November 3, 2017 at 4:55 p.m.
RHS cross country hands out awards
Franson, Johnson, Ritchie named fastest runners
RHS cross country hands out awards
Senior Alayna Franson, fresh off an 11th-place run last Saturday at the WIAA Division 2 state meet, picked up the girls' fastest runner award while Markus Johnson and Daniel Ritchie split the award on the boys' side.
Franson capped off her career with her third state meet appearance, to go along with a top-two finish in the Great Northern Conference meet during each of her four season on the squad.
"Alayna could have won every award we gave on the cross country team," coach M.J. Laggis said during Thursday's banquet. "That's just honest. You go through every award we have - from most dedicated to fastest - and it's like Alayna (should win). Alayna (should win)."
"It's sad that her high school career is over, but she made the most of it," he added.
Markus Johnson was Rhinelander's top finisher in seven of the team's 10 meets this fall and was second-fastest in the other three. He finished behind Ritchie on those three occasions. Ritchie made only four starts for the Hodags this fall due to a conflicting boys' soccer schedule, and a minor injury that kept him out of the lineup for the first two races.
"Daniel was unique in that he was doing two sports. He'd come out, run a race, and then go right back to soccer," Laggis said. "He wasn't there a lot of the time, but we got to then end of the year - sectionals in particular - and he laid down just a really, really good time."
Johnson won three awards on the night. He won the dedication award and was recognized, along with Franson, for being a team captain.
"One of his characteristics is that you might see him get passed in the first mile of a race but it's rare that he's finishing a race and getting passed," Laggis said. "I would attribute that to work ethic. He has the ability, but the work ethic stands out."
A couple of freshmen, Abbie Henrichs and JC Adams, won the team's most improved runner awards. Henrichs emerged early in the season and established herself as the team's No. 3 runner behind Franson and Anna Sturzl.
"From Day 1 to the end of the year, it was an unbelievable change, not just in how she was running but her confidence level," Laggis said.
Adams was among a group of underclassmen vying for the Hodags' second through fifth spots, depending on the race.
"His work ethic was absolutely outstanding and what I saw was his work ethic translate into how he ran races. He was there every day and a finisher."
Sturzl won the dedication award on the girls' side while Allie Fugle and Jacob Weddle won the team's long hauler awards, going to the runners who, as Laggis put it, "like to go that extra distance and can finish it."
Every runner who completed this season was awarded a varsity letter, regardless of if they cracked the team's top seven runners at any point of the season.
"Sometimes I don't think those kids don't realize what they bring to the table or how much they mean to a team or to a coach," Laggis said, acknowledging the hard work the entire team put in during the season.
The Hodag girls' finished fifth in the GNC standings while Rhinelander's boys placed sixth this season. At sectionals, Rhinelander placed 10th out of 14 teams on the girls' side and last in a 15-team field on the boys' side.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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