October 25, 2021 at 2:59 p.m.
STATEMENT RACE
Hodag boys finish 2nd at WIAA sectionals, qualify for first state meet since 1997
STATEMENT RACE
They also knew that their best race was yet to come.
Each one of Rhinelander's top five runners set personal-best times Saturday, and all five placed inside the top 20, as the Hodags punched their first team ticket to state since 1997 in a Division 2 sectional hosted by Oconto Falls at The Patriot Golf Club.
The Hodags scored 58 points to finish second, 14 points behind sectional champion Shawano. The top two teams in Saturday's 15-team meet advanced to next week's state meet in Wisconsin Rapids.
"It's surreal, honestly," said Hodag senior Cal Laggis, who placed third overall Saturday. "If someone would have told me at the start of the year you guys are going to make it as a team, I would have thought no way. Just to see how this group of guys has come together this year and how we've just dropped time and dropped time, it's been awesome."
Rhinelander had room to spare, finishing 29 points ahead of Freedom for the second qualifying spot. As it was a week earlier when the Hodags won their first conference championship since 1987, Rhinelander's main pack of runners proved to be the difference.
Ty Welk finished 15th with Jack DeNamur (16th), Greyson Gremban (17th) and Cody Ruetz (20th) close in tow. Ruetz, Rhinelander's fifth runner, finished ahead of Freedom's second runner, Bradey Obermueller, who placed 21st. The rest of Freedom's five varsity scorers finished 22nd, 24th and 25th.
Freedom, ranked 16th in the WCCCA Division 2 state rankings and projected to be the sectional's second qualifier, could not find its way past what Welk called the "Great Wall of Green."
"I really like how our race strategy is because it really implements that kind of team strategy and a lot of teams don't really have it," he said. "We're always flexible. We're always moving. We're sliding, adjusting to close those gap so they can't pass it. It was a great team performance from that group."
Coach M.J. Laggis had to pinch himself when word officially came - roughly 90 minutes after the Hodag boys crossed the finish line and after a delay due to a scoring error that ultimately did not affect the Hodags -that his team had made it to state.
"What a thrill. I'm so proud of the kids and their accomplishment. This is a group that struck together all year and has been a tight-knit unit. It's been a blast," he said.
Cal Laggis broke the 17-minute mark for the first time in his career on Saturday, covering the fast and flat five-kilometer course in 16 minute, 56.4 seconds. That was good enough for third overall, less than seven seconds behind individual sectional champion Ethan Onesti of Shawano.
"His goal was 16:55 and as a dad, I couldn't be more proud of him," coach Laggis said. "He just kept dropping time. He has a history of doing that every year down the stretch, and he's just gotten stronger and stronger. I knew he was mentally ready this morning. He looked ready and I thought he ran a fantastic race. I'm really proud of him. PR at sectionals, what more can you do."
Because the five fastest runners not already on a state qualifying team also earned tickets to Wisconsin Rapids, Cal Laggis was assured of a state berth, regardless of the team standings. That he gets to race at state with his teammates made the accomplishment that much sweeter.
"I was happy with my own run but, more importantly, I was happy with the team's run. The team's success, it's just awesome to see," he said.
Coming into the week, Rhinelander was projected 24 points behind Freedom for the second qualifying spot, based on season-best times for the sectional field available from multiple online sources. Coach Laggis said the team used that information as fuel as it trained for the meet.
"We knew that we set up our taper for sectionals, not conference, and we did," he said. "We ran conference on a hilly course and now we're on a flat course. Everything kind of fed our way a little bit, and we run well on flat courses.
"Coach (Melissa) Krueger's just an absolute tactician with our mileage every week. She does a fantastic job and she set our taper up in August for this weekend, today. I give her all the credit in the world."
Welk (18:03.2), DeNamur (18:03.3), Gremban (18:06.5) and Ruetz (18:14.3) all set personal-best times while Jaden Beske matched his personal best with a 29th-place finish at 18:44.6. Gavin Denis placed 60th overall with a 19:57.5.
"We had the day we had to have today," M.J. Laggis said. "Everyone ran the race they needed to run. It was just awesome."
The result caps an incredible turn-around for the Hodag boys' cross country team. Last year, the Hodags did not have enough healthy runners to even qualify for a team score in the postseason, due to COVID-19 protocols. Now Rhinelander is bringing a whole team to Wisconsin Rapids.
It will be the eighth trip to the state cross country meet all-time for the Rhinelander boys team. The Hodags were state champions in 1966 and 1987.
"I know there's going to be a lot of fantastic teams, but to be a state qualifier, a GNC winner and go to that state meet and compete, it's just a thrill and we're going to make the most of it," coach Laggis said.
Added Cal Laggis, "I would say it's almost like a fairy tale ending to just an awesome season to go out there and finally do it after however many year's it's been since we were last there. It's awesome. You couldn't script a better ending to the season."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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