June 23, 2017 at 4:37 p.m.
Team Review: RHS Track & Field
Hodags looking to continue rebuilding after 2017
Team Review: RHS Track & Field
During its tenure in the GNC, the boys' team has finished no higher than sixth (out of seven teams), while the girls' squad has placed no higher than fifth in the team standings.
This year brought some of the same results, with the boys' placing sixth and the girls' team finishing seventh, but there was a difference this time around.
Rhinelander was blessed with an infusion of young talent this spring, which could help the process of building the team from the bottom up.
"I felt like they got great experience," RHS head coach Chris Ferge said. "They did have some success at different meets throughout the year and I think they had some success at some of the bigger meets. They were able to see what it takes at conference and then they were able to see how track ends and how it works. It's a pretty cruel sport. They cut you down pretty quick in regionals and sectionals. I think it made them hungry to do better in the future and that the understanding to be consistent in their lifting and going out for other sports and then when we're in track season to know they can't miss days and they have to take care of their bodies."
At the beginning of the year, Rhinelander struggled to find many athletes to place, but that slowly began to change.
The Hodags began to develop some of the best young sprinters in the GNC in sophomore Josh Francisco and freshmen Drake Martin, Nick Kriesel and Chase Hunt.
Hunt placed fifth at the GNC meet in the 100-meter dash and the 110 hurdles, while Martin placed seventh in the long jump.
Another youngster, AJ Kopplin, had success in the high jump this season, highlighted by a third place finish at the conference meet.
Freshman Daniel Ritchie also tasted success in the 800 meters, placing eighth at the GNC meet.
On the girls' side of things, Ellen Padgett was a consistent threat in the sprints, as was junior Lexie Rick in the shot put and discus.
Freshmen Lisa White and Valerie Dalka, along with sophomore Alexandra Fugle also consistently improved in the middle distance events.
"They knew they were going to get better throughout the year, but they also did see the other competition and wanted to beat them," Ferge said. "They did it in a healthy way. They didn't look at a kid who was triple jumping huge numbers that were way ahead of them and say, 'I'm going to beat that person' but they did look at what their personal best was, look at what that person's personal best was and what was a healthy way for them to grow throughout the year. Now they have those numbers in their head going into the offseason and they understand what it's going to take in the weight room and going through other sports to get there."
Now Rhinelander must take the next step in its progression as a team. Not only do the young kids need to continue to improve - it's always easier to have a personal best time as a young runner than as a veteran, due to natural body evolution - but the Hodags must continue to infuse more talent into the program.
Good programs continue to grow year after year, replenishing the talent that graduates. Talent like Payton Hartman and Gracie Quinn must be replaced by new runners.
"We want to build off the class we just had and we want to make sure we get more kids following them," Ferge said. "I think it was a good year because they were able to see that younger athletes were successful. They were able to compete early on and they're going to be spots open to them ...We're still going to be young, but there are going to be openings for them to contribute."
Nick Sabato may be reached at [email protected] or via Twitter @SabatoNick.
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