July 1, 2011 at 6:27 p.m.
RHS finds success in GNC
Hodags win five titles in first year in new conference
RHS finds success in GNC
By Jonathan Bailey-
The Hodags concluded the 2010-11 school year with championships in five sports and considerable turnarounds in a number of others. Boys' soccer, baseball, golf, and girls' and boys' tennis all won GNC titles, while the girls' basketball and soccer teams ended up just short of their own crowns.
While all coaches interviewed by The Northwoods River News were happy about the transition, the extent to which they thought it affected their team's success differed on a sport-to-sport basis.
RHS baseball head coach Joe Waksmonski, whose team went a perfect 12-0 in its inaugural season in the GNC, knows that he had a talented squad that could have competed in any conference in the state and that being in the GNC may have caused some schools to downplay its successful season.
"I think someone from the outside will see that Rhinelander was 12-0 and think maybe they're too good for the GNC, but I don't see that at all," Waksmonski said. "My first couple years here we had teams that were 4-17 that could barely compete in the Valley and I don't know if we would have done that well in the GNC. It's all about how good a program is, it doesn't matter what conference you're in."
Jim Moore, the head coach of both the football and track programs, however, saw the change of conferences as a relief, especially considering the numbers that are necessary to be successful in both sports.
"The GNC is a great fit for us in both track and football," Moore said. "They're both very challenging conferences. In track we're at the bottom, so we still have work to do. I think it's not so difficult now (in the GNC) that hopefully we can see there's a chance to do well if we put in the time.
"As far as football goes, we were 3-6 last year," he added. "The games were a lot closer than when we were playing the Valley schools. We had 11 wins as a program last year ... the most in the seven seasons that I have been here."
A significant reason in Rhinelander's decision to move to the GNC was the school's decreasing enrollment, coupled with the growth of numerous other schools in the WVC. Boys' basketball head coach Derek Lemmens, who graduated from RHS in 2001, has seen that shift from his Hodag playing days, which included a run to state.
"I think (the conference change) has been good for the school in a way because we're not the school that we used to be, especially in terms of enrollment," Lemmens said. "Enrollment is dropping so quickly and competing with the Valley Conference was getting more and more difficult, even in the sports that we were always able to be a top team in. Now we're around schools that are more at our level."
No team reaped the dividends of the conference change in 2010-11 more than the girls' basketball team. After finishing their final season in the Wisconsin Valley Conference with a record of 0-21, the Hodags posted a remarkable turnaround that saw them finish above .500 (12-11) for the first time since 2003-04. They also picked up their first playoff victory since 1999, defeating Mosinee in the final game at the RHS gymnasium.
While they had a successful season and reversed plenty of trends, one losing streak remained - that against WVC opponents. The girls' basketball team was 0-5 in non-conference games against the Valley this past season, extending its skid to 22 games. The last time it defeated a Valley team was Jan. 30, 2009.
The girls' basketball team, however, wasn't the only program to struggle against Valley opponents. With the exception of the baseball team, which was 6-2 against the WVC, Rhinelander sports went a combined 5-31-1 versus teams from their old conference.
Much like the girls' basketball team, the boys' tennis program reaped the benefits of the conference change. After not securing a dual victory in the past two seasons in the WVC, the Hodag tennis team went 12-0 in GNC duals and won the conference meet. It, however, couldn't advance past regionals, where it went up against primarily Valley opponents.
The girls' tennis team also won the GNC title in 2010, going undefeated in conference duals at 5-0. Head coach Bob Heideman, who coaches both the boys and the girls, said that this past year may not be a true reflection of what Rhinelander has to look forward to.
"I think that we had an unusual year in girls' tennis in terms of Priyanka Sikka and Alleigh Fralick being so strong that this (coming) year may be a better indicator of how we might fair in the long run," Heideman said.
Aside from being competitive in the new conference, the change also helped out in terms of travel and support from fans and parents.
Waksmonski said that this season the baseball team rarely had to leave before 2 p.m. for competitions and that it allowed athletes to stay in school longer and keep up with their work.
The less travel also benefited students on the day after games.
"A lot of times when teams were in the Valley, and it wasn't just the baseball program, but a lot of different sports teams were getting home at one or two in the morning and kids would miss the first couple hours of the next day, just so they could sleep and get some rest," Waksmonski said.
Lemmens pointed out that the conference change allowed more parents to attend road games, especially considering the price of gas and the distance it took to get to schools like Stevens Point and Wisconsin Rapids.
Students were also able to get to more away games and show their school pride, especially in the contests with rivals Lakeland and Antigo, which many of the coaches hope to see intensify in the coming years.
After setting the bar high with five conference championships in the 2010-11 season, RHS will have its work cut out if it hopes to improve upon that in the coming year.
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