October 31, 2021 at 7:32 a.m.
Going out in style
Hodags finish 9th at state cross country, Cal Laggis takes 19th individually
Going out in style
Cal Laggis placed 19th overall and the Hodag harriers finished ninth in the 16-team WIAA Division 2 state meet at the Ridges in Wisconsin Rapids.
The Hodags were projected to finish 13th as a team, based on last week's sectional results for the state qualifiers, and Laggis was the 27th-fastest runner in the D2 field going into the race. Yet, as it did by winning the Great Northern Conference and placing second at sectionals, Rhinelander rose to the occasion.
"We made a team goal this week that we were going to try to make top 10 out of the 16 and I'm really proud with the ninth-place finish," coach M.J. Laggis said. "It was a great effort by our kids today and it's just what they've done all year long, work really hard."
Added senior Ty Welk, who was Rhinelander's fourth finisher on the day in 94th overall, "This is the textbook ending of how we wanted things to go, ending up at state. I was getting a little emotional right after the race, but it was awesome. Last race, the biggest stage in the state, to go out on."
Rhinelander positioned itself in the middle of the pack from the start and never relented. Rhinelander was shown in eighth place as the field crossed the one-mile mark, and ninth at the two-mile mark. The Hodags held on to ninth, tied with Lakeside Lutheran with 234 points. Rhinelander won the tiebreaker for the ninth position as the Hodags' sixth finisher, Jaden Beske, finished ahead of Lakeside Lutheran's sixth finisher.
The Hodags came in with nothing to lose after qualifying for the WIAA state meet as a team for the first time since 1997. Coach Laggis said the Hodags ran like it on Saturday.
"We said, 'You know what, we're running against the best teams here. There's no slow teams. We're running against the best. Let's see what we can do," he said.
That was true for Cal Laggis, coach Laggis' son. The younger Laggis got out fast and hung at or near the top 20 overall the entire race as he finished with a time of 17 minutes, 1.9 seconds.
Laggis was 19th after covering the opening mile in 5:06.7. He dropped back to 21st at the two-mile (10:48.6), but regained those two positions down the stretch. Laggis finished only five seconds behind his personal-best time of 16:56 run a week prior at sectionals.
"I'm pretty happy with that," Cal Laggis said. "I had a goal, it was a little ambitious, to be in the top 10. I knew that was kind of a long shot coming into this and I'm happy with this course to run that time. It felt fast. We kind of expected that going into it and it was. It was really fast, right from the start. It was fast, everybody."
"I told Cal to get on that lead group, hang on and try to ride it as long as you can," coach Laggis said. "Top 20 was big goal and he got 19. That's awesome. This is not necessarily a (personal record) course, so I really do like the time that he ran today, 17:01. I'm really proud of him. Great career."
Laggis' time ended up 20.2 seconds off the podium, which went to the top 10 finishers. Shorewood's Nathan Cumberbatch won the race at 16:06.4. Prescott's Tyler Loucks was the final podium finisher in 10th at 16:47.1. Laggis was the second-fastest runner for the GNC in the field. Medford's Joe Sullivan finished eighth (16:36.2) while Laggis finished just ahead of Lakeland's Owen Clark, who placed 20th.
Junior Cody Ruetz was Rhinelander's second finisher at 18:05.4. Senior Jack DeNamur was 81st (18:07.0), followed by Welk, freshman Greyson Gremban (104th, 18:31.2), Beske (113th, 18:44.0) and sophomore Gavin Denis (148th, 20:20.4).
Shorewood defeated Notre Dame Academy 54-73 for the Division 2 boys' team title. Osceola, Port Washington and Dodgeville/Mineral Point rounded out the top five. The Hodags finished 14 points behind Shawano for eighth. The Hawks defeated Rhinelander for the D2 sectional title a week earlier in Abrams.
Overall, the team was in agreement that Saturday's race was the cherry on top of an resurgent campaign for the program.
"I just loved that, as seniors, we got to go out with a bang. It's the last race we could have possibly ran and we ran it. It was fun and exciting," Beske said.
The ending of the 2021 season was a far cry from the way 2020 ended for the Hodags. With a number of runners - including Laggis, Welk and Ruetz - sidelined due to COVID-19 protocols, Rhinelander did not have enough finishers to qualify for a team score in a Division 1 subsectional meet in Medford.
"It couldn't have been a better year after what happened last year and the way it crashed to an end. This has been fantastic," coach Laggis said.
To that, Laggis credited he seniors, who put in one final run on Saturday.
"You see the way they started working together and see the way they were refusing to lose, it all comes to the emotions of that right there," he said. "They did everything they could all year. They had the best last three weeks you could have. It was outstanding. I'm proud of those seniors, proud of their accomplishments.
"They're changing our mentality here where we're going to try to qualify as a team. You and I both know that won't happen every year, but the mindset that we're a running community and we're a running school is developing. That's incredible and that's a tribute to those seniors."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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