February 28, 2018 at 1:21 p.m.
White voted GNC boys' hoops player of the year
Host of Hodags recognized in all-conference voting
White voted GNC boys' hoops player of the year
White and senior guard Brad Comer were both unanimous first-team selections for the Hodag boys' basketball team, which saw four of its five starters receive some sort of recognition.
White shared player of the year honors his sophomore season, but was a unanimous choice this year. He averaged a double-double in conference play and led the league in both scoring (20.8) and rebounds (10.3). He was also tops in the conference in blocks (3.5 bpg), was second in assists (4.4) and fourth in steals (2.5).
"I think that might be the first year where there was no vote really," Hodag coach Derek Lemmens said of the conference player of the year discussion. "It was everyone around the table saying, 'Yeah, it's Owen.' There was really no question who the player of the year was."
Comer joined White as a unanimous choice on the first team after finishing sixth in the GNC in scoring at 13.8 points per game. He was also fifth in the GNC in field goal percentage.
Junior point guard Junior Howard made the conference's second team while senior guard Reese Flores received honorable mention. Howard averaged 10.6 points per game in league play, including a career-high 28 against Lakeland back on Dec. 8. Flores is primarily a defensive threat but posted two double-digit scoring games against Medford this season.
"I was glad to see Bradley, Junior and Reese get the recognition that I think they're very deserving of," said Lemmens, who was also voted the conference's boys' basketball coach of the year. "Sometimes when you're on a team with a player like Owen, other players get overshadowed. Players don't get the stat lines that pop sometimes, but this team is an entire team and I think it showed in the voting."
Van Zile, Seefeldt unanimous for lady cagers
Like their male counterparts, the RHS girls' basketball team had four all-conference selections including a pair of players who received first-team honors.
Senior Ally Seefeldt and sophomore Kenedy Van Zile were both unanimous first-team selections while senior Alayna Franson and junior Brooke Mork each received honorable mention.
Both Van Zile and Seefeldt jumped off the stat sheet in GNC play. Van Zile was second in scoring at 20.5 points per game, second in steals per game (4.0) and fourth in rebounding (7.1), despite her 5-foot-3 frame. Seefeldt finished fourth in scoring (19.0 ppg) and was tied for fourth in the conference in steals (3.3 spg).
"They worked hard and to get unanimous all-conference for both of them, I think, is exciting. Both had fantastic seasons," Clark said.
While Seefeldt and Van Zile had the big numbers, both Franson and Mork flew under the radar somewhat. Franson averaged only 1.5 points per game in league play, but was tied for fourth with Seefeldt in steals and was recognized for her defensive prowess.
"She usually guarded the other team's best guard, was a good defender," Clark said. "She's always running from behind and back-tapping for a lot of steals. Even thought she only had 40 steals, she probably caused 40 more.
Mork was averaging 10.9 points per game before a back injury caused her to miss the final month of the season.
"I nominated her because I thought is she played the whole year she was an all-conference type-player," Clark said. "Credit to her, she did enough to show them that she's a talented player."
Lakeland junior Melissa Bruckner was named the conference's player of the year and Lakeland's Melissa Ouimette received coach of the year honors for the second consecutive season.
Three from Edge named first-team
The Rhinelander/Antigo girls' hockey team was well-represented in the all-conference voting with three unanimous first-team selections and three more players who received honorable mention.
Goalie Alicia Turunen, defender Madi Losch and forward Payton Bunnell were consensus first-team choices by the coaches. Forwards Kourtney Carrico and Lauren Kefalinos and defender Ellen Padgett also received all-conference votes.
"I was very pleasantly surprised," Northern Edge coach Kevin Sandstrom said. "I think it shows the year we had, really. You look at three first-teamers, three honorable mention and the ability to be there with any team as long as we were able to play a full game. We had it and I couldn't be happier with the end result."
At .896 during the regular, Turunen had the best save percentage of eligible goalies within the GNC. Overall Turunen was 6-14-1 on the year with a 3.45 goals against average and an even .900 save percentage.
"She's above and beyond the best goaltender in the conference," Sandstrom said of Turunen, who finished second in the conference player of the year voting behind Lakeland/Tomahawk's Maggie Wohlleber.
Losch scored 17 goals this season, only second to Wohlleber among GNC players, while Bunnell was fourth overall in the conference in scoring with 10 goals and 15 assists.
Carrico, Kefalinos and Padgett were third, fourth and fifth on the team, respectively this season. Carrico had three goals and 11 assists despite missing five games with a wrist injury. Kefalinos had seven goal and seven helpers while Padgett recorded five goals and six assists.
Hodag hockey has two recognized
Despite turning in the winningest season in RHS boys' hockey history and claiming fourth place in the Great Northern Conference, the Hodags were able to garner only two all-conference selections, both of which were honorable mentions.
Senior defenseman Matthias Schneider and sophomore forward Abe Laggis were recognized by the conference coaches.
Laggis had 12 goals and 18 assists during the 2017-18 campaign. Schneider had two goals, nine assists and a team-high 45 penalty minutes.
"He had a nice comeback this year," coach M.J. Laggis said of his son, Abe, who missed the 2016-17 season with a knee injury. "I think he ended up, all told, somewhere around 30 or 31 (points) and I think he feels like he left a bunch out there. That's something to work for and something to shoot for."
On Schneider, Laggis added, "I'm really really proud of Matthias. He did a great job getting mentioned and getting recognized. They thing I'd highlight about Matthias, that any kid on any team can learn from, is that guy's one of the hardest practice players you'll ever find ... Then he takes that practice mentality to the ice and plays at a high tempo."
GNC co-champion Northland Pines had the player of the year with Jack Rhode and the coach of the year with David Cox.
Other sports
The remainder of the Great Northern Conference's winter sports all-conference teams were decided based on results at each sport's conference meet. First-place finishers at the conference meet received first-team honors, runners-up earned second-team honors and third-place finishers received honorable mention.
Eleven RHS wrestlers, six RHS boys' swimmers and two RHS gymnasts were recognized for their conference meet performances. First teamers included Reuben Guzik, Tyler Olson, Jacob DeMeyer, Alec Kurtz and Colton Krueger in wrestling; Martin Hoger, David King, Thaddeus Heck and Russell Benoy in boys' swimming; and Stephanie Kuester and Raven Sturtevant in gymnastics.
Additionally, DeMeyer and Rhinelander coach Paul Ellenbecker were voted the conference's wrestler and coach of the year. The vote was conducted at the conclusion of the GNC wrestling meet last month in Minocqua.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
Note: This story has been corrected. We initially misidentified all-conference basketball player Brad Comer as his older brother, Kyle. We regret the error.
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