April 11, 2023 at 6:41 a.m.
Track: Hodags place top 3 in GNC Indoor
Track: Hodags place top 3 in GNC Indoor
The Hodag girls were the runner-up and the Hodag boys were third at the GNC-plus Indoor meet at Northland Pines High School in Eagle River. The meet included all seven GNC schools, as well as Three Lakes on the girls' side.
Both sides had nine top-three finishes on the night. The Rhinelander boys finished 14 points behind Northland Pines for the win and were three points behind second-place Medford. The Hodag girls edged Antigo by two points for the runner-up spot and were less than 13 points behind meet winner Medford.
"I'm very excited about the way we responded to something new," Hodag coach Aaron Kraemer said. "A lot of our kids are really, really young and they're learning on the fly and trying new things and figuring out how to adjust when things don't go right, and figuring out how their body works when things go marvelously right.
"It should be fun to see what they can do when they can get outside and stretch their legs."
The Hodag boys were led by Truman Lamers, who won both the high jump and the triple jump on Thursday. The sophomore cleared 5 feet, 10 inches in the high jump and had a leap of 39-8 in the triple jump.
"Truman had a jump that was probably over 40 feet in the triple," Kraemer said. "We've got to try to work on getting him to finish through as he gets into the pit, gets his heels in and bring his butt to his heels so he can get that extra 6-10 inches. I think he'll be over 40 no problem as the year goes on. Then, in the high jump, he's just honing his run. The kid, at the end of the season, you saw him dunking basketballs. He's got tremendous potential in that event too. And, he's a sprinter and we haven't even seen that yet from him."
The Hodags also fared well on the distance side. Sophomore Greyson Gremban won the 3,200 meters (11 minutes, 3.79 seconds), was third in the 1,600 and was part of a runner-up finish in the 4x800 relay with senior Cody Ruetz, sophomore Shawn Denis and freshman Olin Slette.
Ruetz added fourth-place finishes in both the 800 and the 1,600 while Slette was fourth in the 3,200.
"We have a small but very, very good distance program for the boys. They've been working really hard to get outside. It's really hard for them to do so when it's so snowy," Kraemer said. "It's a pretty good crew. Coach (Melissa Krueger) got them rocking and rolling and it will be exciting to see what they can do when they get outside and they don't have to take as many curves."
Senior Kaleb Winter scored top-four finished in an eclectic trio of events. He was second in his main event, the pole vault (11-0), and added fourth-place finishes in the 55-meter dash and the triple jump.
"He's got potential, he's just raw right now," Kraemer said of Winter's triple jump debut, in which he jumped 35-9. "As soon as we get to the end of the season, I think he'll be much better."
Conner Jensen scored a runner-up finish in the shot put, while Rhinelander also took second in the 4x400 with the team of Sam Zwaard, Zach Germain, Payton Campbell and Daniel Gillingham.
Campbell also finished third in the 55, freshman Ben Olson was fourth in the 400 and Shane Petrick took fourth in the long jump.
On the girls' side, freshman Aila Bergman continues to impress. She won the triple jump (30-4), was second in the 200-meter hurdles and finished fourth in the 55 hurdles.
"Aila, her hurdle form is very good. Coach Rod (Olson)'s working with her really nice with just getting down off the hurdle quicker," Kraemer noted. "That's the thing in the girls' hurdle races. The hurdles are hip-height. The boys have to lift up to get over the hurdle because of where it is. For the girls, it's getting down off the hurdle quicker. It's really more of a sprint race for them. Once they are not afraid of the hurdle and they can get tighter to it and get down off the hurdle quicker."
The lone returning sectional qualifier for the Hodag girls, senior Gussie Gruett, won her top event on Thursday, taking the 400 meters (1:08.99) by 1.3 seconds over Antigo's Lillian L'Esperance. She was also part of a third-place finish in the 4x400 relay with Kyleah Hartman, Emma Deede and Luna Grage.
"She's had a really good four years of track and someone that's really surprised me over the last four years," Kraemer said of Gruett. "I know I've said that a million times, but she's just now getting her legs back underneath her. She should be pushing into the low (one-minute range) by the end of the year, hopefully."
Sophomore Callie Hoerchler added a pair of runner-up finishes in the high jump (4-8) and the long jump (14-9).
"Callie's just raw power. She was jumping 4-8 in practice with a five-step run. Once we get her to use her power correctly and run her curve correctly, she's another one that the sky's the limit," Kraemer said. "She'll be up there when we get close to the conference meet. She's a confidence person. Once she believes in herself like I believe in her, she's going to be really good. She's fighting that in hurdles and trying to do the best she can."
The Hodags flexed some depth in the high jump. Freshmen Eva Heck and Teagan Turcotte tied for fifth, both clearing 4-4. The Hodags also showed depth in the 200 hurdles. Freshman Mya Swanson was third in that race and Hartman finished sixth.
Grage, Maria Hubler, Charlotte Shertleff and Juliana Smith took third in the 4x800 relay and senior Abby Swanson took third in the shot put. Smith added a fourth-place finish in the 3,200 meters.
Kraemer said it's hard to gauge if Tuesday's results will be indicative of how the GNC championship shapes up next month at Lakeland. Not every team showed its full hand.
"I think we pretty much got the best shot from Pines and Medford. They're improved, but I expected it this year," he said. "Lakeland didn't have a full squad tonight. Some of them were at Wausau West and I was surprised by Mosinee. A few of our kids talked to their coaches and their team and they said that was their full team."
Rhinelander has canceled a hybrid meet scheduled for Mike Webster Stadium and the Hodag Dome scheduled for today and instead will travel to Waunakee for a quadrangular meet this coming Thursday.
Kraemer said the late thaw and an opportunity to compete in a true outdoor meet down south factored into the decision.
"It's sad not to have a home meet but, at the same time, (RHS activities director) Mr. (Brian) Paulson did a great job for us," he said. "He's worked really hard to make connections over the years and one of those connections came through in Waunakee. It's going to be a lot of fun to see their facility, to see a new set of teams. It's a little bit longer trip but, with a quadrangular, it will go quickly. And, it's unlimited entries, which is good, because we'll get to see the whole team, instead of just the 69 we took tonight."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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