December 28, 2022 at 9:01 a.m.
Highs and lows
The top local sports stories of 2022
Highs and lows
The year featured some old - such as the Hodag swim and tennis teams maintaining their Great Northern Conference dominance. The year also featured some new - including an inaugural season in girls' wrestling.
Below, the River News retells the top local sports stories of 2022.
Some Rhinelander teams reached new heights in 2022, like the Rhinelander High School
boys' soccer team (pictured above) which made a thrilling run to its first WIAA state
tournament appearance. It was a down year for others, such as the Hodag football team
(pictured below) which went 1-8 in an injury plagued season. The year featured some old - such as the Hodag swim and tennis teams maintaining their Great Northern Conference
dominance. The year also featured some new - including an inaugural season in girls' wrestling. On the following pages, the River News retells the top local sports stories of 2022.
1. A heart-stopping run
The 2022 Rhinelander High School boys' soccer season was equal parts drama and redemption, with a side of the controversial and unusual. It was also culmination of a nearly decade-long promise for a group of players and coaches.
It all ended in something the Hodags have never done -Â qualify for the WIAA state tournament.
Rhinelander's run to state was a slam-dunk choice as our top local sports story of the year.
The Hodags used not one, not two, but three straight playoff victories - the last one chock-full of controversy - to get to state.
Even the Hodags' state semifinal loss to top-seeded Green Bay Notre Dame came with unique circumstances, with much of the second half played in monsoon-like conditions.
"A lot of highs, a lot of lows but, you know what? I wouldn't change it for anything," Hodag coach Nathan Bates said. "It's a great way to go out, a great way to finish with my boys and I'm extremely happy of what we did this season and what we accomplished."
Rhinelander went 11-2-3 during the regular season - with the two losses coming against GNC foes Medford and Lakeland. The Hodags earned the No. 2 seed in their regional for the tournament where, following a relatively uneventful 4-0 win over Ashland, the drama kicked into high gear.
The Hodags needed penalty kicks to defeat Lakeland in the regional finals, and to defeat Medford in the sectional semifinals. The sectional final at Rice Lake also went to penalty kicks and the Hodags were on the brink of elimination as the Warriors appeared to kick the game-winner in the last round of the shootout, only for it to be disallowed because of a loud horn that sounded from outside the stadium and interfered with the try. Rice Lake missed the retry. The Hodags made good on a do-over after the horn sounded again in the first round of extra kicks and eventually won the shootout, 4-3.
Rhinelander fell to Notre Dame 2-1 in the state semifinals, but made that finish compelling after senior Braden Mork scored on a shot that hydroplaned through the box and into the net in the 69th minute. That was the only goal following a 51-minute stoppage due to thunderstorms.
"It was honestly a different sport," Mork said afterward. "I'm not gonna lie. The ball didn't roll. It had to be in the air and it was just a different sport. I don't know how to describe it."
The run to state was a culminating moment for a team that saw seven seniors earn all-Great Northern Conference honors. Many of those seniors started playing for Bates at the youth level and came up through the program with him, joining the RHS team as freshmen in 2019 when Bates took over as head coach after Dan Millot's retirement.
After the season, Bates confirmed that he would step down as coach.
2. Hodag Hoops' Cinderella run
If not for the Hodag boys' soccer team's dramatic run to state, another deep playoff run would have taken our top spot.
The Hodag boys' basketball team made an unlikely run as a No. 6 seed to the sectional semifinal round of the WIAA Division 2 tournament.
Timely 3-point shooting was the story in the Hodags' March march. Rhinelander knocked off 11th-seeded Antigo 74-39 to start the run. Rhinelander then upset third-seeded Shawano 61-56 in overtime in the regional semifinal round, which earned the team an unexpected home date in the regional finals after Merrill upset second-seeded Mosinee. Rhinelander knocked off Merrill 72-64 to earn its first trip to the WIAA's Sweet 16 since 2014.
"We've had some really good teams fall short. It's great for this team to have something tangible to hold on to," Hodag coach Derek Lemmens said. "They worked hard. They earned this. It's special and I hope it inspires a few others to continue to work hard in the offseason so that we can have these opportunities."
A Hodag offense that struggled to make shots during an eight-game losing streak in the regular season, finally caught fire in the playoffs. The Hodags shot a staggering 58% (29 of 50) from 3-point range during its three playoff wins.
Unfortunately for Rhinelander, the clock struck midnight in the sectional semifinals. Rhinelander shot 28% overall in a 56-29 loss to Medford - the team's second lowest shooting percentage of the year.
3. Rebels finally return to state
The Rhinelander Post 7 American Legion baseball program has fielded some good teams since its last Class AA state tournament appearance in 2012, but none of them were able to clear the final hurdle and win the regional title.
