2023: YEAR OF THE HODAGS

One. In 34-year span between 1988 and 2022, that is the number of WIAA team state championships that came back to Rhinelander High School.

The Hodag city saw two gold trophies make their way home in 2023, a year that will go down as arguably the greatest ever in the vaunted history of Rhinelander’s swim programs. 

The success of the Hodag boys’ and girls’ swim teams was a runaway choice to lead our list of the top 10 local sports story of 2023. Though each team’s path to state glory was different, there was plenty of commonality between the two.

Perhaps the biggest shared trait is, at least from as state perspective, the unlikelihood of it all. 

    In this Feb. 17, 2023 file photo, Charlie Heck yells as he holds the state championship trophy at the end of the WIAA Division 2 state boys’ swim meet in Waukesha. He is joined in the photograph by teammates, from left to right, Jack Antonuk, Eli Lundt, Zacha King and Marcus O’Malley. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

Prior to this year, only four schools in the state were able to say they won the state title for both genders in swimming in the same calendar year. Unlike the others, the fifth wasn’t a private school and it wasn’t suburban Madison or Milwaukee school with plenty of resources and club opportunities out of season. The fifth was Rhinelander, the northern-most school in the state to ever win a state title. 

“Just thinking this small town could come together and bring home two state titles in the same calendar year for swimming is just spectacular,” said Abi Winnicki, one of the senior captains on this year’s girls’ team.

    In this Nov. 10, 2023 file photo, Rhinelander High School girls’ swim coach Jenny Heck hoists the trophy after the Hodags won the WIAA Division 2 state championship in Waukesha. (Brett LaBore/Lakeland Times)
  

There are plenty of words that could describe the Hodags’ dynastic 2023. Jenny Heck, who guided both squads to the state titles, had one — grateful.

“It’s a dream come true. We’ve put some much time — these families, the coaches, all these people — to get these kids to a level that they never thought they could be at, some of them,” she said. “And Rhinelander, in general, this has just been amazing. This is something we wanted. When we first started there weren’t kids even making state, or maybe the just squeaked in and got 16th. Now it’s an expectation. It’s just really amazing. I just feel very fortunate to be a part of it.”

That’s a true statement. It’s crazy to think how far the program has come in just one decade. In 2013, the Hodag boys finished third in the Great Northern Conference and the Hodag girls were fifth. Neither team had a single state qualifier. Flash forward 10 years and not only did both teams win conference and sectionals in dominating fashion, the teams combined to send a whopping 38 out of a possible 42 entries to state.

Once in Waukesha, the Hodags put together a combined seven individuals state-championship swims, and eight school records between the two state meets.

“When you really step back and think about both the boys team and the girls team having such great success all in one year, I’m so proud of all of them,” coach Heck said.

Entering the boys’ state meet back in February, the Hodags were overshadowed by McFarland and Shorewood, who most pundits figured would be the teams fighting for the gold trophy. Though Rhinelander had a meet-high 19 entries and was projected as only 2 1/2-point underdogs to Shorewood entering the meet, they flew under the radar. 

That was still the case as, with four events remaining in the 12-event program, Rhinelander had yet to win a race and sat 45 points behind Shorewood for the lead. 

What followed was arguably the Hodag boys’ greatest hour. The team of Carter Gaber, Daniel Gillingham, Mathias Fugle and Charlie Heck hit the wall in a school-record time of 1 minute, 27.00 seconds to win the 200-yard freestyle relay. Charlie Heck went 21.30 over the final 50 yards to catch and pass Shorewood’s Johan Bannink for the win. 

From there Zacha King finished second in the 100 backstroke while Gaber finished eighth. Jack Antonuk and Shawn Denis then went fifth and ninth in the 100 backstroke and, suddenly, a 45-point deficit turned into an 11-point lead heading into the final event. Rhinelander needed to finish fourth in the 400 freestyle relay to secure the title, and that’s exactly what the team of King, Marcus O’Malley, Antonuk and Fugle accomplished.

