June 17, 2021 at 2:40 p.m.
Hodag track advances nine entries to sectionals
Hodag track advances nine entries to sectionals
The Hodag boys placed fourth overall and the Hodag girls were eighth in a WIAA Division 1 regional competition at D.C. Everest's Stiehm Stadium. Rhinelander was able to advance nine entries to the sectional round despite being the plus-one in what was essentially a reprise of the WVC meet.
"I constantly had to remind our team today, 'you belong here at this regional,'" Hodag coach Aaron Kraemer said. "Just because we're the smallest team in the regional doesn't mean we have to be intimidated by these teams, doesn't mean that we have to overdo things. We belong here. We should be proud and happy to be in a meet like this.
"Fourth place (for the boys' team) in a regional of this magnitude with this group of teams, that's really, really impressive ... We get to see the best of the state here at this regional and (Thursday), we get to see even better."
Cole Worrall dominated both hurdling events to lead the list of Hodag athletes who moved on to Thursday's sectional round back at Stiehm Stadium. Junior Caleb Olcikas made it in both the 100 and 200 meters, senior Jacques Tulowitzky qualified in the 100, junior Ty Welk qualified in the 400 and the Hodag boys also sent their 4x100 relay. Junior Jaden Beske and senior Rebecca Lawrence advanced for Rhinelander in the boys' and girls' high jump events.
Worrall, a junior, was the top qualifier in the 110-meter high hurdle prelims and came back in the finals with a career-best time of 14.98 seconds, which sits only 0.19 seconds off the school record. Worrall cruised to a 0.78-second win in the event and blitzed the field in the 300 hurdles as well, winning by 0.81 seconds with a time of 41.20.
Both of Worrall's times put him as the top seed entering Thursday's sectional.
"I was really surprised how Cole Worrall did today - an amazing, amazing, amazing 110 - 14.98, which is absolutely blazing," Kraemer said. "And I still think he's got room to grow. You've seen him grow exponentially over the last four or five weeks. It has a lot to do with his heart, but also a lot to do with his training and what (hurdle coach) Enrique (Llanos) is doing for him. He's having a great season and I can't wait to see how it finishes."
The Hodags had plenty of speed in the boys' sprint events. Both Olcikas and Tulowitzky qualified for the finals in both the 100 and 200. The two finished second and third in the 100, separated by 0.05 seconds. Olcikas took the fourth and final sectional qualifying spot in the 200, fending off Tulowitzky for the spot by 0.06 seconds.
The pair ran the final two legs of the 4x100 relay, as the squad rallied to take the final qualifying spot by 0.31 seconds over Wisconsin Rapids. Beske and also were part of the relay.
"Caleb, he's got a great shot at going in the 100 and he's going to see some unbelievable talent on Thursday and I hope he brings it and gets it done," Kraemer said. "Jacques, he literally has been the difference for us this year. You talk about Cole and Caleb and you talk about the other people on the team a lot, but Jacques Tulowitzky is one of the reasons why we were close this year in a lot of meets, because of his surprising speed. He helped us get (to sectionals) in the 4x100. I thought he beat Caleb in the 100. In the 200, he just misses out. He's someone I wish we had for two more years."
Lawrence cleared 5-feet to finish third in the girls' high jump as the 2019 D2 state runner-up in the event tries to make a return trip to La Crosse. Beske cleared 5-10 and won a tiebreaker to take the final qualifying spot in the event by reaching the mark in the fewest number of attempts.
"In the jumps, it's survive and advance," Kraemer said. "Rebecca survived and advanced. She did what she needed to do. She needed to jump 5 feet, set the mark and everything else can happen from there. Jaden, we got a little bit of luck today. We talk about making 6-foot with no misses, but today, 5-10 with no misses was OK."
Welk finished fourth in a five-runner field in the 400 to make it through to Thursday.
"For Ty, it simply was being there, finishing and doing his best. He did a wonderful job and I'm really excited that he gets an opportunity to run on Thursday," Kraemer said.
There were a number of close calls, especially on the girls' side. Sage Flory finished fifth in both the 100 and 200 to miss qualifying for sectionals by a spot. Megan Brown was seventh in the 200 after qualifying for the finals.
In the biggest surprise of the afternoon, the Hodag girls' 4x100 relay, seeded second in the event, did not advance. Trouble on the second exchange between junior Emma Germain and Lawrence caused the two to collide and the baton to hit the ground, ending Rhinelander's chances in the event. Flory and Brown were also part of the squad.
"It's one of the most tense sports as far as you only get one shot and you better make it count. Unfortunately, for the girls, it was us today," Kraemer said. "They've had an amazing season. They put themselves close to a school record. They have themselves the best opportunities all season long. Emma jumped into that group and changed the group. I'm disappointed in the result, but I'm not disappointed with them at all. I'm going to smile when I think about that team because all four of them are special girls. All four of them have great attitudes and do the best they possibly can at all times. It's just unfortunate they didn't get a chance to finish."
Rhinelander took fifth in the girls' 4x200, as well as fifth in the boys' 4x200, 4x400 and 4x800. Germain was sixth in the girls' triple jump, Cody Ruetz was seventh in the boys' 1,600, Brock Snyder was seventh in the boys' shot put and Kyleah Hartman was eighth in the girls' 400.
Those who advanced to Thursday's sectional round, which concluded after deadline, needed to place in the top three there - or have a performance that's among the eight-best statewide in Division 1 - to qualify for the state meet June 26 in La Crosse.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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