May 2, 2022 at 9:24 a.m.
Five Hodag athletes announce college plans
Five Hodag athletes announce college plans
Joe Fugle announced he will play football next year for Olivet Nazarene University, and three seniors announced their intentions to continue their track and field careers - Cole Worrall at UW-Whitewater, Brock Snyder at UW-River Falls and Jaden Beske at York College.
All four have played football and track under Kraemer and all four signed together in a press conference in the Rhinelander High School commons.
"I'm very proud of these four gentlemen," Kraemer said afterward. "They're all going to be excellent additions to the schools that they're going to and, as far as watching them grow, they're all peaking right now as senior athletes. They're just going to keep getting better and better. I'm really excited to watch them grow.
"These guys have had great careers and they've shown out as far as the type of people that they are, but the passion for the game is what really I want to bring to them so that continue to serve the game that served them."
Fugle said signing with his friends made the day even more special.
"It was really neat not to just be the only one," he said. "That's what I thought it was going to be when I told Kraemer where I was going, but then when these guys were doing it too, it felt really cool, seeing that we all played football together."
Kraemer saw a fifth player, senior running back Cayden Neri, commit Friday, signing a Letter of Intent to play football at UW-Stevens Point in a private ceremony.
Collectively, the five were part of a Rhinelander High School senior class that won 22 football games over the past three seasons. Most of them were also part of a conference championship in track in 2019, and a runner-up finish in the conference last season.
"They're a special group of seniors," Kraemer said. "We're going to miss them a ton next year. We're going to miss their leadership, mostly, and the type of people that they are. But, as athletes, they're ready for the next step."
Fugle heading to Olivet
Fugle will be heading to Olivet Nazarene University, a NAIA program in Bourbonnais, Ill. to continue his football career.
Fugle said the choice centered more around his academic pursuits, as he plans to major in electrical engineering.
"I was contacting schools that had engineering programs, because I want to study electrical engineering, and Olivet has a good engineering program," he said. "I had gone to some camps down there and met the coaches before."
Fugle was a standout two-way player for the Hodags the last two seasons. He was a two-time first-team All-Great Northern Conference selection as an offensive lineman and was also a first-teamer as an outside linebacker this past fall after earning second-team honors at the position in 2020.
"As his years went on, Joe went from playing a role and being a role model to being a complete leader for our program," Kraemer said. "For two straight years Joe was the pillar you could count on offensively that you absolutely needed and he was someone who could not only do his position well, but could communicate down the offensive line and help the rest of the four players play to the best of their ability too."
The Tigers went 7-3 overall, and were 5-2 last year in the Mid-States Football Association under head coach Eric Hehman. Fugle joins a class that had 23 commitments earlier this year on the Feb. 2 signing day. That class includes four offensive linemen.
"I'm really thankful for my family, they really helped in this," Fugle said. "I've had some really good coaches in wrestling and in football and some great teammates that helped get me to this point."
Worrall to hurdle at Whitewater
Cole Worrall becomes the second Hodag athlete in as many years to head to Whitewater, joining former WIAA D2 state high jump runner-up Rebecca Lawrence, who committed to the Warhawks last year.
Worrall said his decision ultimately came down to Whitewater and its WIAC rival, UW-Oshkosh.
"It was a tough decision between Oshkosh and Whitewater," he said. "Whitewater contacted me through coach (Kraemer) near the end of fall this last year. It means a lot when a school contacts me, personally, especially when they're going through somebody who knows me. Ultimately, I just liked their campus more and felt like everyone there was super friendly and just inviting to me. I felt the same way about Oshkosh, but Whitewater, it's just a smaller town and I'm able to acclimate because it reminds me of home."
Worrall qualified for the WIAA Division 1 state meet last year in both the 110- and 300-meter hurdles. He was the Great Northern Conference champion in both events last spring as well. He's trying to gear up for another successful championship season in the hurdles. Despite missing the first few meets of the season due to injury, Worrall posted state top 25 times in both events at the Lakeland Invite April 19.
"As far was Cole is concerned, determination is the word," Kraemer said. "He's a person that, frequently is a Saturday-Sunday guy. You walk into the dome or you walk on to the track and you see him there. He's someone who is constantly, an over-the-top amount, motivational to his teammates.
