albert Lea. That's the message after Faribault. That's the message today after practice. Believe. Believe. Believe. Believe that we're a good team. Believe that you're confident and good things will happen."

With a victory Thursday, Owatonna would face the winner of No. 4 Northfield vs No. 5 Farmington in Saturday's Section 1AAA semifinals at 11AM at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester. No. 2 seed Albert Lea is likely to be waiting for the winner in the 1PM title match. The Tigers will face either Austin or John Marshall in Thursday's quarterfinals. They will meet No. 3 Faribault or No. 6 Mayo in the semifinals.

No. 11 seed Triton wrestles Thursday against No.6 LARP at 6PM at Chatfield in Section 1A. The winner faces the third seed Gophers at about 7PM. Zumbrota-Mazeppa and Goodhue are the top two seeds. Kasson-Mantorville and Simley are the top two seeds in Section 1AA.

Westfield has a home meet to begin the Section 2A tournament. The fourth-seeded Razorbacks face No. 5 Medford at Hayfield Thursday, February 15 at 7PM. The winner moves on to the semifinals Saturday at 2PM at LeSueur-Henderson High School. No. 9 NRHEG battles No. 8 Lake Crystal-Welcome Memorial at 6PM Thursday at Kenyon-Wanamingo High School. The winner must challenge the top-seeded Knights right afterward. Maple River is the No. 2 seed.