October 30, 2017 at 1:08 p.m.
Three earn GNC player of the year honors for RHS
Three earn GNC player of the year honors for RHS
The Hodag boys' soccer team swept the offensive and defensive player of the year honors with junior striker Jonus Sabani and senior central defender Alec Lowry. In volleyball, RHS senior outside hitter/middle blocker Hope Wissbroecker was named the conference player of the year.
The honors were announced Friday, along with the rest of the fall All-Great Northern Conference teams. In total, the Hodags ended up with 36 all-conference athletes, 12 of whom received first-team honors.
The all-conference teams for football, boys' soccer and volleyball were the result of voting that took place Wednesday during the fall conference coaches meeting in Tomahawk. All-conference teams for cross country, girls' tennis and girls' swimming were based on the results of each sport's conference meet.
For the Hodag boys' soccer team, it marked the first time it swept the offensive and defensive players of the year categories in the same season. The Hodags had the co-offensive players of the year in 2016 (Gunnar Millot) and 2014 (Christopher Kjeve) and the co-defensive player of the year in 2015 (Cody Vinger).
There was little doubt as to the offensive player of the year in the conference this time around as Sabani's 18 goals in league play were eight more than any other player and his 42 overall points were 15 better than teammate Matthew Von Oepen, who finished second in that category.
"Jonus scored on every single team in our conference," coach Dan Millot said. "It wasn't like he scored several goals against one team. It was spread out through every team throughout the course of the season and no one had an answer for him."
Defensive player of the year was less cut and dried because the Hodags had a number of candidates from a back four that allowed a conference-best seven goals and turned in four shutouts. Lowry, the anchor of that unit, received the nod from the conference coaches.
"He basically commands the defense," Millot said. "Alec isn't the fastest defender, but he's extremely smart. What he lacks in speed he makes up for with his decision making and being at the right place at the right time. He runs our defense. He's done that for two years and, for two years, we've had the stingiest defense in the conference. That says a lot for what he does back there."
There was not much debate for the volleyball player of the year either, according to Hodag coach Kathy Wawrzynowicz. Though Northland Pines' Jacqueline Smith led the GNC in total kills (250), Wissbroecker was only 11 behind in the category and got to that number on 180 fewer attempts. Wissbroecker led the conference in kills per set (5.4) and attacking percentage (.371), was second in blocks (43) and fifth in digs per set (4.2).
"Everyone said she had the numbers and deserved what she got," Wawrzynowicz said. "Obviously, I believe Hope was the best player, by far, in the conference this year ... To be honest, without her, I'm not sure we would have had the wins we had this year."
Girls' tennis led Rhinelander with 10 all-conference athletes, followed by boys' soccer and girls' swimming each with eight. Football had seven, volleyball had two and cross country had one.
As for the rest of Rhinelander's all-conference recipients:
FOOTBALL
Rhinelander's Drake Martin joined some elite company, becoming only the fourth sophomore in Great Northern Conference history to earn first-team all-conference honors in football. Also on that list are Merrill graduates Jon Gruetsmacher and Sam Arneson, who both went on to play Division I college football.
Martin got the nod as a first-team running back after finishing second in the GNC with 748 rushing yards in six conference games. Overall, Martin rushed for 1,122 this season, becoming Rhinelander's first 1,000-yard rusher in nine years.
"The (coaches) don't usually vote for a sophomore when there are other guys at the position that have the numbers that are comparable," coach Chris Ferge said. "Some teams really balanced their attack. Medford did that and Antigo did that. They had a couple of guys carry the load for their team and they ran the ball very well but, at the end of the day (the coaches saw) how talented Drake was this year, how hard he worked and he got that first team. He deserved it."
Martin was Rhinelander's only first-team honoree, however two players received recognition at multiple positions. Alec Kurtz was a second-teamer at defensive line and received honorable mention as an offensive lineman. Colton Krueger was the second-team punter and received honorable mention at linebacker.
Krueger had the most punts in the GNC (25) and was second in gross average at 36.6 yards per kick. Kurtz led the Hodags with 73 tackles, including 12 tackles from loss, from his nose tackle position.
"Colton, with his punting, I thought was a first-teamer," Ferge said. "I thought that Colton played pretty solid at linebacker, so it was pretty nice for him to get mentioned. He played a lot better at middle linebacker at the end of the year, which is why I think he got his votes.
"Alec, I thought was a first-teamer all day. I didn't understand why he was a second team. They have their reasons and I think they went with the teams that had better defenses (Rhinelander was sixth in the GNC in points and yards allowed). That's how they did it. Kurtz was the anchor of our offensive line, anchor of our defensive line and he deserved that recognition."