Antonuk, now swimming at St. Norbert College in Green Bay, said Rhinelander swimming earned respect from the rest of the state that night, and only further validated it when the girls matched the feat nine months later. 

“They sure respect us now,” he said. “They know that we can crank out some pretty good swimmers, some pretty good times. We don’t even have to be the best, but we’ve got a lot of depth and we’ve got a lot of heart up here. They know that now.”

If the boys’ title was a Cinderella story, the Hodag girls’ march to greatness was more of a tour de force. No Division 2 program beat the Hodag girls all season. In fact, the only time Rhinelander lost a meet was in Waukesha in mid-September in the Blackshirt Invite  when it placed third behind Middleton and Verona — teams that went on to place first and second at the D1 girls’ state meet.

The Hodag girls won every race in every conference dual meet this year, nearly did the same at the GNC meet and went a perfect 11 for 11 at sectionals. The Hodags went into state as whopping 87 1/2-point favorites and won by 87. Rhinelander won six events in the meet, including all three relays. 

Though the Hodag girls won the state title in 2020, this year’s championship served as a bit of validation. D2 powerhouse Madison Edgewood opted out of that year’s traditional fall season due in 2020 to the COVID-19 pandemic. Edgewood won the alternate fall state title that season and beat Rhinelander for the D2 crown in 2021. 

This year, the Hodags ended Edgewood’s run of eight straight state titles. 

Winnicki said the goal was understood from the very first practice, even if it was something the team seldom spoke of, publicly.

“A lot of the time we didn’t speak out about that goal because we didn’t want to put a word on it, even when we could see it in the future, but I think having that goal at the beginning and being able to come together under that goal and just do it, that’s what’s helped us,” she said.

While Jenny Heck served as the architect of both state championship squads — becoming just the third coach in state history to guide boys’ and girls’ teams to state titles in the same calendar year — she quickly deferred credit to the swimmers, their families, the Rhinelander Swim Club and the greater Hodag swim community as a whole.

“I think that’s what it takes — families who really support you, support the team, support swimming in Rhinelander,” she said. “I think that’s a lot of what of our success has been (attributed to). I’m grateful for all of them, just the community that we live it. They’ve made it really special.”

Added Antonuk, “Looking back at it, we can definitely enjoy and be grateful for the time that we had and the ample opportunity we were given here in Rhinelander. Especially the fact that we were able to capitalize on what we were given here with the amount of talent and support.”

Here are the rest of our top 10 local sports stories.

2. Hodag football bounces back

    In this Sept. 1, 2023 file photo, Rhinelander High School football coach Aaron Kraemer and center Kaeden Piller celebrate following a touchdown during the second quarter of a GNC football game at Ashland. The Hodags went 5-5 this season, returning to the playoffs for a fourth time in the last five years following a 1-8 campaign in 2022. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

The Hodag football team entered 2023 at a crossroads. After three straight winning seasons and playoff appearances to start coach Aaron Kraemer’s tenure, the Hodags went 1-8 in 2022 and questions arose as to whether the team was starting to regress back to its historical mean after posting only one winning season between 1990 and 2018. 

While not returning all the way back to its success from 2019 to 2021, the 2023 season saw the team trend in the right direction. The Hodags went 5-5 overall and snuck into the playoffs with a 3-4 record in the Great Northern Conference. 

“This team could have had another route, it could have had another path. It could have been another one of those years,” Kraemer said after the season. “These guys believed. These are the guys that changed our program for next year.”

Rhinelander shook things up over the offseason, with Kraemer taking back over the offensive play-calling duties and moving the team from a pro-style attack to a Wing-T look. Those changes paid early dividends as the Hodags started the season 4-0. 

A disappointing 24-0 loss in the Bell Game to rival Antigo in Week 5 triggered second-half struggles for the team, which won only one game the rest of the way. That was a 7-0 victory in Week 8 of the regular season at Merrill which, ultimately, was enough to get the Hodags into the playoffs.

