May 13, 2021 at 11:40 a.m.
Hodag boys' track wins again in Tomahawk
Hodag boys' track wins again in Tomahawk
The Hodags captured six individual victories and tacked on eight more top three finishes Tuesday as they claimed the seven-team Hatchet Invitational in Tomahawk.
That makes the RHS boys 3-for-3 so far this season in meet victories. Coach Aaron Kraemer said it's a nice start, but it's all working toward defending the Great Northern Conference title next month in Eagle River.
"It's not necessarily something we're striving to do, to win meets," he said. "We're just trying to do the best we can and if that's the byproduct of it, then we're excited about that."
The Hodags girls won two events and finished fifth in a competitive field, only four points out of second place.
Rhinelander's throwers had a big night and ultimately made up the difference as the Hodags beat Lakeland by 29 points for the team title. Brock Snyder, back in the lineup after missing the first two meets, finished second in both the shot put (40 feet, 2 1/2) and the discus (106-2). Rhinelander swept the top three spots in the discus with Kaden Chillemi (107-6), Snyder and Conner Jensen while Chillemi added a third-place toss in the shot put.
"I'm not surprised by this, but I'm really excited by the way we threw tonight," Kraemer said. "Obviously, we swept the discus, which is an amazing thing to see. It's just a really good group over in the throws pit. From the last two weeks Brock's been coaching and doing a really nice job standing up with his leadership and helping those guys grow. Now he comes back and gets into the fold and (Chillemi) ends up throwing one a little further than him."
"I know he's a little bit disappointed. He wants to be the guy running the room but, at the same time, a 1-2-3 in the disc and a 2-3 in the shot, that's amazing. Anytime you get that many points out of the throws, you're really proud of what you're able to do. Coach (Chris) Ferge is doing a great job with them," Kraemer added.
The Hodags also got a breakthrough performance from Jaden Beske in the high jump. The junior cleared 6 feet for the first time as he edged Tomahawk's Micah Arnott for the win based on total jumps.
"Jaden Beske showed up today, jumped 6-foot and he was very close to hitting 6-2," Kraemer said. "A PR for him, being 5-10 and jumping over 6 feet. I was very proud of what he was able to accomplish. Hopefully he can stay consistent for the rest of the year and continue to compete in that event."
Caleb Olcikas and Cole Worrall continued to clean up for the Hodags in the sprints and the hurdles. Olcikas swept the 100- (11.56 seconds) and the 200-meter (23.46) dashes, while Worrall claimed both the 110 (16.32) and the 300 hurdles (43.29).
"Caleb and Cole, they're going to be at the top of the conference by the end," Kraemer said. "Now it's simply about managing them, making sure that they're healthy and that they're peaking into where we need them to peak. They're very impressive."
Rhinelander took second in three of the four relay races on Tuesday. Ross Skeen, Jacques Tulowitzky, Jackson Labs and Brendon Eckrich were runners up in the 4x100; Daniel Gillingham, Eckrich, Labs and Tulowitzky took second in the 4x200 and Beske, Cody Ruetz, Ty Welk and Worrall were second in the 4x400.
Olcikas and Daniel King placed third and fifth, respectively, for the Hodags in the triple jump, Skeen was fourth in the 100, Ruetz took fifth in the 1,600 and Abraham Barlog was fifth in both the 110 and 300 hurdles.
Rhinelander's sprinters continue to steal the show on the girls' side. Megan Brown and Sage Flory went 1-2 in the 200, were third and fourth in the 100 and were part of the Hodags' winning 4x100-meter relay team.
Brown went 27.73 in the 200 to beat Flory by 0.67 seconds. Rebecca Lawrence and Lila Bielefeldt joined the two as they went 53.50 in the 4x100.
"It's great for them to be able to race against each other because they're very, very good and they have that competition constantly," Kraemer said. "Also, I think you're seeing the top end of our girls team really come together. I'm very proud of what they've been able to accomplish so far. Hopefully we'll keep that going."
Lawrence had a season-best in the high jump, clearing 5 feet, but ended up third in the event. She lost out on total jumps to Three Lakes' Kallie Volk and Molle Gruszynski, who also cleared 5 feet.
"Rebecca got back to it today. I think one of the things she's been struggling with - and this is not to disparage our competition - she hasn't seen anyone jumping in the 5s and 5-2s," Kraemer said. "Today, when we saw both the girls from Three Lakes, she had an opportunity to go against some stiff competition and get after it. Other than missing early, which was just a mental lapse, she absolutely got back to her form. Five foot for her today and working toward 5-2. If she can get back there before our conference meet and into regionals, I think we're in a good spot with her."
Emma Germain, who was a scratch in the Hodags' last competition, returned with a third-place finish in the triple jump and was fifth in the 400. Brown added a fourth-place showing in the long jump, Ellie Van Camp was fifth in the 800 while Lizzy Snyder took fifth in the discus.
Ashland scored 148.5 points to win the girls' division, followed by Three Lakes (98), Tomahawk (97.5), Lakeland (96) and Rhinelander (94).
"I'm impressed by a lot of the things the girls are doing short-handed with the numbers we have," Kraemer said.
The Hodags were back in action last night in their home invitational at Mike Webster Stadium which concluded after deadline for today's edition. Rhinelander heads to Northland Pines this coming Tuesday for an invite.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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