October 25, 2019 at 11:21 a.m.
Seeking sectional improvement
Longshot Hodag harriers look to move up the leaderboard in postseason race
Seeking sectional improvement
Sophomore Cal Laggis would still be considered a longshot to make the state meet, but his prospects seem more reasonable than they did prior to last week's conference race. Laggis had a breakout performance on the hilly Gartzke Flowage course, placing fourth overall.
There is some symmetry in that finish. Last year, Bridger Flory parlayed a fourth-place finish at the GNCs into a state meet appearance for the Hodags. The difference is Flory was a frontrunner all season for Rhinelander. Laggis' run last Saturday was by far his best of the season in relation to where he placed compared to the rest of the team.
Both Cal and his father, RHS cross country coach M.J. Laggis, downplayed the expectations of a repeat performance today.
"He's a sophomore but, holy cow is he going to be up against it," coach Laggis said. "I don't know what the chances are. In the sectional he probably figures top 20, be in that range and set a goal for his junior year."
Fresh off his all-conference run, the younger Laggis added: "I don't know. It's tough to say. I'm just going to lay it all on the line next week."
The numbers indicate that Laggis, and the rest of the Hodags for that matter, have plenty of work to do should they want to get to Wisconsin Rapids. The top two teams from today's 16-team sectional will automatically qualify for next Saturday's race at The Ridges Golf Course. From there, the five best finishers not on a qualifying team will also get in as individuals.
Freedom, New London at Tomahawk appear to be the top contenders - ranked third, seventh and 10th, respectively, in the latest Wisconsin Cross Country Coaches Association Division 2 boys' poll. According to times compiled by Athletic.net, New London and Freedom are projected to finish first and second, with Shawano edging Tomahawk for third. But Tomahawk beat Lakeland and New London for the team title when they raced at today's sectional venue - Edgewater Country Club - two weeks ago at the Hatchet Invite.
Depending on which two teams qualify for state, it will likely take a top nine or 10 finish to qualify as an individual, based on the numbers. Currently the 10th-fastest time in the sectional is held by Freedom sophomore Jaxen Gerndt at 16 minutes, 53.1 seconds. Tomahawk's Noah Buckwalter won the Hatchet Invite two weeks ago with a time of 17:00.8 - which is currently the 11th-fastest time in the section.
For Cal Laggis and the Hodags, the numbers could be looked at one of two ways. In one sense, he would have to drop a ton of time from his race at Tomahawk two weeks ago, where he led Rhinelander with a 17th-place finish (18:12.3). On the other hand, Tomahawk's Drew Bolder is currently projected as a state qualifier, with the eighth-fastest time in the section. Laggis finished ahead of Bolder at last Saturday's GNC.
"I feel great. I'm trying to PR on the course in Tomahawk. It's a nice, flat course and I'm going to try to medal there," Cal Laggis said, referencing the goal of beating a personal-best time of 17:54.4 set Oct. 8 at the Northland Pines Invitational that has him seeded 46th in the field.
Jacob Weddle, who won the Pines Invite, is seeded 42nd at 17:48.5.
"(Cal Laggis) and Weddle, those two have dueled all year up there one and two. Neither one of them go away. They work hard.," M.J. Laggis said. "He wants to go to state, so does Weddle, so do they all."
While those two likely have the most realistic chances of qualifying as individuals, the Hodags have team goals as well - mainly to get off the bottom of the sectional standings. Rhinelander's boys were dead last in a field of 14 qualifying teams at sectionals two years ago, and 13th out of 14 teams last year. The Hodag girls have finished 10th each of the last two years at sectionals. Athletic.net's projections have Rhinelander inching forward this year. The boys are projected to finish 11th and the girls are slotted in the seventh spot.
"Our goal is we want to be at least a mid-pack sectional team at Tomahawk next weekend," coach Laggis said after the conference race. "That will be our goal. We'll see if we can go get it."
For as tough as the boys' race figures to be, the girls' race is even tougher. Freedom comes in ranked second in the WCCCA D2 girls' poll. Lakeland is fourth and Tomahawk is sixth. At least one of those teams will not race at the state meet next weekend. Whichever team gets left out will likely have a bead on at least a couple of the individual qualifying spots. Athletic.net seeds Lakeland and Freedom as the top two teams, based on each individual's season-best times. It projects Grace Beyer of Shawano, with the ninth-fastest time in the sectional (20:08.0) as the final individual qualifier.
"We've got a heavyweight section and what do you do? You've got to raise the bar and get better," Laggis said. "You've got to work harder. We had a good day (at conference) for where we're at and we know the heavy hitters are going to be at Tomahawk."
Junior Ali DeNamur is Rhinelander's highest-seeded runner in 32nd overall based on her 21:27.3 time at the Three Lakes Invitational Sept. 26. Fellow junior Abbey Henrichs missed that meet due to illness. She's seeded 43rd based on her time at the Hatchet Invite two weeks ago (21:48.8).
Overall times are expected to be fast today on an Edgewater course that has very little elevation change and is fairly open - a stark contrast to the tight, hilly confines of last week's GNC meet. Coach Laggis said the course setup, and the familiarity with the course, should lead to fast times.
"The No. 1 is, without a doubt, confidence," he said. "It's a course that all kids have ran a lot. Everybody loves that course in Tomahawk. It's set up to be flat and fast. It's a great spectator venue and it's just one of those tracks that you build into it. You start and you get stronger and stronger and come up with your best finish. That's got to be the mentality - stay with the front of the pack as long as you can and finish strong. That's what we're going try to do."
The WIAA sectional meet begins at 11 a.m. with the girls' race. The boys' race will begin at 11:45 a.m.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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