March 8, 2019 at 3:56 p.m.
Team review: RHS Nordic skiing
RHS Nordic continues its arduous climb up the state ranks
Team review: RHS Nordic skiing
Rhinelander inched off the bottom of the pile at the Wisconsin Nordic Ski League state championships last month in Cable. The Hodag boys finished 11th in a field of 16 teams, while the Hodag girls were 11th in a field of 14. Moreover, 60 percent of the team finished inside to top 60 percent of the field at least one of the two days at the state championship weekend - one of the criteria the team used to award varsity letters this season.
Still a relatively young squad, this year's Hodag Nordic team has coach Charil Reis excited for the future.
"It goes to show how much effort you put in at the practices, how much you paid attention to the admonishment of the coaches and really put your heads down and skied harder when it mattered," she said during the team's banquet last month at the Cedric A. Vig Outdoor Classroom.
Here are five key points from the recently completed season.
IMPROVEMENT
Last year the Hodags had only one top 50 finisher at state, and only two skiers finished among the top 60 percent of the field (roughly 75 skiers).
This year the Hodags had 15 in the top 60 percent at least one day, and Rhinelander had four top-50 performances.
Three of those came from sophomore Zach Goodrich, who was 37th fastest in both the freestyle and classic races at state and finished 38th in the overall pursuit. Emma Hjelle finished 39th in the classic race at state and placed 54th overall.
"We're doing exceptionally well. I'm ecstatic with these results. Some of you made the 60-percent cut both days, some of you one day. Some of you fought through illness or whatever," Reis said during the banquet. "There were some major improvement in the guys rankings. Better than half of the field of Hodag boys were better than 60 percent at state."
What's more, is the Hodags showed dramatic improvement from last year, especially on the boys' side. Rhinelander's top five boys all improved at least 24 positions from their spot in last year's pursuit rankings.
WACKY WEATHER
The Hodags accomplished this feat in spite of barely having a normal race all season.
The year got off to an inauspicious start when a course-marking error led to mass confusion at the Ice Age Opener in Ironwood, Mich., turning that race into a glorified scrimmage.
That snafu paled in comparison to the curveball Mother Nature had in store for January. A lack of early season snow caused the Hodags to alter their two-day Hodag Challenge race at CAVOC to back-to-back skate races. A lack of a good trail base prevented groomers from setting a sufficient track for the classic technique.
The team had two races in Wausau canceled due to a lack of snow, opted out of the Hinder Binder race near Medford due to icy trail conditions and had their conference race in Cable canceled due to excessively cold temperatures.
Twice the Hodags essentially traveled to events on the fly. A race in Lakewood was held in place of Wausau's Snekkevik race in early January. A week later, the Hodags went up to the Win-Man trails in northern Vilas County for a dual meet against 4H-Canski of the Ashland/Bayfield area in lieu of the Hinder Binder.
"I have never in my life sent so many correction emails based on the fact that what I originally sent couldn't be used because of weather, because of cancellations," Reis said of what turned out to be an unpredictable winter.
BOYS' SQUAD
Zach Goodrich led the way for the Hodags at state and was generally Rhinelander's fastest skier all season. He leapt from 77th in the final state standings last year to 38th this year.
Goodrich wasn't the only Hodag to show big improvement over last year. Nicholas St. Pierre was 46th 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."
GIRLS' SQUAD
Hjelle, a senior, essentially dropped the mic in her final state meet. Not only was she by far the Hodags' fastest in the classic technique - her specialty - she led the Hodags on skate day as well.
Reis said the way Hjelle charged toward the finish line to end the state meet is something she'll remember.
"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," she said. "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."
What Hjelle left behind on the race course were her teammates, who all show promising futures. Rounding out Rhinelander's top five at state were three freshmen and a sophomore. Emma Germain was 56th overall, Anna Wood was 61st and Liana Teter finished 72nd overall. Gwyneth Lowry rounded out the Hodag varsity scorers, placing 73rd.
"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."
WHAT'S NEXT
Twenty-four skiers was a record for the Hodag ski team since its reboot during the 2014-15 season. Emma Hjelle and Emma Roberts are the only seniors graduating from this year's squad, and will a constant flow of skiers coming in from the middle school pipeline, next year's numbers figure to be better for the Hodags.
That prompted Reis to pose an intriguing question to her team during the banquet.
"When do you want to win state," she asked.
Rhinelander last stood a top the state's skiing landscape in 2003 and, they way Reis sees it, the team has the potential to get back there again if that's something each individual choose to pursue.
"When I said to you 'When do you want to be state champions,' the word 'when' is key," she said. "It means I believe you can do it. I'm not asking if you can or if you want to. I'm asking when it is going to happen. We will be there. Rhinelander's been there before. We've been at the top of the pile before. It's just a matter of when. You can't be scared of it. You have to go after it."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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