September 18, 2017 at 4:23 p.m.
Hodag harriers drop time at Smiley
Hodag harriers drop time at Smiley
The Hodags placed ninth out of 13 girls' teams in the Division 1 Small category and were 11th of 13 in Division 1 boys. Regardless, coach M.J. Laggis said he was pleased with how his team improved in muggy conditions in arguably its biggest regular season race of the year.
"That meet is just loaded with talent and loaded with really, really good teams. When you go to Smiley, unless you have a team that's built to win it, then you've got to go there and think, 'Let's drop time today. Let's get better,'" he said. "I thought our kids showed it again today. They dropped time and got better. I was very pleased with that."
Rhinelander senior Alayna Franson's string of runner-up finishes came to an end Saturday as she placed fifth in Division 1 Small and 16th overall in the combined D1 Large/Small race with a time of 19 minutes, 36.84 seconds over the hilly five-kilometer course. That performance, however, was a roughly 33-second improvement from last year's Smiley, in which she finished seventh in D1 Small and 22nd overall in D1.
"That's awesome. You've got to feel great about that," Laggis said of the improvement. "She just really ran well. One of the things she's going to focus on the rest of the year will be her kick at the end."
Unlike last year, however, Franson was not the fastest Great Northern Conference runner in the D1 race. That honor went to Lakeland sophomore Ashley Peterson, who was second in the small division and sixth overall in D1 at 18:59.96.
Anna Sturzl was second for the Hodag girls, taking 27th in D1 Small (21:09.85). Abbie Henrichs (55th, 23:13.03), Valerie Dalka (60th, 23:25.58), Allie Fugle (75th, 24:49.48), Lexi Morrison (25th, 25:26.57) and Claire Bowman (81st, 25:59.95) rounded out the Hodag contingent.
"Abbie Henrichs had a really good race," Laggis noted. "This is a kid that I didn't even know was running (at the start of year). Suddenly she's running and we're really optimistic about what she's been doing and how she's been improving rapidly."
"It was just nice effort by the girls and they're working hard and they're improving so that's a good thing."
On the boys' side, sophomore Daniel Ritchie edged out senior Markus Johnson for the team's top finish. Ritchie crossed the line 35th in D1 Small with a time of 18:08.81. Johnson finished 36th, 2.4 seconds behind his teammate.
"It's a great credit to Daniel because he's doing two sports, and I respect that beyond words," Laggis said of Ritchie, who ran the race despite being in the midst of a boys' soccer schedule that saw him play games on three consecutive days. "He's a good athlete, he really is, and a good runner. (Markus) one of the harder workers I've been around. He's got absolute character and he's serving as a great example for the young runners on the team. He's just been solid and consistent and I'm really impressed with his performance."
Jacob Weddle was 66th for the Hodag boys (19:11.19), Abe Laggis finished 79th (1941.50), JC Adams was 83rd (19:51.35), Konnor Kennedy finished 86th (20:25.17) and Levi Smith was 91st (21:23.17).
Lakeland's Kav FitzPatrick was the overall winner of the boys' Division 1 race with a time of 15:42.00. Lakeland finished fourth in boys' D1 small and third in girls' D1 small. Antigo was last in both races.
In the Division 2 races run earlier in the day, Medford was fourth in the boys' race, followed by Northland Pines in seventh, Tomahawk in eighth and Mosinee in 12th. Medford's girls won both Division 2 and the combined Division 2/3 category. Tomahawk was sixth, Mosinee finished seventh and Northland Pines was 11th.
Laggis said Smiley served as a strong mid-season gauge for where his team stands ahead of the championship Saturdays in October.
"If we can get Bridger Flory (lower leg) healthy on the boys' side, that's a big need, and if the rest of those boys can keep battling and improving, I think it's up for anyone (for second in the conference behind Lakeland)," Laggis said. On the girls' side. We've had Alayna and we've had Anna and we're just trying hard to find that No. 3, 4 and 5 that can score. We saw some of younger runners make a move toward that today. We hope they can continue that way."
The Hodags will compete next in the Three Lakes Bluejay Invitational Thursday at Lions Park in Sugar Camp.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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