The Owatonna Boys’ Cross Country team has enjoyed a successful start to its season, but not without facing its share of adversity. They currently sit third in their section and are ready to make an impact in the postseason, both in Section 1AAA and in the Big Nine Conference, working hard to compete in the state competition in November. The Huskies have four meets in October, three of which are at home, and they will get the opportunity to not only host sections but also the Big Nine Conference meet as well.
This team brings back a lot of talent from previous years, led by Senior Captains Dawson Levy and Ayoub Farah, as well as Junior Captain Micah Gentz. When asked what the role of captain means, Farah stated, “Being a captain means setting the standard, leading by example, and supporting teammates in every way possible.”
Levy had this to say about the season and team, “We’ve been doing a lot better with our mental skills while we run, a lot of guys are now letting their physical side show instead of just having that hidden potential… We’ve been doing fairly good for the amount of teams we have been facing, such as in the Griak [invitational], where we scored 8th out of 46 teams .”
Goals and aspirations are something that motivates this team to go out every practice and get better day by day. But one goal stands apart for this ambitious Owatonna team: “There is only one goal, and that is to go to state. Anything on top of that is frosting on the cake, like winning conference or winning sections would be nice, but we want to go to state mainly,” said Gentz about the team’s goal to make it to state.
Head Coach Mr. Luke Holt, who enters his third year as head coach, leads this team through thick and thin. Holt has had a long and rich history with this team. He coached many of the upperclassmen at OHS in middle school, so he’s gotten to see all their progress from then to now. “The process from middle school to high school is amazing to see, not only athletically, but also academically and just as people. It’s cool to see the growth, and having a young kid become a young man is very awesome to see, and how their work ethic pays off over time in every aspect of their life,” Holt said about his experience with coaching.
When asked what challenges the team has faced, and how they have overcome them, Holt said, “A big thing we face this year has been the number of injuries that we’ve had from summer running going into the start of the cross-country season … So they’re overcoming some of those physical injuries they’re dealing with, and mentally they are overcoming that too, becoming a more positive and energetic team trying to make it to state.”
Not only do the 2025 Huskies have a strong upperclassmen class, but they also have young, impactful contributors. Among them is Freshman Andrew Jacott, who has made quite an impact this season. “It’s pretty cool, I’m on varsity for diving, so it’s pretty normal for me now [competing at the varsity level]. The team pushes me and looks out for me while also being really good role models. We are a really good team with a really good mindset,” said Jacott about his road to varsity and the team’s success.
A strong culture is a strong foundation for a successful team, and this team’s culture and mindset are what set them apart from the competition. When asked what the team bond is like this year, Junior Kaiden Struss said, “It’s a really tight bond, I’d say compared to a lot of other sports we’re very close to each other, your with each other for three hours a day six days a week, and you run as a pack the whole time so your talking for most of the three hours of practice, and a lot of the time we’re also hanging outside of practice having fun.”
Holt further elaborates on this team’s mentality and ambitions, “Driven, they are extremely driven to reach that goal, they really wanna get back to state and start a state run as they call it, meaning back to back to back years of making it to state as a team and trying to break down that barrier of beating the Lakeville Norths, that are always at the top of the section.” This team is here with purpose and intent, competing with passion and grit as they work hard to compete in the state competition.
The Huskies’ next meet is the Mankato East Invitational on Wednesday, October 8, at Benson Park, Mankato.