In prepared remarks, Worrall thanked his family, friends, coaches and the School District of Rhinelander.
"I've learned a lot throughout my life about myself through these activities," he said. "They mean a lot to me, personally. Respect, responsibility and effort are three terms that really come to mind when I think of prolific athletes, such as myself and the others that are signing today. I've been improving on these my whole life and I'm excited to improve on them more at Whitewater."
Worrall also thanked UW-Whitewater head coach Mike Johnson, who also serves as the program's hurdles coach, for his recruitment. Worrall said he plans to major in computer science.
The Warhawks finished second in the WIAC last season, behind only UW-La Crosse, and was fourth earlier this spring at the WIAC Indoor Championships.
Snyder heading to River Falls
Brock Snyder was a sophomore in 2019 and made the trip to UW-River Falls with the RHS football team as it prepared to play River Falls High School in the WIAA playoffs.
That game was played at Ramer Field, home of the UWRF Falcons, where Snyder will compete in track and field beginning next spring.
"I really liked their weight room and their facilities down there," Snyder said, recalling the 2019 trip in which the Hodags toured the UWRF facilities prior to the game.
"When I think back a few years ago we went to River Falls as a team to play in the playoffs and I thought to myself, 'Man, it would be really cool to have someone play at River Falls so that when we came back here, we were represented,'" Kraemer said. "I'm really excited, standing here today, that Brock's going to go to River Falls and throw field events there."
Snyder was the GNC runner-up in the shot put last year and it considered to be a contender to win the conference title in the discus this season. Kraemer said that's a testament to the effort he has put into the sport.
"There are a handful people in high school that are elite that really, really commit to the training that it takes to be an elite athlete," Kraemer said. "Brock, with all of his talents, took those talents and enhanced his talents with all the hard work in the weight room - so much so it was hard to get him out of there."
Snyder will join a Falcons' program that finished eighth in the WIAC both at last spring's outdoor championships and the WIAC Indoor back in February. Snyder said he plans to major in sports science while at River Falls.
"First off, I'd like to thank my parents for allowing me to do the sport of track and, secondly, thank coach Kraemer for pushing me in the weight room when I didn't necessarily want to, letting me go throw on the weekends and opening the weight room on the weekends," he said in prepared remarks. "Thirdly, I'd like to thank the coaches at River Falls for giving the opportunity to continue my track career."
Beske keeps it in the family, going to York
It takes roughly 10 1/2 hours, by car, to travel from Rhinelander to York, Neb., home of York College, but the Beske family knows the route by heart.
Given that both of his parents and his older sister attended the small, private Christian school, York was naturally on Jaden Beske's radar.
"They wanted to me just to go check out the campus, I think it was in October," he said. "I went there, really liked the campus, talked to the coach and told the coach I was going to run there like two months later."
Beske was the GNC champion in the high jump last spring and qualified for the WIAA state meet in the event. Though he has been slowed by injury this spring, Kraemer said that York will be getting a high-motor individual.
"They're going to get a great high jumper next season," he said. "Jaden is someone who brings the life to practice every single day. He's the guy that shows up with the juice and the intensity that I expect every single day.
"I know that next year he's going to continue to get better because of his potential as an athlete."
York is an NAIA program that competes in the Kansa Collegiate Athletic Conference. Beske, who stated he plans to major in criminal justice, thanked his parents and Kraemer for, "not just pushing me to be a better athlete, but a better person as well."
Neri signs Friday
Hodag senior tailback and linebacker Cayden Neri added his name to the list of players who made college commitments last week, signing his letter of intent to play at UW-Stevens Point in a private signing Friday morning.
Neri earned All-Great Northern Conference and WFCA All-Region honors last fall as he rushed for 1,821 yards and 20 touchdowns in 10 games. Neri added another 300 yards and four touchdowns on 25 receptions.
"I am very excited for Cayden Neri as he signs his letter of intent to play for UWSP," Kraemer said. "Cayden has come through a lot of challenges on his way to this moment, and I am really proud of the hurdles he has traversed. He is someone that has the raw ability to be a great athlete in the WIAC. With an end goal in mind, Cayden can have a great career for the Pointers."
The Pointers went 2-8 overall and 0-7 in the WIAC last fall, and last week announced the hiring of long-time UW-Oshkosh assistant Luke Venne as their new head coach.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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