The Rebels were regional runners-up three times in four seasons between 2017 and 2021 (the 2020 season was canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic). Twice in that span they were either tied or held the lead with fewer than two innings remaining in the regional championship game.
Antigo and Medford were the two teams that kept Rhinelander from state those years. They were also the two teams the Rebels beat to finally return to the state tournament this year.
The Rebels had a dramatic 2-1 win over Medford in the first round of the regional tournament in Merrill, won when Joe Schneider, Isaac Bixby and Devyn Orth turned a game-saving double play in the seventh inning. The Rebels then fought off Antigo twice, 5-3 and 2-0, to punch their ticket.
"It feels great. What an awesome bunch of guys, just absolutely phenomenal," Rebels manager Dan Huhnstock said. "They played great competition down here all weekend. I think we were the best team coming in and we're the best team going out."
Unfortunately for Rhinelander, its offense ran dry at state. The Rebels dropped both of their games, falling 3-0 to River Falls and 3-2 to host Fort Atkinson and finished their season 21-5 overall.
4. Swim teams stay dominant
2022 was another banner year for the Hodag boys' and girls' swim programs. Both teams won their fourth straight Great Northern Conference titles. Both teams won their fourth straight WIAA sectional titles and both teams swam to top five finishes in the WIAA Division 2 state meet.
The Hodag boys were the first to flex their muscle, dominating the Great Northern Conference meet in unprecedented fashion. Rhinelander won every event, finished in the top three with 28 of its 32 entries and, out of a possible 501 points it could have scored with its lineup, scored 497.
The dominance continued at sectionals where the Hodags won five events, qualified for state with 17 of its 21 entries and beat River Falls by 110 1/2 points for the title. Rhinelander used those 17 state entries to finish third in Waukesha - matching its 2019 performance as its best finish at state since a string of four straight runner-up finishes back in the 1960s.
The Hodag girls had similar success in the fall, cruising to another conference title and advancing nine entries to state with a 96-point win at sectionals over Wausau East. At state, the Hodag girls placed fifth overall on the strength of four, fourth-place finishes by junior Abi Winnicki. Rhinelander finished only 15 points out of second in the meet.
"Collectively, these are just a bunch of hard-working people from northern Wisconsin that no one really expects much from and we seem to prove, time and time again, that it wasn't just a fluke for us to be here," Jenny Heck, who skippered both squads, said after the Hodag boys' performance at state. "We belong here and we've got a lot of swimming talent in Rhinelander."
5. New dawn in girls' wrestling
To what extent the sport of girls' wrestling grows in popularity remains to be seen. Regardless, its genesis - both statewide and in Rhinelander - will be traced back to 2022.
This year marked the inaugural WIAA girls' individual state wrestling tournament. That event took place this past January in La Crosse, with 261 athletes competing in 12 separate weight classes. That included Rhinelander junior Abby Swanson, who placed fifth in the 185-pound weight class.
"It was an awesome day for not only Abby but Wisconsin wrestling, in general, and women's wrestling even more," Rhinelander coach Scottie Arneson said afterward.
Girls' wrestling took even more steps forward throughout the year, with the WIAA moving the 2023 state tournament to the Kohl Center in Madison to run in conjunction with the boys' individual state tournament.
Locally, the SDR Board of Education approved the creation of a standalone girls' program for the Hodags in October. That allowed RHS to hire a separate coach, Eric Gobin, for the fledgling program and create its own schedule.
The team has only two wrestlers on the roster at this point - Abby Swanson and her younger sister, Mya - and has competed in three tournaments so far this season. Two more tournaments are on the schedule next month before sectionals in February.
6. Tennis teams maintain GNC crowns
Much like swimming, Rhinelander and tennis remained a winning combination in 2022.
Rhinelander won its 10th GNC boys' conference championship in 12 seasons in May. It was a pretty straight-forward affair as the Hodags went 8-0 in conference duals, won five flights at the conference tournament and cruised to a 42-point win over Medford for the league crown.
Things were much more complicated for the Hodag girls this fall as they rallied for their 11th conference title in the last 13 seasons.
After losing 6-1 to Lakeland in the first dual of the season, the Hodags had to play catchup most of the way. Rhinelander won its final six conference duals and, with a 7-0 win over Antigo, moved four points ahead of Lakeland in the standings after the T-Birds lost to Pacelli in their final conference dual.
Rhinelander then tied Pacelli for first at the conference tournament and finished five points head of Lakeland for the overall conference title.
"When you work that hard for it and it all comes down to this one, culminating day, it's just so rewarding when all your efforts have paid off," said Hodag tennis coach Matt Nichols - who won both the boys' and girls' titles for the first time in his second full season as head of the program.
