April 11, 2022 at 8:39 a.m.
Hodag track takes second at Pines Indoor
Hodag track takes second at Pines Indoor
The Hodags were a close second in both divisions in the Northland Pines Indoor Invite. Rhinelander finished only two points behind Lakeland for the boys' title and 8 1/2 points behind Medford on the girls' side in a field that included all seven GNC schools, plus Three Lakes and Laona/Wabeno from the Northern Lakes Conference.
"Whenever you're able to get the whole conference together and see where you stack up, it's always good," coach Aaron Kraemer said. "I'm really excited. I'm happy. I'm a competitive guy and I want to win but, at the same time, I told the team surrender the outcome. Did you do your best today? If they answer is yes, then I'm not necessarily worried about the score at the end, and just proud of what we've been able to do."
The Hodag boys were still runners-up despite missing a number of key pieces out of the lineup. Hurdlers Cole Worrall (back), was scratched again from the lineup and Rhinelander was without Jaden Beske (ankle) from the high jump and the relays. The Hodags were also without top thrower Brock Snyder.
Despite all of that, Rhinelander still went into the final event leading the meet, but Lakeland won the 4x400-meter relay and Rhinelander finished third to tip the scales in the T-Birds' favor.
"On the boys' side, we're waiting for the pieces to come back," Kraemer said. "It's exciting to say right now we missed three of our major performers on the boys' side completely today because of either injury or other circumstances and we were able to take second to Lakeland. That's really great."
Even without Worrall, the Hodags more than held their own in the hurdle events Thursday. Senior Peter Danh, freshman Dresden Klaver and sophomore Abe Barlog swept the top three spots for Rhinelander in the 200 hurdles, while Danh and Barlog finished second and fourth, respectively, in the 55 hurdles.
"Cole's been doing a great job coaching those guys, but Peter has been the biggest improver over the past several years," Kraemer said. "From the start of his freshman year, he was a 21 (second), 110-meter runner and he's getting to the point where he's three-stepping and doing a lot of great things for us. He's a great competitor and someone who always has a great attitude. He's doing a wonderful job, and he's bring Abe Barlog along too, almost like his big brother, pushing him to be better and better each meet. And Abe is somebody is going to be like Peter by the time he's done as a senior. He's going to continue to keep growing."
Senior Caleb Olcikas won the 200 meters for the Hodags (24.53) and was runner-up in the 55 (7.02), delivering two of Rhinelander's 11 top-three finishes on the day.
On the girls' side, senior Emma Germain won the triple jump (31 feet, 8 inches) and was third in the long jump.
"A 31-foot jump on your last attempt is very good and respectable and she goes and wins the meet. I know she's not satisfied with that," Kraemer said. "In the long jump, it's really her first time really being serious about the long jump. She's learning new things every single day about that event. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if she jumps in the 14s, 15s, 16s by the end of year. She's a student. She'll learn and she'll keep getting better."
Junior Abby Swanson won the shot put with a toss of 34-2.
"Abby Swanson, she's going to continue to impress all year long because she's somebody who is competitive and she's doing a great job for (throwers') coach (Chris) Ferge," Kraemer noted.
The Hodag girls continued to flex their depth in the sprint events. Senior Megan Brown was runner-up in the 200, finished third in the 55 and was on the Hodags' runner-up 4x200 team with Germain, fellow senior Sage Flory and freshman Reese Gehrig. Flory and Germain were seventh and eighth, respectively, in the 200.
Freshman Callie Hoerchler had another strong meet for Rhinelander, taking second in the high jump (4-6) and third in both the 55 and 200 hurdles.
"Callie, she gained a lot of respect from me. She worked really, really hard in her events," Kraemer said. "She came over, kind of rushed in between the 200 hurdles and the high jump. I said, 'Hey, come over and jump at 4-6 before you go hurdle.' She was seconds away from running her hurdle race. She comes over, clears 4-6 and then runs over there does what she does in the 200 hurdles. She's a competitor and she's growing into her own. She's just starting to realize how good she is and what she can do."
Senior Beau Howard made his debut for Rhinelander on Thursday, placing fourth in the 55 and third as part of the 4x200 relay with Brenden Eckrich, Danh and Zach Germain. Rhinelander was also third in the 4x800 with Cody Ruetz, Ty Welk, Greyson Gremban and Jack DeNamur.
Gremban was third in the 3,200 meters, junior Kaleb Winter was third in the pole vault, Zach Germain was fourth in the long jump and DeNamur was fifth in the 800. The Hodag boys also got points thanks to a sixth-place finish from Welk in the 400, a sixth from freshman David Houg in the shot put and a seventh from Ruetz in the 1,600.
On the girls' side, junior Gussie Gruett finished third in the 400, was fifth in the pole vault and was fourth as part of the 4x400 relay with Kyleah Hartman, Rivers Eagleson and Luna Grage. Eagleson was fourth in the pole vault, Hartman took fifth in the 55 hurdles and Averie West scored points in both hurdle events, taking seventh in the 55 and eighth in the 200.
Kiera Hartzke (fifth) and Lizzy Snyder (eighth) joined Swanson scoring points in the shot put.
"This group of girls, together, they look really, really solid so far," Kraemer said. "I'm really excited about what they've been able to do in everything - sprints, distance, jumps, throws, you name it. We're getting points form multiple places. It's always really, really good to have that."
The Hodags are trying to get an indoor meet at the Hodag Dome back on the schedule for this coming Thursday. RHS activities director Brian Paulson told the River News Friday that Edgar and Antigo are on the preliminary entry list.
Rhinelander's first outdoor meet is set for April 19 at Lakeland.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
WEATHER SPONSORED BY
E-Editions
Latest News
E-Editions
Events
August
To Submit an Event Sign in first
Today's Events
No calendar events have been scheduled for today.
Comments:
You must login to comment.