3. Little Leaguers reach state finals

    In this July 30, 2023 file photo, the Hodag Little League 10U All-Star team poses with its sectional championship banner after defeating Superior 9-2, completing a two-game sweep of the teams’ Section 2 championship series in Superior. (Submitted photo)
  

The Hodag swimmers nearly were joined on the state championship list by a group of 9- and 10-year olds that had a magical run through July and into early August. 

The Rhinelander Little League 10U All-Stars not only won the District 5 tournament, they swept Superior in a best-of-three sectional series to advance to the state championship series. The Hodags came close to forcing a decisive Game 3 against Kenosha, before Kenosha rallied back for a 6-5 walkoff win and a two-game sweep in the championship. Still, the Hodags went 7-2 in postseason play. 

“They should be proud,” manager Dan Bauer said. “They had a good season. They played hard. They practiced hard and they stuck together as a team. We win and lose as a team. They should be proud of one another.”

4. River Monsters return adult baseball to Rhinelander

    In this May 14, 2023 file photo, Jesse Robinson hits a two-run double during the sixth inning of the Rhinelander River Monsters’ inaugural Dairyland League baseball game at Merrill. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

For the first time in nearly two decades, Rhinelander was back in the adult baseball scene as the River Monsters had impressive debut in 2023. 

Featuring a list of players who played for the Hodags in the 2000s, 2010s and 2020s, Rhinelander went 10-6 and finished 7-5 in the Dairyland League Large Division. 

“It was a very awesome to get out again and play with some guys, have fun and compete doing it,” said catcher Tyler Blomdahl, a 2017 RHS grad, after the Monsters won their inaugural game 8-7 at Merrill back in May. “We had a great game today and I’m just glad we can get back to doing what we love, and that’s playing baseball.”

The Monsters nearly made it into the Wisconsin Baseball Association’s state tournament. Ultimately a 6-5 loss to Ellsworth in the opening round of regionals came back to bite the River Monsters, who knocked off Holmen 2-1 in 11 innings the following day, but lost out to Holmen for the state berth out of the three-team on a run differential tiebreaker.

5. Northern Edge co-op folds

    In this Jan. 9, 2023 file photo, members of the Northern Edge and Northland Pines girls’ hockey teams shake hands following a game in Eagle River. The Edge co-op folded after the 2022-23 season, citing low numbers, the schools joined the Northland Pines co-op for 2023-24. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

2023 marked the end of a 17-year run where Rhinelander High School either fielded a standalone girls’ hockey team or was the lead school in a co-op. 

Citing low numbers, the Northern Edge co-op, which featured players from Rhinelander, Antigo, Lakeland, Three Lakes and Wabeno high schools, folded after the end of the 2022-23 season. The remaining schools in the co-op joined forces with Northland Pines in an agreement that cost the schools any semblance of identity in girls’ hockey. Under terms of the agreement, Northland Pines remained the lead school of the co-op, maintained the Eagles moniker for the program and is playing all but one home game this season at the Eagle River Sports Arena.

“The hard part is just not being able to field that team right now,” Rhinelander High School activities director Brian Paulson said back in April, when the merger was approved by the WIAA. “That was a little bit of a pride factor there that we had to swallow and say we’re going to have to join another co-op. That was tough but, at the end of the day, kids have an opportunity to compete.” 

6. Tommie Jo Springer captures state ski title

    In this Feb. 20, 2023 file photo, Tommie Jo Springer poses with her medals and championship trophy following the WIARA state ski meet in La Crosse. (Submitted photo)
  

Tommie Jo Springer had won everything in a decorated career with the Rhinelander/Northland Pines Alpine Ski team except a state championship. She crossed that last item off her list back in February.

Springer, a senior from Northland Pines, did so in emphatic fashion. She swept all three races to take the WIARA girls’ state title in La Crosse. 

