Huskies Name ‘Athlete of the Year’ Finalists

The Owatonna High School Athletic Department has announced the finalists for the senior and junior female and male Athlete of the Year awards. The student-athletes are included in each category for a total of 12 nominees. The top athlete in each area will be announced on Wednesday, May 27. The 110-percent award winners will also be revealed at that time.

OHS will still honor its O-Club members despite the cancellation of the spring sports season. The O-Club designation goes to students who letter five times in the high school career with three of those coming during their senior year. Seniors who were on a spring roster will be included for consideration.

Senior girls up for the female Athlete of the Year include Sara Anderson, Asia Buryska, and Kaitlyn Madole. Anderson was on the tennis, basketball, and track teams. She will attend Winona State University and play tennis. Buryska played soccer and hockey. She will play soccer at Bemidji State University. Madole played volleyball and was a slugger and pitcher for the softball team. She will attend Wisconsin-Eau Claire and play softball.

The three boys up for male senior Athlete of the Year are Zach Wiese, Isaac Gefre, and Keenan Young. Wiese played football, hockey and baseball. He plans to play junior hockey with the Rochester Grizzlies. Gefre played football and baseball. Young was in football and track.

Junior girls up for the Athlete of the Year honor are Lindsay Bangs, Sarah Kingland, and Grace Wolfe. Bangs is a multi-time place winner at the state gymnastics meet and is an Honor Roll member for the Huskies' track team. Kingland participates in soccer, basketball, and track. Wolfe plays soccer and hockey.

The boys up for Athlete of the Year for the junior class are Payton Beyer, Zach Kubicek, and Brayden Truelson. Beyer plays football, basketball, and baseball, Kubicek plays soccer, hockey, and lacrosse. Truelson plays football, basketball, and baseball.