Owatonna Wrestling has five senior captains leading the team for the 2025-26 season. Captains Carter Flatland, Kaden Keller, Trey Hiatt, Riley Kreeger, and girls captain, McKayla Selle. With eyes set on a state appearance as a team this season. These captains plan to push everyone, every day, to achieve that goal. These team leaders have worked hard to be here and are ready for the season to begin.
Kreeger mentioned that the team will be competing in The Clash and The Christmas tournament this year, which are among the hardest competitions in the state of Minnesota. Kreeger proceeds to preach that “To have a good team, we need to make sure everyone gets along, and helps each other, to make it through The Clash, The Christmas tournament, and sections at the end of the year.”
Owatonna has always been second to teams such as Northfield and Albert Lea, the conference champion holders for many years. Owatonna was just short of beating Northfield twice in the 2024-25 season. Losing to them at the beginning of the year, 27-36. Then again, in the semi-finals of the section’s team tournament, 31-34.
“Just being what I can, doing what I can, would be the first thing going out there and giving it my all and encouraging everyone else to do the same, encouraging them that if we give our all, it’s for sure possible for us to beat these teams this year. As long as we come together.” Flatland says about getting over the hump of getting beaten by these teams again.
With the thought of wrestling being one of the hardest sports, both physically and mentally, there are some harsh things that are also the truth. Hiatt has wrestled for as long as he could remember, so he has seen and been through the glory of the sport as well as the harshness of the sport. He shares this quote that reflects his mindset to endure and thrive: “Don’t suck and don’t get tired.” He proceeded to explain that wrestling does have hard parts, but that’s the truth that can help the team make it to state this season.
Owatonna wrestling has also grown significantly in the girls’ program, to the point where it is now large enough to hold separate all-girls practices, ranging from youth to high school levels. In Owatonna, there are separate practices as well as coed practices for both guys and girls. Some of the more experienced girls go to all practices, but this also gives the newer girls a space to learn and grow.
In the eyes of the high school girls, everyone is split about liking and disliking the fact of separating girls and boys. A few girls have said that “Coach Johnson always said that it doesn’t matter if you’re a girl or a boy, we are one team. But now he’s trying to separate us into two teams”. On the other hand, some have said, “We like being split so you don’t have to feel the pressure or awkwardness of practicing in a room with the boys.”
Minnesota girls’ wrestling has really grown in the last couple of years. There were 551 girl wrestlers in the 2022-23 season, and that grew into 1,501 wrestlers in the 2024-25 season. This growth has been seen by our own girls’ captain in Owatonna, McKayla Selle. She mentioned that “When I first joined, the program was in its first steps of getting started, as we didn’t have many girls when I first joined. Now, our program has expanded enough for us to have our own team and practice sections, which I’m super proud of! It’s grown a lot since its first start, as when I first joined, there were not many, if any, girls-only tournaments, minus sections.” She feels very strongly that it’s an amazing program and has a great turnout for the future.
The goals are very clear for this season. The captains have a plan for the team. These captains are a great asset to this program and will bring amazing contributions to Owatonna Wrestling in a positive way for the whole.
