April 13, 2018 at 1:21 p.m.
Francisco fast in 55 at Pines Indoor
Francisco fast in 55 at Pines Indoor
Josh Francisco won the 55-meter dash as the Hodag boys took fifth in the eight-team Northland Pines Indoor. The Hodag girls finished seventh out of eight teams in what was originally scheduled to be the GNC's indoor invite.
Every GNC school except Medford was in attendance, while Wittenberg-Birnamwood and Mercer rounded out the field. While the Hodags recorded only a handful to top-six finishes on the day, coach Aaron Kraemer said he was pleased with the improvement shown by his team since its last competition March 20 at Lakeland.
"We had some very good results for us today, especially since we've been indoors and we've been pounding really hard," he said. "The kids that stayed for spring break, you really saw some gains from them. The other kids stepped up to the playte today too on a shortened amount of time practicing."
Francisco's run in the 55 was the highlight of the day for the Hodags, as he broke the 7-second barrier, clocking in at 6.95 seconds to edge out Mosinee's Justin Stubbe by 0.05 seconds. Kraemer said the start was the key to Francisco's win.
"His explosion out of the blocks, he left everyone behind in the first 10 steps, which is unbelievable," he said. "I'm very proud of Josh Francisco today, with a sub-7 55, which is an unbelievable time and a first place today. He'll stack up in the conference I think, you keep watching him. Nick Kriesel keeps pushing him and those guys work together - along with AJ (Kopplin) in that one - it's going to be very, very competitive for them for the rest of the season."
Kriesel finished fifth in the event while Kopplin placed eighth to go along with a fourth-place finish in the high jump.
Rhinelander fared well in the triple jump as well. Sophomore Peyton Erikson placed third with a personal-best leap of 40 feet, 2 1/2 inches.
"We've been working through a couple of technical issues with Peyton in the triple jump following the Lakeland meet and for him to come here and jump 40 feet after that technical stuff, that means that the practices are paying dividends for him and he's taking coaching, which is always great," Kraemer said.
Kriesel finished fifth in the triple jump and Drake Martin was sixth. Martin, a sophomore, also placed fifth in the long jump and fourth in the shot put with a toss of 41-5.
"Drake's got that raw strength and ability," Kraemer said of Martin's ability in the throwing events. "I don't think he's scratched the surface of what he can do yet in that shot put. He's working out half time with them and then is back (training) in his other events. He's got some exciting things to come too."
Lexie Rick matched Martin's fourth-finish in the shot on the girls' side of the ledger with a personal-best toss of 32-8.
"Lexie's been working very, very hard in the weight room and weight training," Kraemer said. "(Throwers) coach (Chris) Ferge's been hyping her up and saying she's going to be right up there. She took fourth today. You look at the girls in front of her, two of them were Mercer throwers. She's in second in the conference, in my eyes, with this meet. It was a great PR for her and she's only going to get better."
Freshman Rebecca Lawrence scored the best finish for the Hodag girls on the day, tying for third in the high jump (4-10). Senior Ellen Padgett placed sixth in the 55 and the Hodags placed sixth in the 4x200 relay.
Alex Monk placed fourth in the 200 hurdles and fifth in the 55 hurdles for the Hodag boys. Erikson added a sixth-place finish in the long jump and the team took fifth in both the 4x200 and 4x400 relays.
"I thought we had some good PRs from our younger runners," Kraemer noted. "One of them I want to highlight is Delaney Chillemi. She ran both the 55 hurdles (ninth) and the 200 hurdles (eighth) and while the other two girls are more experienced than she is, she ran a PR in that 55 and then ran the 200, which she was uncomfortable with, and ran a really, really good race too."
The Hodags have been stuck indoors for the majority of their practices since their last competition and may be relegated indoors a couple of more weeks yet, if this weekend's snowfall comes as predicted.
"It's been an unbelievable obstacle for us, but one that's going to make us a stronger team together," Kraemer said. "We've been working so long and this is the most closely-knit team I've been a part of, I think. They're together, they're working hard and they're pushing each other. Even though we're inside, there are things they're doing to compete against each other and continue to push each other every single day. That's all we can ask for."
The Hodags are scheduled to compete in the Dale Peterson Invite at Antigo next Thursday.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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