October 10, 2022 at 8:30 a.m.
Hodag harriers finish mid-pack in Tomahawk Invite
Hodag harriers finish mid-pack in Tomahawk Invite
The Hodag boys finished third of the six teams that had enough runners to qualify while the Hodag girls were fourth out of seven teams at Inshalla Country Club.
On the boys' side the Hodags edged host Tomahawk by nine points for third spot, which coach M.J. Laggis said was a good sign ahead of this Saturday's Great Northern Conference meet in Medford.
"We beat Tomahawk for the first time this year, so that was good," he said. "We just continue to improve. We really are starting to show, on the boys' side, some of what I felt last year with that group, just not quite to the same extent. I think we might be a year away from being that kind of crew again."
Senior Cody Ruetz, one of three returning starters of last year's GNC championship-winning squad, paced the Hodag boys' again on Saturday, covering the 5-kilometer course in 17 minutes, 27.9 seconds. Sophomore teammate Greyson Gremban was once again Rhinelander's second runner, coming home seventh overall at 17:44.8.
Freshman Olin Slette and sophomore Brody Kowieski posted their fastest times of the year, coming home 19th and 24th, respectively. Shawn Denis was 32nd on the day and Payton McCue finished 38th.
"Cody and Greyson just continue to be those top two guys and Olin just had a phenomenal, breakout race today. Can't say enough about him. Brody Kowieski, same thing," Laggis said. "Those two guys really came on. It says a lot about Gavin Denis when he was pretty crampy today and not feeling his best and still had a really decent time. He's just a warrior, a competitor. He's going to be the backbone of our team next year."
Leah Jamison turned in her best time of the season to lead the Hodag girls. The junior finished eighth overall at 21:28.9.
"There's a direct translation between how she lifts weights and how she's starting to run," Laggis said. "She works really hard and she's very consistent. She's just been a really, really strong competitor. She really battled injury all last year, but I'm really proud with how she's come back."
Juliana Smith finished 13th for Rhinelander (21:44.3), Sophie Miljevich was 20th (22:21.0) and senior Aubrey Younker had a breakout race in 29th (22:58.1), her fastest time of the year by more than a minute.
"You can't say enough about Juliana and what she's been, just a solid plugger of a runner as a senior. It was a really nice performance for her," Laggis said. "Aubrey came out of nowhere today to be a No. 4 and I know I say this all the time, it's amazing to watch Sophie Miljevich in her first mile versus the end of the race. She just gets better and finishes stronger. We've just got to get her out of the gate a little bit quicker, but a nice run out of her I thought."
Brynn Teter was 31st for the Hodags, Maria Hubler was 34th and Luna Grage finished 40th. Freshman Charlotte Shurtleff dropped 90 seconds from her previous personal best to win the JV race with a time that would have been just outside the top 30 in the varsity race.
"Charlotte had a really, really nice race as our No. 5 (overall)," Laggis said. "The girls continue to improve. I love their camaraderie. That's one thing about them that's really a huge step up from last year."
Saturday's Hatchet Invite was held at Inshalla, a venue change after being held at cross-town Edgewater Country Club for years. The course yielded some of the same fast times as its predecessor as the final stop of the year before championship races commence.
"I give credit to this course, what a gorgeous place to have a race," Laggis said. "If you could have a conference meet at a place like this every year where it's just a big, beautiful golf course, it'd be awesome. Huge thanks to Inshalla for letting us run here. Great venue. It was really a fun, fun run - flat with a few little rollers in there, but just a great place to test yourself before conference."
Phillips swept the team titles in Saturday's race. Lakeland's Owen Clark (16:13.3) and Mosinee's Britt Fitzgerald (20:16.2) were the individual champions.
Medford High School will host this year's GNC championship race, beginning at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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