June 6, 2018 at 12:42 p.m.
Legacy lives on for Nordic champs in HOF induction
Legacy lives on for Nordic champs in HOF induction
The 1990, 1991 and 1993 state champion Nordic ski squads were inducted into the Rhinelander Athletic Booster Club's Hodag Hall of Fame last Thursday during a banquet at Holiday Acres Resort.
The group included athletes Todd Craig, BJ Doyle, Bryan Fish, Matt Frost, Brian Langlois, Adam Swam and Noel Versch, along with the team's coaches, Judy Swank and Wayne Fish.
Judy Swank and Wayne Fish were inducted posthumously and have been immortalized in a number of ways within the silent sports community since their passing. The ski trails at Northwood Golf Club are the site of Judy's Bench, Judy's Vista and Wayne's Bell.
Current RHS Nordic ski coach Charil Reis, a classmate of the Hall of Fame athletes, gave the induction speech Thursday night and said the championship teams were an embodiment of the spirit of the two coaches.
"While reading the notes from Todd, BJ, Bryan Fish, Matt, Adam and Noel, Judy's and Wayne's influence on their lives and choices started to leap off the pages," Reis stated in her speech. "I started to see the recurring themes of appreciating what you have, giving back to others and paying it forward, and remembering that communing with one another from time to time in the outdoors is good for the soul."
The group did not speak at the banquet, but Bryan Fish penned a thank you letter to the ABC on the team's behalf that, in part, reiterated the legacy that his father and Judy Swank left behind.
"It was our parents and families that provided us the opportunity and passion for the outdoors at such young ages that it was all but imprinted in us," he wrote. "A special thanks to those family members that are no longer with us but were so instrumental in our development. Fortunately, the measure of a person is not in years, but in the amount of time and effort one helps others."
The team's most dominant state title came in 1990 when it placed four skiers in the top five of the championship race, led by freshman Adam Swank as state champion. Swank also won the individual title in 1993, with Bryan Fish right on his heels in the runner-up spot.
The team's legacy carried on beyond its time at RHS. Craig, Bryan Fish, Adam Swank and Versch all went on to ski collegiately at UW-Green Bay. Fish eventually served as head coach for the Phoenix Nordic ski team for seven years before eventually going down a career path that has led him to a prominent coaching role with the U.S. Ski Team.
Swank continued to ski competitively after college and has four top-10 finishes in the American Birkebeiner ski race to his credit. He was the 2006 World Masters Nordic Ski Champion and the winner of the 2011 Canadian World Loppet.
In addition to owning a consulting company, Versh is the head coach of the Bay Nordic high school ski team in the Green Bay Area.
"Personally, I am most proud that we are all still heavily involved in outdoor endurance sport today, we are good friends and give back to our sport in a number of ways," Fish wrote. "Hopefully, we inspire the next generation of Rhinelander endurance athletes."
The Hodag Hall of Fame was established in 1980 to honor Hodag athletes of the past. The hall is now has 108 inductees. The Nordic ski teams were the sixth, seventh and eight state championship teams to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Heart of the Hodag
Dan McDonald won the Heart of the Hodag award for his contributions to the RHS softball program over the years, serving as the team's pitching coach for the past several seasons.
Not one for the spotlight, McDonald's friends and family were unable to coax him into attending the ABC banquet, where the Heart of the Hodag winner is typically surprised with the award. RHS softball coach D.J. DeMeyer spoke on McDonald's behalf last Thursday and, along with ABC president Brandon Karaba, presented the award to McDonald a night later at the RHS softball team's banquet.
"He's going to be really mad at me tomorrow," DeMeyer quipped.
McDonald was an accomplished fastpitch player back in the 1970s and '80s and has passed his pitching knowledge to a long line of Hodag pitchers.
"Danny's been instrumental for me the last four years," DeMeyer said. "I know nothing about pitching when it comes to fast pitch and Danny's been doing that every Sunday for the last four years that I've been coaching, all winter long from October until season starts. He shows up every Sunday from 8:30 'til 11 o'clock. I've got to give credit to his wife (Caryl), too, because she drops him off, does her shopping and then picks him up afterward. He does it without any questions. He's been teaching my daughter, who's a seventh-grader, how to pitch for the last three to four years. He's just selfless, just always there."
Student-Athlete scholarships
The ABC also presented its two, $1,000 scholarships to seniors student-athletes Jacob DeMeyer and Alayna Franson.
Franson participated in cross country, girls' soccer, Nordic skiing and girls' basketball and track during her four years at RHS, earning 13 varsity letters. She simultaneously lettered in soccer and track her sophomore year.
She currently owns five WIAA state tournament appearances - three in cross country and two in soccer.
DeMeyer, like Franson, is a highly-decorated athlete, who earned eight varsity letters - four each in wrestling and baseball. He also participated in football as a freshman. On the mat, DeMeyer will leave as Rhinelander High School's all-time wrestling wins leader, a four-time conference champion and a four-time state qualifier. He finished fourth at state as a junior and third this past season, losing to the eventual state champion in the semifinals each year. He's also a three-time All-Great Northern Conference first-team selection in baseball.
Both Franson and DeMeyer ranked in the top 20 percent of this year's graduating class and will be continuing their athletic endeavors collegiately. Franson will run women's track and cross country at UW-Milwaukee while DeMeyer has committed to play baseball at UW-Whitewater.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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