Brad Comer earned second-team honors at wide receiver. His 13 receptions were fourth-best in the league and his three receiving touchdowns trailed only Lakeland's Ray Rentmeester. Jared Fabich was voted to the second team as an offensive lineman, helping pave the way for a Rhinelander squad that finished fourth in the conference in total offense (275.8 ypg).
Kenny Baumgardner (LB) and Reuben Guzik (DB) received honorable mention.
"At the end of the day, you've got to be thankful with what you got," Ferge said, noting he nominated more than the seven players who were recognized. "There are some positions where I definitely thought we could have got some recognition for, but we've got to win more games and you've got to get the certain stats that impress people and you've got to make those plays in those games to impress coaches to get those votes."
BOYS' SOCCER
Sabani and Lowry were joined by three of their teammates as the Hodags took up nearly half of the all-conference first team.
Von Oepen was a first-teamer in the midfield, Joseph Schmitz was a first-team defender and Josh Randolph was the conference's first-team goalkeeper. Sabani, Von Oepen and Lowry were unanimous choices.
"When you 10-0 in conference, you should receive that sort of recognition if you have the players that deserve it, and I think those players definitely deserve it," Millot said.
Von Oepen led the league with nine assists, and had nine goals in league play. Schmitz, while spending most of his time in the back, scored one goal in league play. Randolph led the conference with a 0.72 goals against average, while saving nearly 85 percent of the shots he faced.
"Josh had some really nice saves this year, including a PK up in Lakeland that was big for us," Millot noted. "That was well-deserved. We have some quality goalies in our conference and some goalies stepped up and played well against us but, through his complete body of work, Josh did a nice job."
All five of Rhinelander's first-team selections had previously earned all-conference recognition. Sabani was a unanimous first-team selection last year and a second-teamer as a freshman in 2015. Lowry and Von Oepen were second-teamers last year while Schmitz and Randolph both received honorable mention.
Senior defender Darin Bloomquist was voted to the conference's second team while sophomore Nicholas St. Pierre and junior Freddy Wisner received honorable mention.
VOLLEYBALL
Wissbroecker capped off a fourth all-conference selection with a unanimous first-team choice this season. She made the first team last year, was on the second team in 2015 and received honorable mention as a freshman in 2014.
The only teammate to join her on the all-conference list was senior libero Stephanie Kuester. She was a second-team choice this year after receiving honorable mention at the position a year ago.
Kuester led the conference in total digs (285) and digs per set (6.5). Kuester's 23 service aces were tied for eighth in conference play.
"I was really happy to see she for recognized as the second-team libero," Wawrzynowicz noted. "Both her and Hope, when they were in the back row, we had to be a digging machine because we didn't have a lot of blocking up front at times. Steph was just a digging machine, hustled after everything, served extremely well this year and it was very deserving for her too."
GIRLS' TENNIS
All 10 varsity starters for the RHS girls' tennis team earned all-conference recognition by virtue of how they placed during the Great Northern Conference tournament Sept. 23 in Antigo.
Emma Roberts, Kenedy Van Zile, Madi Losch and Alexis Pyrchalla were
first-team honorees. Roberts was the No. 3 singles champion, Van Zile won the fourth singles flight and Losch/Pyrchalla were the conference champs at No. 2 doubles.
Belinda Weddle and Alex Oestreich, conference runners-up in the first two singles flights, made the all-conference second team. Doubles players Livi Roberts, Haley Seefeldt, Jackie Wells and Savannah Chartier received honorable mention based on third-place finishes at conference.
Weddle, a senior, was a member of the All-GNC team all four years of her RHS career. She was a first-team pick at No. 3 singles as a junior and a sophomore, and a second-team member at No. 4 singles as a freshman.
Oestreich, Livi Roberts and Seefeldt also made return appearances on the all-conference list. Oestreich was a second-teamer at No. 4 singles last year, while Roberts and Seefeldt were first-teamers at No. 3 doubles a year ago.
CROSS COUNTRY
Senior Alyana Franson was the only member of the RHS cross country team to earn all-conference recognition, earning a spot on the girls' first team with a runner-up finish at the GNC meet Oct. 14 in Eagle River.
The top seven finishers in the boys' race and top seven finishers in the girls' race earned first team honors. The next seven finishers in each race earned second-team recognition. The GNC does not award honorable mention in cross country.
For Franson, it was her fourth appearance on the all-conference first team. She was the conference champion in 2016, and the runner-up in 2017, 2015 and 2014.
GIRLS SWIMMING
The Hodag swimmers had eight all-conference performers at Friday night's Great Northern Conference meet.
Makenna Winnicki, Lisa Kennedy, Jenna Hawley, Grace Heck, Marissa Martin and Marisa McGuire all earned second-team honors for placing second in an individual and/or relay event at conference.
Kennedy, Winnicki, McGuire and Taylor Macak received honorable mention for their third-place showing in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Kennedy additionally received honorable mention in the 100 backstroke.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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