Springer was the runner-up at state as a freshman, saw a missed gate and a disallowed re-run in slalom cost her a shot at a state title as a sophomore and a knee injury keep her from competing as a junior. 

“It was really nice. I couldn’t imagine going out in my high school career any other way,” she said. 

7. Abby Swanson podiums at state again

    In this Feb. 25, 2023 file photo, Rhinelander’s Abby Swanson stands on the podium after taking third in the girls’ 185-pound weight class at the WIAA individual state wrestling tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison. (Submitted photo)
  

After finishing on the podium in the inaugural WIAA girls’ state wrestling tournament, Rhinelander’s Abby Swanson continued to make history in 2023 and was perhaps one match away from being the school’s first female state wrestling champion.

After dropping her first match at state, Swanson marched thought the wrestle back, earning three pins and then a major decision to walk out of the Kohl Center in Madison with a third-place finish at 185 pounds in the second-annual WIAA girls’ state wrestling tournament. 

Swanson fell by 2-1 decision to eventual state champion Ella Creighton of Badger in the first round before rallying back to place two spots higher than she did last year in the inaugural girls’ state tournament.

“It’s kind of bittersweet,” Swanson said after winning the third-place match Saturday afternoon. “It’s cool that I made it higher than last year, but I didn’t win it, which was my goal.”

8. Hodag gymnasts find new home

    In this Dec. 9, 2023 file photo, Rhinelander’s Alexis Smith performs her floor exercise routine during the Snowflake Invitational gymnastics meet at the YMCA of the Northwoods. The YMCA’s new expansion, opened this fall, is the new permanent home for the Hodag gymnastics program. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Over the last decade-plus, sports facilities in Rhinelander have seen major additions and improvements. The latest of those upgrades debuted this year as the YMCA of the Northwoods opened a 12,000-square foot addition. 

The new area includes three pickleball courts, a 2,000-square foot aerobics studio and a walking track. But, as it pertains to Rhinelander High School sports, the biggest feature is the dedicated area for gymnastics equipment that includes a diving pit. Not only does the addition give the Hodag gymnastics program a dedicated space to have equipment set up year-round, it gives it a place safely practice more difficult aerial skills and dismounts, something coach Kristina Aschenbrenner said should pay dividends moving forward.

“The common denominator is they have year-round facilities and feeder programs,” she said. “That’s where we’re going to be able to step up and start building our program.”

9. RIA Squirts take 3rd at state

    In this March 5, 2023 file photo, the Rhinelander Ice Association Squirt A hockey team poses with the third-place trophy following the WAHA Squirt 3A state tournament at the Rhinelander Ice Arena. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

The Rhinelander Ice Association made the most of having its first state tournament team in three years. The Hodags finished third in the WAHA Squirt 3A state tournament held this past March at the Rhinelander Ice Arena.

The Hodags were the No. 1 seed in the bracket — in the first year that WAHA has seeded state tournament at the A levels. Rhinelander cruised past Ashland 9-0 in the opener, but stumbled against fourth-seeded Black River Falls in the semifinals, losing 4-1. The Hodags bounced back with a 4-2 win over Marshfield in the third-place game.

10. Individual state appearances

In addition to the state tournament appearances mentioned above, Rhinelander High School had several other postseason successes to celebrate in 2023. In track and field, sophomore Libbey Buchmann reached the podium and finished sixth overall in the girls’ discus at the WIAA state meet. Sophomore Sam Schoppe survived a double bogey on the 18th hole at sectionals to shoot 80 and earn a spot in the WIAA state golf tournament by one stroke. In boys’ tennis, the doubles team of senior Layne Roeser and junior Joey Belanger advanced to the round of 32 in the WIAA D1 state doubles tournament. They became the first Hodag boys’ entry to win a match at state since Rahul Jain in 2009. Rhinelander senior Tori Riopel also made it to state in tennis this year, rallying to win a dramatic tiebreaker in the sectional quarterfinals over Eau Claire North’s Miah Nelson to secure a spot in the girls’ D1 singles draw.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].