November 4, 2021 at 8:27 a.m.
Hodag keglers ready to roll for season
Hodag keglers ready to roll for season
"I feel like we've got a pretty strong team this year," coach Mike Bourcier said. "This year I'm expecting, realistically, we'll have at least three up there competing (to go to state), maybe a fourth. It all depends on how their mindset goes."
The Hodags will open Wisconsin High School Bowling Club District 9 competition this Sunday at Dale's Weston Lanes. When they do so, they will have a varsity roster with only three holdovers from last year's squad. The dynamic of Rhinelander's co-op has changed as well, bumping the Hodags into Division 1 this season after years in Division 2.
State qualifiers Mackenzie Bourcier and Katrina McCarthy are among those who graduated. Rhinelander's also replacing its leadoff bowler from last year, Jacob Wagler, and reserve member Jeremiah Braun.
The team brings back a pair of individual state qualifiers in senior Kody Litzen and junior Cody Bednarz. Bednarz was second in District 9 last year with an 88.74 fill percentage. Litzen was fourth in the district at 86.23%. Senior Bella Walkowski also returns after filling nearly 71% of her frames last year.
"They've been on this (team) for a long time - their whole high school career and middle school," Bourcier said. "We're looking for them to be the leaders. They've been bowling a lot, practicing a lot on their own away from here. They've really improved and you can see that, especially Bella."
Rhinelander and Three Lakes remain part of the co-op this year, though the team has dropped Elcho from its high school squad, with no players from that high school on the roster following McCarthy's graduation.
Tomahawk joins the co-op this year with sophomore Noah Pearson. Tomahawk's enrollment, when added to Three Lakes' and Rhinelander's, was enough to bump the Hodags in to Division 1 for this season.
Bourcier said the biggest change will be who the team bowls this year - facing teams like Marshfield, Stevens Point, Wausau and D.C. Everest - instead of its usual Division 2 rivals like Antigo and Merrill.
"There are a lot of friendships there and we're not going to be competing against them. That's where the dynamics are going to be different," he said. "We've always seen Division 1 bowlers (at district meets). We bowled against Division 1 bowlers back in earlier days. A lot of them go to tournaments together and see each other. As for the competition, Division 1 and Division 2, I think there's still a level playing field regardless of you division. They just base it off of school size. Yeah, they can draw from 1,500 kids, but sometimes these schools with 1,500 kids can only draw 5-6 kids out."
As for Pearson, his scores have been solid in the Hodags Lanes' Junior League. He rolled a league-best 647 series during league play Oct. 16 and Bourcier said the two-handed bowler will likely make an immediate impact.
"He's got a lot of potential. He just needs some fine-tuning, but he's been doing really well here. I look for him to add a lot to the team," he said.
Additionally, Rhinelander adds three freshmen to the squad, with Alex Hall and Johanna Dellenbach moving up from last year's middle school team. Hall led the middle school team with a 66.7% fill rate last spring. Payton McCue also returns after taking a year off from bowling.
"Alex has been really good, in the middle school. I look to him to throw a lot of good games," Bourcier said. "Johanna's improved greatly, changing some of her release and everything. Payton, even though he's only bowled one year, he's got good, athletic form. We've just got to get the ball to match with his speed and we're working on it."
As the season begins, District 9 is transitioning back to some of its pre-pandemic procedures. The most notable change is a return to having all district teams bowl at the same center on match days. Last year, to limit the number of people present, only two teams were at the same center at the same time in a true home and away dual meet schedule.
That means more travel for the Hodags, but Bourcier said he'll take that trade in favor of full, energetic bowling centers on match days.
"It's the atmosphere. When you've got 12 lanes, 16 lanes, 20 lanes of all the kids and you're hearing the hooting and hollering and screaming and high-fiving and everything, and you've got 200 parents, it changes the feeling," he said. "The spectators make part of your bowling (experience) here. I'm excited to go back to having everyone there."
The Hodags will host two meets this year on Jan. 9 and Feb. 6.
In another return to pre-pandemic normalcy, the club's middle school program will bowl again alongside the high schoolers during the winter season. Last year, the middle schoolers bowled their own, separate schedule in March and April.
Blake Klingen, Nate Lavender and Dominic Cooper return from last year's squad. The team has added sixth-grader Aiden Johnson and was hopeful of finding a fifth bowler to round out the squad prior to Sunday's opener.
"Blake's returning and getting stronger and bowling better. Nate, from last year his first year to this year, he's doing really well. Dominic has bought some new equipment and is starting to come around. We've just got to work with them and build it," Bourcier said. "That's our building. We're building for the high school and you can see with the high school kids, how they came out of the middle school program. That's how I look at it."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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