September 16, 2021 at 7:05 a.m.
Laggis, Miljevich score wins in Stratford
Laggis, Miljevich score wins in Stratford
Senior Cal Laggis and freshman Sophia Miljevich won the boys' and girls' races, and the Hodags claimed the six-team boys' division in Stratford. The Hodag girls, still down a couple of runners, finished third out of five qualifying teams.
Both Laggis and Miljevich won their races in similar fashion, jumping out to early leads and leaving the rest of the pack in their wake.
The girls' race was first. Miljevich competed the five-kilometer corse in 21 minutes, 32.20 second to beat Mosinee's Kate Fitzgerald to the line by 14.03 seconds.
"Sophie took control of the race early on. She got out to a nice lead less than a mile into it," coach M.J. Laggis said. "The way that's set up, I was able to get around the course and see here a lot of times. She did a great job. Sophie was just strong today, and that was really good. She's got a bright future if she works hard, that's for sure."
Cal Laggis had an even more dominant run in the boys' race as he was the lone runner to break the 18-minute barrier. He crossed the line in 17:53.46, to beat Mosinee's Cooper Szekeress by 39.02 seconds for the win.
"Cal just took control of the race early," M.J. Laggis said. "He was less than a mile into it and it was him and the four-wheeler and he was starting to separate. He just started strong and got stronger as it went."
Both Rhinelander sides were a bit short-handed on Tuesday. The Hodag boys' won without Cody Ruetz (illness) and Greyson Gremban (soccer). Leah Jamison (hip) was scratched from her second straight race for the Hodag girls.
Jack DeNamur was second across the line for Rhinelander, in seventh overall at 19:11.95 with Ty Welk eighth at 19:15.16. Senior Jaden Beske, who's attempting to balance football and cross country this fall, turned in his best run so far, placing 12th at 19:35.01.
"Jaden was not in a medal, but he was our fourth and without his effort, we don't win," coach Laggis said. "The effort he gave tonight was awesome and I'm really proud of him for doing that. It shows that even he wasn't going to medal, he ran for the team and really laid it down at the end. There's a lot to be said for that."
Gavin Denis was Rhinelander's fifth runner in 27th at 21:47.72 and Jason Zheng rounded out the varsity in 29th at 22:06.43.
Senior Emma Germain medaled for Rhinelander in eighth overall at 22:30.28. Freshman Luna Grage was 12th and sophomore Eva Hetland finished 15th (23:33.81).
"I can't say enough about Emma's leadership and what she brings to our whole group. It's so valuable," M.J. Laggis said. "Luna just got stronger as the race went and Eva's been working really, really hard and doing the same.
"On the girls' side, I feel a lot like how I felt about the boys a year ago. I think they're a year away and they could be really decent. What they're doing before races and after and how they're going about stuff, they're a really fun group to be around."
Juliana Smith (17th, 23:59.25), Reese Gehrig (18th, 24:20.75) and Maria Hubler (29th, 25:49.33) rounded out the varsity for Rhinelander.
The Hodags beat Stratford 53-70 for the boys' title. Mosinee edged Stratford 33-37 for the girls' title. Rhinelander was third with 51 points.
Rhinelander took four of the top five sports in the JV boys' race, with Travis White first, AJ Gillespie third, Zacha King fourth and Brody Kowieski fifth. Kyleah Hartman, Aubrey Younker and Kylinn Gechas finished third, fourth and fifth for the Hodag girls in the JV race.
Rhinelander will take part in the 65th annual Bill Smiley Invitational Saturday in Wausau, which will be held at a new venue on the Wausau East High School campus. Coach Laggis said the event featuring teams from all over the state will provide a key measuring stick at the midpoint of the season.
"I very respectfully say this, but we need to get put in our place and that's going to happen Saturday," he said. "We're a Division 1 Small school and there are just some heavyweights at Smiley, 62 teams this year. That's good because when you leave Smiley, like on our boys' side we're pretty decent and we're going to compete here if we stay healthy, but you walk away from Smiley and you say, 'Hey, we've got work to do. There's a lot of big dogs out there.' That's good for us."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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