April 3, 2019 at 12:49 p.m.
Hodag boys win Ashland Indoor
Hodag boys win Ashland Indoor
The Hodags are ready to make the jump to becoming legitimate contenders in the Great Northern Conference.
The momentum continued for the Hodag boys' squad Tuesday night. A week after a runner-up showing at the GNC Indoor meet, the Hodags won two events, scored 17 top-five finishes and won the 14-team Ashland Indoor Invitational at the Ashland High School fieldhouse.
Just about everything went right for the Hodags, even if there wasn't a first-place trophy to take home at the end of the night.
"No trophy to be had tonight but, I tell you, the trophy mindset was there for our kids," coach Aaron Kraemer said afterward. "They bought into the team culture and working together and, if the indoor season is any indication of what type of talent we have on our team - young talent meeting our seniority - then this is going to be a special season for both groups."
The Hodag girls' squad, without a number of key starters for Tuesday's meet, finished 13th.
Rhinelander again excelled in the sprint events and got a big meet from senior Anthony Kowalski who won the 400-meter dash, placed second in the 55 and ran the anchor leg of the Hodags' winning 4x200 relay.
In the 400, Kowalski posted a time of 54.64 seconds and held off Hayward's James Gouge by 0.15 seconds in a sprint to the finish line.
"He passed the kid from Hayward and took him on the second to last corner and just held him off from there," Kraemer said. "You could tell his goal was to get in front and to beat him the rest of the way. That's who Anthony is. That's why he runs the anchor of our 4x1 and 4x2. He's just a competitor. If he's in the lead, he's going to win."
Kowalski finished second by an eyelash in the 55 (6.83 seconds), losing to Tomahawk's Cody Jablonski by 0.01 seconds. He partnered with Nick Kriesel, AJ Kopplin and Josh Francisco to go 1:37.19 in the 4x200, taking the event by 1.62 seconds over Ashland.
"They just continue to do solid work and push their splits. When we get outside, it's going to be difficult because that's my 4x1 team," Kraemer said. "Seeing them run so quickly in the 4x2, that may be changing my decision making and how I want to attack those outdoor meets."
Francisco finished third in the 55, 0.06 seconds off the pace, while junior Nick Kriesel was fifth in the 55. Kriesel added a runner up finish in the 200 despite not being seeded in the fastest heat for the race. Kraemer called Kriesel's run in the 200 a turning point for the Hodags, who beat Ashland by 11 points for the team title.
"When he was done, we were excited about his time but we had no idea he had broken into the top two," Kraemer said. "That was something that helped push us over the edge. We needed those points against Ashland to really take the meet over."
Rhinelander got a shot in the arm in the distance events as senior and 2018 cross country state qualifier Bridger Flory made his season debut, placing third in both the 1,600 and 3,200 meters. Tennis will be Flory's primary sport this spring, but Kraemer said the team's happy to have him when he's available.
"It's always a shot in the arm when you can get a runner like Bridger back," he said. "We know that a lot of times with dual-sport athletes what we have to do is monitor their workload, make sure they're not overtraining. We also have to make sure that the kids that are there every single day don't feel overshadowed by someone who is a part-time athlete. We talked to Bridger about that. We talked to the distance athletes about that. They've bought in and are excited to have him competing with them."
The Hodags continued to rack up points in a number of field events as well. Junior Calvin Schneider recorded a personal best, clearing the 6-foot mark for the first time Tuesday, en route to a runner-up finish in the high jump. Kopplin finished fourth in the event for the Hodags.
"For Calvin, it was excellent to see him get over 6-foot and I know he wants to go even higher," Kraemer said. "I know AJ's going to push him to compete with him too."
Drake Martin placed third for the Hodags in the long jump, fourth in the shot put and fifth in the triple jump, Peyton Erikson was fourth in the triple jump and Francisco finished fifth in the long jump.
Rhinelander also scored a couple of top-five finishes in the hurdle event. Freshman Cole Worrall was third in the 200 hurdles and Will Swanson finished fourth in the 55 hurdles.
The Hodag girls were down a number of key athletes Tuesday - including high jumper Rebecca Lawrence and sprinters Sage Flory and Lily Sneller. The team scored points in only three events. The Hodags placed fifth in the 4x200 relay with Lila Bielefedlt, Megan Brown, Isabella Anderson and Aryssa Zasada, Shawna Will was seventh in the shot put and Ellie Van Camp placed eight in the 3,200 meters.
"We had quite a few kids who did not compete tonight, for several reasons, on the girls' side, and a few on the boys' side. When we get those people and have a full-strength team, watch out. This is going to be a scary group," Kraemer said.
Ashland was the final of four indoor meets on the schedule for the Hodags, who now turn their attention to the outdoor season beginning with the Medford Early Bird Invite next Thursday. Kraemer called it the next step on the path to championship season come middle and late May.
"The outdoor season is always a challenge because you've got to make sure the puzzle pieces fit where they should, and make sure that you can maximize points for the team," he said. "Hopefully, at the end of this, we've put the time in and focused on the process that it's taken to get there and we're not worried about results until we get to the end of the season and the GNC, regional and sectional meets."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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