February 13, 2023 at 12:18 p.m.

Coaching legends honored

Coaching legends honored
Coaching legends honored
Rhinelander High School welcomed back a pair of former boys' basketball coaches Saturday night who have two Wisconsin Valley Conference titles - and four NCAA Division-III national titles - between them. Jack Bennett and Dave Vander Meulen were honored at halftime of a game against Marathon at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium. Vander Meulen was the Hodags' head coach from 1965-69, guiding the Hodags to a Valley title in the 1968-69 season. He later went on to win two national titles at UW-Whitewater and is still the Warhawks' all-time winningest coach. Bennett led the Hodags from 1990-96, and won the Valley title with the 1995-96 squad, before heading to UW-Stevens Point, where he guided the Pointers to back-to-back D-III national titles in 2004 and 2005. Current RHS boys' basketball coach Derek Lemmens said he brought the two back to help underscore the program's legacy, which includes 25 conference titles, 11 WIAA state tournament appearances and a state championship back in 1939. "I hope, as a community, we remember just how awesome it is that we've had coaches like this in our program. That's one of the reasons we have the tradition that we have," Lemmens said.

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