March 27, 2017 at 1:18 p.m.
Team review: RHS Nordic skiing
Numbers continue to build for Hodag Norskies
Team review: RHS Nordic skiing
Though the Hodags finished toward the back of the pack at the Northern Conference meet and the Wisconsin Nordic Ski League state championship, a youthful team with improving numbers has the Hodags trending in the right direction.
"At the end of Season 3, I really do feel like we're right on track," RHS coach Charil Reis said earlier this month at the team's banquet. "All of you - skiers, the coaches, especially those who have come from the middle school ranks - have played a large part in bringing the grand plan into action."
Here are five memorable storylines from the Hodag Nordic season.
Strength in numbers
When Reis and the current regime took over the Hodag Nordic program three years ago, there was barely a team to be had. But numbers have been slowly building each of the last three years - up to 19 overall this season in the high school ranks. Of those 19, 12 earned varsity letters this season.
That trend shows no signs of slowing down as the middle school program, led by Jim Wood, was up to 33 members this winter and the SnoDags youth program, led by Brian Hegge had roughly 40 elementary school students.
Operation Forbidden Fruit
The Nordic ski team was affected by Rhinelander's pertussis outbreak but, unlike every other RHS sports team, the Hodags flew in the face of a practice and competition ban when the season-opening Lakeland Invite rolled around.
The meet occurred Dec. 20 - the same day district and Oneida County Health Department officials reaffirmed the decree they issued four days earlier forbidding Rhinelander teams from congregating. The Nordic ski team got around this ban in a couple of ways: First, individual skiers had a choice of whether or not they wanted to participate and were on their own in terms of providing transportation to and from Minocqua Winter Park. Second, the team did not compete under the RHS banner, rather skied as the "Northwoods Nordic Ski Club," the club that serves as the booster organization for the ski team.
"Parents brought their kids up to Lakeland today of their own volition and only because they want their kids to have the experience out on the snow with other teams," Reis said. "I think that's their perogative."
In total, eight high schoolers and 11 middle schoolers participated in the meet - a little less than half the total roster for both team. Most of them were unconcerned about the potential health hazards.
"For me, no. We're outside. It's different than being trapped in a school with a bunch of people," Hodag junior Alec Lowry said.
State results
The Hodags finished toward the back of the pack at the WNSL state meet, held Feb. 11 and 12 in Cable. Rhinelander placed 15th in a 16-team boys' field and 14th in the 14-team girls' field at the American Birkebeiner trailhead.
The Hodags finished in the back third of the field. Breckin Younker led the RHS boys, placing 97th in a field of 126. Nicholas St. Pierre was 101st, Daniel Ritchie finished 106th, Levi Smith was 111th and Lowry finished 114th. Emma Hjelle paced the RHS girls' finishing 74th in a field of 108. Jenna Younker was 75th, Emma Roberts finished 76th, Carleene Morien was 85th and Gracie Quinn placed 94th.
"I had a feeling that we would place a little bit higher on the boys' side than we did, but I'm pretty pleased with how everyone skied technically," Reis said afterward.
Fresh legs
There was a major youth movement within the RHS Nordic squad this year. The top four Rhinelander finishers in the boys' division at the WNSL state meet were all freshmen. The top four girls for RHS consisted of two freshmen and two sophomores.
"Last year, Andy (Padgett) and I were the only guys that ever skied together and we were first-year skiers," said Lowry, one of the squad's elder statesmen. "Having all these freshmen who've skied for years, it's going to be good when they get older."
What's next
The Hodags will return a relatively young squad next year. Of the 12 athletes who earned varsity letters, 11 are slated to return. Additionally, six eighth-graders are projected to move up to the high school ranks.
Yet Reis said she wants more - challenging the team to place at least three boys and three girls in the top 50 percent of next year's state meet, and at least one of each gender in the top 25 overall.
Speaking of state, the championships may be moving to the Cedric A. Vig Outdoor Classroom for 2018 and 2019. Reis and the Northwoods Nordic Ski Club will make a pitch to the Wisconsin Nordic Ski League next month. Rhinelander last hosted the state championships in 2013. The race moved to Cable in 2014 and has been there ever since.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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