7. Redemption for Hodag track
In an alternate universe, the Rhinelander High School boys' track team would likely enter 2023 as four-time defending Great Northern Conference champions.
The Hodags won the title in 2019 and would have been the favorites to win it again in 2020, had that season not been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Hodags seemed to be in good position to win it in 2021, too, but a Mosinee team stacked in the sprint and jumping events clipped Rhinelander by 5 1/2 points for the title.
That made 2022 much sweeter for the Hodags. Rhinelander would not be denied again. The team won five events, including three by senior Cole Worrall, as its held off Lakeland by 18 points for the GNC championship back in May.
Worrall took home conference runner of the year honors as he not only swept the 110 and 300-meter hurdles, but added a win in the 200-meter dash as well. Caleb Olcikas won the 100 and finished second to Worrall in the 200. Rhinelander also won the 4x100 relay.
"It feels really, really good to be a conference champion again," Hodag coach Aaron Kraemer said. "Last year, to have end the way that it did under the circumstances, I really felt like we needed this redemption tonight."
Worrall eventually qualified for the WIAA state meet, taking 14th in the 110 hurdles and 15th in the 200.
8. Dome gets a workout
In its second year of operation, the Hodag Dome saw plenty of use from the community and local sports teams alike.
At this month's SDR Board of Education meeting, Hodag Dome manager Janet Jamison told the board that the facility's hosted roughly 150 to 200 adults daily and solid more than 1,300 memberships this year alone.
In terms of the local sports landscape, a late spring thaw allowed an opportunity for the facility to shine and insulated a number of Hodag teams from the fickle nature of April weather in the Northwoods.
The Hodag softball team ended up having to wait to debut its Musson and Title IX Fields at the Haug Family Softball Complex. A combination of the late thaw, soggy field conditions and rain in the forecast on home days prompted the team to play all 17 of its home games inside the dome. The Hodag girls' soccer and boys' tennis teams also played some early-season matches indoors and the Hodag baseball team scrimmaged D.C. Everest inside the Dome in mid-April with snow still covering the ground.
The dome also proved to be a handy insurance policy against another weather-related disturbance - thunderstorms. The RHS football team played a varsity contest inside the dome for the first time Sept. 2 after storms the second half of its game against Ashland inside the dome.
9. Little Leaguers return to state
The Hodag Little League program backed up its 2021 state tournament appearance with another in 2022.
Rhinelander had to overcome a loss in its first game of district pool play to advance to the knockout rounds and then won all three of its games there - including a 9-8 walk-off over Wausau National that took more than 24 hours to complete after the game was interrupted in the second inning due to thunderstorms.
Rhinelander beat Wausau National again 10-0 in the championship game to advance to state. There, the Hodags overcame an 0-3 start at the state tournament to win back-to-back games to make it into the knockout rounds as the No. 4 seed. Rhinelander lost in the semifinals to eventual state champion Kenosha. 10. Down year for Hodag football
After three straight winning seasons, the Rhinelander High School football hit its first real patch of adversity in 2022, in the fourth year of Aaron Kraemer's head-coaching tenure.
Ravaged by injuries much of the season, Rhinelander went 1-8. Its lone win coming at Hayward in Week 4, a 14-0 triumph.
Rhinelander lost both the Bell Game to Antigo and the Axe Game to Lakeland for the first time since 2018. By season's end the Hodags had as many as nine starters down with injuries - including two who received all-conference honors this year.
"I know it was a rough season but, like I said before, my job is that I can bring hope, that I can bring discipline that I can bring Hodag football and pride in our program back to Rhinelander," Kraemer said following a season-sending 49-0 loss at Lakeland. "This year was rough but it doesn't have to be that way going forward. And I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that it isn't."
Honorable mention: While not an achievement on the athletic field, there was certainly a renewed sense of Hodag Pride this year as the Hodag was voted "Best Mascot in America" in a survey conducted by prep sports website SBLive. The Hodags garnered a whopping 63% of the vote in a field of 12 mascots, representing nine different states ... Though the RHS football team struggled this season, there was still a little residual magic this past July for the Hodags during the WFCA All-Star Game. The North team, with Kraemer as its offensive coordinator, rallied to defeat the South 21-20 in the Large School game. Senior running back Cayden Neri and lineman Joe Fugle were on the team, and on the field when the North scored the go-ahead touchdown with 2:43 remaining in the fourth quarter ... The Hodag golf team had finish to the season, placing second at WIAA Division 1 regionals to qualify for sectionals as a team for the first time since 2016. The Hodags shot 346 to finish only behind Lakeland as the two GNC schools in the field bested six teams from the larger Wisconsin Valley Conference.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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