February 13, 2019 at 11:28 a.m.
Hodags finish 11th in state Nordic championships
Hodags finish 11th in state Nordic championships
Both the Hodag boys' and girls' squads placed 11th at the Wisconsin Nordic Ski League state championships, which wrapped up Sunday in Cable.
That was improvement for both teams in the standings from a year ago, when the RHS girls finished last (12th of 12) and the Hodag boys were 13th out of 16 teams.
"I can't tell you how pleased I am with everyone's performance," coach Charil Reis said. "To have both teams 11th in the state, I think both were last in the state. Maybe the boys' were one or two (spots) off the bottom. We basically went on the bottom of the pile, to a third of the way up. When I look at that I think this was our breakout year. We've made strides in the past but at the state competition where everyone comes together and you really are leveling the playing field, this really shows where we're at, shows how much progress we've made and that we're headed in the right direction."
The Hodags showed significant improvement from last year on the boys' side. Not only did Rhinelander's top five finishers place in the top 60 percent of the field - a state goal of the team this year - all five picked up at least 24 positions from their finish at state last year.
Zach Goodrich led the way for the Hodags. The sophomore was 37th-fastest in both Saturday's 6 1/2-kilometer freestyle race and Sunday's 6 1/2-kilometer classic race to finish 38th in the overall pursuit with a combined time of 44 minutes, 28 seconds. That's a 39-place improvement from last year when Goodrich finished 77th in a field of 129 skiers.
"I could tell Zach was pretty pleased about it Zach's not the exuberant type to go run around screaming," Reis said. "I think his mom was just about to bubble over, but I could tell he was pretty pleased with that outcome. He should take this momentum he's build from this and use it to his advantage."
Goodrich wasn't the only Hodag to show big improvement over last year. Nicholas St. Pierre was 56th overall - and was 49th-fastest in Sunday's classic race - to improve 25 spots from last year. Levi Smith also picked up 25 places from 2018, placing 65th overall. Daniel Goldsworthy rose 35 places to 73rd overall and Breckin Younker picked up 24 spots to place 75th overall.
All five skiers are underclassmen, which has Reis excited for their prospects for next season.
"Having the five of them working together, can you imagine their scoring next year," she said. "If they put their heads together about how they are going to improve their scores for next year, I think they can make a huge leap for 2020 over 2019."
Senior Emma Hjelle had a strong state meet, leading Rhinelander on both the skate and classic days. She had the 39th-best time in Sunday's classic race and finished 54th overall with a combined time of 56:07.5.
"Emma Hjelle had the eye of the tiger going this weekend. She really wanted to end her high school ski career on the highest note possible," Reis said. "When I stood in the finish pen and I saw a Hodag come around the last turn and to the 100-meter sprint, I saw someone pounding the snow with such vengeance, I was scared to see who it was. Finally, I was able to see through all the clothing and see it was Emma Hjelle and I couldn't have been happier for that finish. To see her pounding down the final stretch without another Hodag in sight, I'm going to miss that kind of determination, but I know that determination is something she's going to leave behind."
Behind Hjelle, a trio of freshmen were next across the line for the Hodags. Emma Germain was 56th overall, Anna Wood was 61st and Liana Teter finished 72nd overall.
"I'm certain that it means that we're in a very good position to keep heading up the rankings as a team," Reis noted. "What's also interesting is that Liana, Emma Germain and Anna are very interested in the offseason training that pertains specifically to Nordic skiing. So, if I have freshmen who are on board now with the offseason training program, then we're off to the races - literally and figuratively."
Gwyneth Lowry rounded out the Hodag varsity scorers, placing 73rd overall.
Emma Roberts (74th), Jenna Younker (78th), Valerie Dalka (79th), Abbie Henrichs (80th), Callie Threlkeld (101st), Megan Lester (102nd) and Jaylen Janssen (114th) rounded out the group of Hodag girls who competed both days.
Every finisher through Roberts finished in the top 60 percent of the girls' field and the Hodags had three skiers - Hjelle, Germain and Jenna Younker - post top-60 times during Sunday's classic race.
Kyle Morien (83rd), Will Rutkowski (87th), Sam Rutkowski (99th) and Gavin Hackbarth (133rd) rounded out the contingent for the Hodag boys.
Rhinelander placed sixth out of 11 teams in the middle school boys' state competition and the Hodag girls were fourth out of nine teams. Jett Biolo (11th), Travis White (23rd) and Mason Shinners (24th) cracked the top 25 overall in the boys' race for Rhinelander. Macy Lester (18th), Juliana Smith (22nd) and Nora Rutkowski (23rd) scored top 25 finishes for the Rhinelander girls.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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