March 13, 2023 at 8:44 a.m.
Team review: Hodag Nordic skiing
Hodag Nordic began to build momentum in 2022-23
Team review: Hodag Nordic skiing
Rhinelander had some of its best individual placements at the Wisconsin Nordic Ski League state distance races in several years and had a team member qualify for the Great Lakes junior national squad. Overall, the Hodags finished 11th out of 13 programs that scored points in the WNSL state championship events. All of that had coach Dave Slette optimistic about the future after his first full season leading the team.
"You guys are right there. I mean right there," he told the team last month during its season-ending banquet. "You're not lacking anything. You all were really, really good. Obviously, technique, form you can always work on and we always will work on, but the level of skiing from you guys from the beginning of the season to the end of the season in my mind was vastly improved - and that doesn't happen without you guys coming every night, being ready to work, having a great attitude and getting it done."
Here are five storylines from the recently completed season.
Fast underclassmen
At almost every bend, there was an underclassman at the front for the Hodags this season.
Freshman Olin Slette led the boys' side in performance pretty much all season. Sophomore Brynn Teter and freshman Kayla Skubal were consistently the top two skiers on the girls' side. Freshman Violet Biolo was in the mix as well, despite being hampered by an ankle injury.
"It's a really good, solid core of kids that are working together out there and having a good time. If they can keep that together, they have a lot of promising things coming in their future," coach Slette said.
Up to the challenge
Coach Slette viewed the Hodag Challenge, hosted by the team in mid-January at CAVOC, as a turning point in the season.
Though the Hodags finished toward the back of the pack - the boys were 14th and the girls' placed 12th in a field that was the largest for a high school race outside of the state distance championships - there were some solid individual performances that were harbingers of things to come.
Teter was 31st overall in the event, which including a 5-kilometer classic and a 5-kilometer skate race, while Olin Slette finished 34th.
Rhinelander followed that with a third-place finish on the girls' side just two days later at the Northern Conference meet in Cable.
"Ever since the Hodag Challenge I feel like this team has been kind of gathering a little bit of momentum and a little bit of confidence and feeling like we can do a few things that we didn't think we could do before," coach Slette said. "We've got the skiers. We've got a good bit of drive and the confidence is now building. This is not a fluke. We can start to climb in the ranks here, both individually and as a team."
Boys' results
The Hodag boys were thin, with only four competitive skiers much of the year - just one more than the minimum number required to score.
Because of that, the Hodags' team rankings were not the best. Rhinelander was 12th out of 15 in the boys' distance championships and 13th overall in the boys' team standings.
Olin Slette was a standout, however. He finished 32nd overall in the distance championships. That came on the heels of a 29th-place finish in the state sprint championships and an 18th-place finish with senior teammate Travis White in the relay portion of the state sprints. That all added up to a 34th-place finish in the final WNSL standings.
In addition to what Slette did during the scholastic racing calendar, his performances on the Junior National Qualifier circuit earned him a place on the Great Lakes team for the Junior National Championships, taking place this week in Fairbanks, Alaska.
"I think he pretty much exemplifies a competitive Nordic skier in high school," said coach Slette, Olin's father. "He's constantly working on what he needs to do next. He's pretty good about taking his dad's advice and looking at his dad as a coach and not just a dad."
White was consistently Rhinelander's second-fastest racer. He finished 33rd after narrowly missing the knockout rounds of the state sprints. He followed that up by finishing in the top half of the field, 61st overall, in the state distance races.
Junior Charlie Loomis was 51st in the state sprints and 77th in the state distance. Sophomore Iain Rumney was 78th in the state sprints and 80th in the state distance.
Girls' results
Teter finished 25th overall in the state distance race this year, which was Rhinelander's best individual finish at state since 2013, when Claire Tracy also finished 25th the last time the event was held in Rhinelander. Teter was also 22nd in the state sprints and finished 23rd in the final WNSL standings.
"All season you watched your results tower over what they did last year," coach Slette said to Teter at the banquet. "You should reflect on what you did to do that, because I don't think 25th place is your cap. I think there's more places to go."
She had some teammates to push her, including freshman Kayla Skubal, who burst onto the scene with a strong rookie campaign. She and Teter teamed to finish 10th in the relay portion of the state sprints. She then finished 30th in the individual sprints, 34th at the state distance races and 36th in the overall girls' standings.
"She went from being the top of the heap, age-wise, and competing against fifth-graders, to being a freshman competing against sophomores, juniors and seniors - and a lot of good ones," coach Slette said. "I'd like to see Kayla push herself in future years as she did this year."
Biolo was 35th in the state sprints and was 59th after the freestyle portion of the state distance races, before scratching out of the classic race due to her ankles. Senior Olivia Gillen was 50th in the state sprints and 67th in the state distance. Sophomore Luna Grage was 71st in the state distance race and sophomore Emma Mankus was 85th in the state distance race, but tops in the adaptive category.
What's next
While the Hodags will graduate a number of seniors, only two of them - White and Gillen - raced on a consistent basis this year.
Overall, the boys' numbers should remain steady. Though the Hodags' graduate White, they are slated to pick up eighth-grader Jonathan Calhoun, who led the Rhinelander contingent with a 38th-place finish in the middle school portion of the state distance races.
The Hodag girls' meanwhile, are slated to pick up three girls - Lucy Eddy, Mya Gillen and Kali Skubal - who were 26th, 30th and 46th at state on the middle school side this year.
"There's four of them. I'm really certainly hoping they all continue to ski through high school next year," coach Slette said. "This is going to be a great push coming into high school next year, these four, between their skiing and their great attitude and the kind of teammates as they are."
Between this year's results, and the incoming skiers, coach Slette said he's hopeful the momentum for the ski program will continue to build.
"I think the kids were starting to see that success and maybe starting to believe a little bit that little Rhinelander is not a team that's incapable of packing some punch at times," he said. "I think we have quite a few athletes that surprised themselves. Hopefully, that's great momentum to take out of this season, into the offseason and, hopefully, use it to come into the next season ready to go."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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