July 1, 2020 at 11:00 a.m.
RHS coaches encouraged by WIAA winter sports changes
RHS coaches encouraged by WIAA winter sports changes
The highlights among actions passed by the board include the introduction of a girls-only individual wrestling tournament, the introduction of computerized seeding for the boys' and girls' basketball playoffs and the retention of a two-division system for boys' hockey that started last season as a two-year trial.
Head coaches at Rhinelander High School, whose sports were the subject of the changes, were generally positive in their responses to the outcomes.
Girls' wrestling
According to the WIAA, a recommendation from state wrestling coaches to add a girls division to the state tournament was amended to conduct a girls-only individual tournament in 2021-22.
The WIAA stated that girls and boys will be permitted to wrestle one another during the regular season, but that the state tournament will be gender exclusive.
RHS wrestling coach Paul Ellenbecker said he supported the decision.
"It was a pretty big day for the sport of wrestling and it's only going to help promote the sport when they have their own tournament and they can have their own state champions and be part of history. I really think it's going to help boost the numbers overall," he said. "I think now that they have some legitimacy having their own tournament, it's just going to grow from there."
At the youth level, the Wisconsin Wrestling Federation has separate brackets and weight classes for female wrestlers for its kids folkstyle state tournament.
Rhinelander has had a handful of female wrestlers during Ellenbecker's tenure and Ellenbecker said they helped pave the way.
"I look back at some of the girls we had wrestling over the years, like Payton Hartman, Isabella Anderson, I wish they would have been able to have this opportunity in front of them," he said. "They kind of helped to lay the groundwork for staying out for the sport, wrestling, competing and getting it to where it is today."
In addition to the creation of a girls' individual state wrestling tournament the WIAA said it will utilize TrackWrestling.com to place sectional champions into state tournament brackets for all division beginning with the 2021 state tournament.
Computerized basketball seeding
Seeding meetings for the WIAA boys' and girls' basketball playoffs will be eliminated or greatly changed after the board of control approved implementing a computerized seeding system.
The WIAA stated the goal will be to have the system developed and implemented no later than the 2021-22 season, and it is possible it could be available to use by this coming winter.
Computerized seeding is a relatively new concept for the WIAA in team sports. In January, the board approved developing a plan to go to computerized seeded for the state football playoffs beginning this fall.
Both RHS boys' basketball coach Derek Lemmens and girls' basketball coach Ryan Clark were supportive of the move.
"It's so political," Clark said of the current format where coaches in each half sectional meet toward the end of the regular season to vote on the seeds in their particular bracket.
"I think there's too much human control, especially in conference in that when you have a big group that is from the same conference," Lemmens said.
Over the last few years, Rhinelander has had numbers on its side in the seeding meeting, with up to five of the 11 schools in its bracket members of the GNC. Antigo, Lakeland, Mosinee and Rhinelander are part of the same pod for the 2021 state tournament. However Medford, last year's GNC boys' basketball champion, was the only member of the conference in its 11-team bracket and received a No. 6 seed for the tournament despite an 18-4 regular season record.
Both Lemmens and Clark said they were intrigued to learn exactly what variables would go into a formula to produce the computerized rankings. They wondered how much weight would be but on criteria such as margin of victory and strength of schedule.
"How do you equate for all of the things that happen in a season," Lemmens said.
Both Lemmens and Clark added that they would be in favor of a proposed tweak to the plan that would allow coaches to appeal for a higher seed after the rankings were released, which could take into account factors that would be difficult to quantify - particularly the impact of losing a key player for a portion of the season due to injury or other circumstances.
Boys' hockey staying two divisions
The Rhinelander High School boys' hockey team nearly made a Cinderella run to the WIAA Division 2 sectional finals as a No. 7 seed last season. More smaller schools may have the opportunity for their own magical tournament runs in the future.
The board approved making permanent a two-division system in boys' hockey and shot down a proposal that would have created an even 50-50 split between the divisions. Currently, the smallest 32 programs, bases on the enrollment of the school(s) involved with the team, are placed in Division 2 with the remaining schools in Division 1. There will be 51 teams in the D1 state tournament this coming winter.
RHS boys' hockey coach M.J. Laggis was a proponent of the move on a trial basis, and said he is pleased the WIAA will continue to stick with two divisions moving forward.
"I think it's so good for hockey and so good for the small schools," Laggis said. "Even if you won a playoff game, you had no chance to move on. As recently as a couple years ago, you win a playoff game and then you get to face (Wausau) West or Point in round 2. That's a hard road."
The D2 sectional for Rhinelander this coming season is the same as it was a year ago, and virtually a reprise of the Great Northern Conference season. Seven of the eight GNC programs are in the eight-team sectional. Marshfield is the only outlier in the group, replacing Medford in the playoff bracket.
That setup worked well for the Hodags last year. Despite drawing the No. 7 seed, the Hodags upset second-seeded Lakeland 3-1 in the regional finals and forced overtime with third-seeded Mosinee in the sectional semifinals before falling in overtime, 3-2.
Mosinee nearly pulled off an upset of its own in the sectional finals against GNC-champion Northland Pines, leading in the third period before surrendering a couple of late goals and falling to the Eagles, 4-3.
"I think you're going to see the Rhinelanders and schools like us in sectional finals sooner rather than later - be it Lakeland, be it us, be it Tomahawk, whoever. I think that's just a great thing for hockey," Laggis said.
The WIAA also approved a change to overtime procedures during regular season and postseason contests. For regular season games, now if a game remains tied following an eight-minute 5-on-5 sudden victory overtime period, a five-minute 3-on-3 period will be played, with the game ending in a tie if no team scores during either overtime session.
For tournament games, an eight-minute first overtime and a 17-minute second-overtime remain in place if the score is tied. If a winner is still not determined, the teams will play a five-minute 4-on-4 sudden victory period, followed by a five-minute 3-on-3 sudden victory period. If the first four overtime periods do not produce a winner, the ice will be resurfaced and a 17-minute 3-on-3 sudden victory period will follow. Previously, 17-minute 5-on-5 periods were played, beginning with the second overtime, until a winner was determined.
A girls' hockey playoff game between Viroqua and Black River Falls back in February went to a sixth overtime period before Black River Falls prevailed, 2-1.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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