Seykora and Woitalla replace Cliff Casteel, who stepped down from the head coaching job in April after five seasons to spend more time with his family. Casteel will remain as a special education instructor at Owatonna High.
Seykora has spent the last 13 seasons as an assistant coach with the Huskies, and, in fact, was on the staff when OHS won its last Minnesota state team title in 2005. Woitalla comes to Owatonna having graduated from St. Olaf College in nearby Northfield, Minn. in 2016, where, as a wrestler, was a scholar All-American. Woitalla was unable to wrestle for the Oles as a senior because of an injury; instead, he gained experience serving as an assistant on the Northfield High staff where his father, Mark, was the head coach.
Seykora admitted he hadn't even considered the idea of seeking the head coaching position at Owatonna.
"Actually, I didn't apply for the job," Seykora told the People's Press. "It wasn't that I didn't feel like I could do it; I just wanted to make sure they could find a great candidate. When they opened it up, Ryan (Swanson, Owatonna athletic director) came to me and showed me the list of candidates and said he wanted to bring in a younger coach with a fresh look and relate to the kids. He liked Adam's application and he interviewed great. Ryan approached me about the co-head coach at one point -- almost like a student-teacher type of situation."
For Woitalla, having Seykora's knowledge and experience at his side will make for a smooth transition as he launches his coaching career.
"Having a co-head coach was in the works from the very beginning," Woitalla said. "Scott brings amazing experience and knowledge of the community and the wrestling program. You want someone like Scott involved."
According to Seykora, the co-head coaching label will be a "year-to-year" process, with duties to be split evenly.
Seykora and Woitalla agree that their first priority will be to meet with the assistant coaching staff and talk about their vision and direction for the program.
The coaching duo of Seykora and Woitalla will head up an Owatonna wrestling program that has enjoyed a legacy of success, once having been coached by Scot Davis, "the winningest prep wrestling coach in the nation" for a quarter-century, until 2011. All of OHS' six state qualifiers from 2016 are returning, including two-time state title winner Peyton Robb, and195-pound state champ Brandon Moen, once he recovers from a knee injury. Owatonna's AD believes the new co-head coaches will be able to keep the Huskies mat program among the top 10-15 in Minnesota.
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