September 2, 2020 at 10:55 a.m.
Hodag harriers mid-pack in opener
Hodag harriers mid-pack in opener
Cal Laggis finished fourth overall and the Hodag boys finished third Tuesday in the six-team Mosinee Invite at Nine-Mile Forest in Wausau.
The Hodag girls, led by senior Ali DeNamur's 15th-place finish, were fourth in their division.
The six-school meet included all of the Great Northern Conference except for Tomahawk, which will be a recurring theme throughout the 2020 schedule that has seen fields and events altered due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Rhinelander coach M.J. Laggis said he was not sure what to expect this season, especially on the boys' side, given the amount of attrition the team had from last season, but he said Tuesday's run was a solid starting point.
"We have something to shoot for. That was the entire GNC, minus Tomahawk," he said. "So, we're a three-four type team and now we have a little idea of where we're at and where we're going to strive for. We have something to build on. We did better than I thought we would tonight, overall, and that's a good thing."
Cal Laggis, a junior and coach M.J. Laggis' son, matched his career-best finish, set at last year's GNC meet.
He paced the Hodags with a time of 18 minutes, 13.2 seconds on the 5-kilometer course, finishing roughly 1:17 off the pace of race winner Joey Sullivan of Medford.
Yet Laggis' time was only 25 seconds off his personal best set at last year's sectionals and far better than his time of 20:10.9 in last year's Mosinee Invite.
"I think pretty notable with Cal is he dropped about two minutes off his time there last year," coach Laggis said. "Last year, he started the year in the 20s and wound up in the top part of our team. He started this year at 18:13. I'm pretty pleased with that start, given where he started last year. It was a typical race for him where he starts at a certain spot and he typically just gets better."
Junior Jaden Beske was second across the line for Rhinelander in 11th overall (19:52.6), and was followed by a trio of varsity newcomers. Junior Ty Welk was 12th (20:06.7), junior Jack DeNamur was 18th (21:07.9) and senior Jake Losch was 26th (21:35.7).
"Ty Welk was our No. 3 and ran a 20:06. He started the night, basically, in kind of a JV slot and, to be honest, he was pretty convincingly our No. 3 runner," coach Laggis said. "He had a real breakout night and he was not far away at all for medaling in varsity. It was really nice to see him do that.
"Jack DeNamur was our fourth with a nice race. Jack's starting out nicely ahead of where he was last year at this time and Jake Losch was our No. 5. We learned a lot about Jake. I didn't really know how he was going to factor before the year and he's taken on a leadership role on our team. He ran a really nice race tonight."
Daniel Goldsworthy (29th, 21:50.1) and AJ Gillespie (32nd, 22:03.7) rounded out the varsity scoring for Rhinelander.
Ali DeNamur led a tight pack of Hodag girls with a time of 22:49.0, and was followed closely by three returning runners. Junior Emma Germain finished 16th (22:54.4), senior Abbey Henricks was 19th (23:16.8) and senior Ella Schiek was 20th (23:31.7).
"Ali DeNamur was our No. 1. She had a real nice race," coach Laggis said. "Emma Germain really started better than she's started any other year. She looked strong and that's awesome. Then Abbey Henricks was our third. Abbey's a captain and a leader and you're going to see her right up there on the front part of our pack all year long."
Freshman Leah Jamison rounded out Rhinelander's top five, taking 21st (23:38.6), followed by Juliana Smith in 25th (24:14.7) and Sage Flory in 30th (25:16.6).
"We were really surprised with how strong Leah Jamison looked for a freshman, just strong and confident," M.J. Laggis said. "Juliana Smith took a lot of time off from last year and she's really improved too."
Tuesday's race had a different feel to it, compared to typical cross country meets as a result of the pandemic.
The biggest change, on course, was the runners going off in multiple waves instead of one mass start.
"The format will take some getting used to," coach Laggis said. "You start out with the JV runners going, two minutes later, the gun goes and, in theory, your slower varsity runners go. Two minutes later, your next wave of varsity go and, two minutes later, your last wave of varsity go.
"I don't know. It's too fresh in my mind. (Assistant) coach (Melissa Krueger) and I are talking about some things we liked and didn't like, but the one initial thing I would say is I think the gap between groups could be shorter and I think if you actually started with your fastest crew first, and then your next wave and your next wave and your next wave, I don't think you'd have a lot of overlapping and it would go quicker. Having said that, it was pretty darn smooth, considering the way they had to run it."
The Hodags will return to action this coming Thursday with a home invite at the Cedric A. Vig Outdoor Classroom. The same six schools that raced on Tuesday will be in next Thursday's field.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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