April 17, 2023 at 9:32 a.m.
Jumpers stand out for Hodag track at Waunakee Quad
Rhinelander scored three wins on the boys side, and Callie Hoerchler took the long jump on the girls' side, as the Hodags took second in the girls' division and third in the boys' division of the Waunakee quad.
The meet was a late addition to the Hodags' schedule, added in place of a home meet that was canceled on Tuesday with the track at Mike Webster Stadium still not ready to race on. Instead, the Hodags made a three-hour trek south to compete with Madison-area schools Waunakee, DeForest and Milton.
"It was definitely something new that we don't normally see in meets that we go to. It's good for them," Hodag coach Aaron Kraemer said. "They saw new teams and larger teams and some kids that put up some excellent numbers. But I told them before the meet started that we belong there and there's no reason to fear any type of judgement for losing a race or not being first or whatever it may be. They're going to run their best when they're running against fast people and when they see far throws and far jumps, their level is going to raise too. For the most part we did that. I was proud of what we were able to accomplish."
Rhinelander had a strong night overall in the jumps, claiming five podium finishes on the boys' side. Sophomore Truman Lamers led the way once again, taking both the high jump (5 feet, 8 inches) and the triple jump (39-4).
"Truman had a great night again in the triple jump and high jumps," Kraemer said. "Five-10 right now is the height he's got to keep working to get over. Once we surpass that height, we're going to get at 6 feet multiple times and be able to really compete in our conference ... I know his number in the triple jump is 40 feet and we were close again. We've got a few things we're going to tweak and, hopefully by the time we get to the final outdoor meets, he's jumping in the 40s and 41s."
Senior Shane Petrick scored the win for the Hodags in the long jump (18-5), with teammate Zach Germain in third (18-0 1/2). Senior Kaleb Winter added a third-place finish in the triple jump (35-5).
"Shane did a wonderful job, had a nice jump, but he's still feeling like he could be better," Kraemer noted. "I know Zach wants to get back up into the 20s and he was disappointed with what he did. But I reminded him he's still jumping 18 feet and there are not a lot of people that can do that."
Hoerchler won the girls' long jump with a leap of 14-2 1/2. She also added a third-place finish in the high jump (4-6). Freshman Aila Bergman was the runner-up in the triple jump (31-7) and freshman Teagan Turcotte was fourth in the high jump (4-4).
"Aila had a nice triple jump again. I'm trying to work on getting her through her first phase and into her second phase, trying to even out the phases," Kraemer said. "She has a really, really good hop and she's very fast, but she doesn't have a step or a jump phase yet. When she gets that, I think she's going to be flying into the pit.
"Teagan's got some amazing form and once we get her taking off in the right spot, she's going to be flying over heights. Callie's working through her speed. She's very fast. She's got to be able to hone that speed and turn it into vertical velocity."
Bergman had three runner-up finishes on the night for the Hodag girls. She was also second in the 200-meter dash (28.43) and was part of the runner-up 4x400-meter relay with Violet Biolo, Reese Gehrig and Millie Gruett. Bergman added a fourth-place run in the 100 (14.10).
The Hodags put a lot of stock in the 4x400 relay on Thursday. Kyleah Hartman, Emma Deede, Luna Grage and Gussie Gruett finished third as the Hodags' second entry in the girls' 4x4. The Hodag boys were runners-up in that event with the team of Sam Zwaard, Ben Olson, Winter and Germain.
Overall, it was part of a sprint-heavy night for the Hodags, which Kraemer said was by design to kickoff the outdoor portion of the team's schedule.
"We tried to get as many numbers in the 100, 200 and 400 as we could - all short distances," he said. "Some of the kids that normally run hurdles we got them 100 times or 200 times so we knew what their open times were so we can start to put together the best and most dynamic relay teams together as we get outside."
Elsewhere, sophomore distance runner Greyson Gremban turned in strong runner-up finishes in both the 1,600 and the 3,200 meters. He broke the five-minute mark in the 1,600 and the 11-minute mark in the 3,200.
"He continues to just go out and do things for the team and continues to smash his own personal records," Kraemer said. "That's the one thing I would say is that he constantly sets a goal for himself and then goes out and does it. He went under 5 minutes in the mile and then his 3,200 time, it seems like he just keeps dropping time."
Mya Swanson took third in the 300-meter hurdles while her older sister, Abby, was third in the discus and fifth in the shot put. Lexi Bishop took firth in the 100, Gussie Gruett was fifth in the 200 and Maddie Legrey was fifth in the 400. Sophomore Luna Grage added a pair of fifth-place finishes in the 800 and the 1600.
Augustus Porter and Nathan Danh took fourth and fifth for the Hodags in the 110 hurdles, Germain was fifth in the 100 and Daniel Gillingham was fifth in the 200.
Rhinelander was scheduled to take part in the Lakeland Invite this afternoon, but that event has been canceled due to snow. The next scheduled event for the Hodags is the Dale Peterson Invite Thursday in Antigo.
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.