The Owatonna Boys Swim and Dive team has prepared long and hard in the offseason, both in and out of the pool. Starting this year, the team has spent more time in the weight room each week to focus on conditioning their strength.

The work they have put in outside of the pool has been challenging, but the guys know it’s all worth it in the end. Head coach Peter Rhodes said, “As a whole, they are a hard-working group of guys. The workouts that they do are hard, but they have a pretty good attitude about it. They see the benefit of the work they are doing.” The team has earned themselves a record of 1-4 so far in both conference and non-conference meets.

They have been working hard to improve each and every day to become a better team. Captain Colten Kamholz said, “This year the team has been improving by having the coach help them more as well as asking a lot of questions to their older teammates. We’ve also been swimming the best we can at practices and meets too.” This strong work ethic is proving to pay off as they took third overall in South St. Paul on January 12. Logan Steckelberg and Fletcher Schulz both took second and third place in the 100-meter backstroke. The team is refining their game and getting excited as they prepare for their next meet against Mankato East on January 24, at the Owatonna Middle school at 6 p.m. in Mankato.