Team Review: RHS cross country

The Rhinelander High School cross country team did not have a representative at the WIAA state meet this year but it hopes it has set a foundation to make another run toward sending individuals or a team to Wisconsin Rapids in 2024.

Despite battling injury and low numbers, the Hodag boys managed a runner-up finish in the Great Northern Conference this year and parlayed that into a fourth-place run at WIAA Division 2 sectionals. Meanwhile, the Hodag girls turned in a solid campaign, finishing fourth in the conference and sixth at sectionals. 

With 11 of the 14 runners who competed at sectionals slated to return, coach M.J. Laggis left the 2023 confident about what his team can do moving forward.

“We bring a lot back and that really bodes well for us next year,” he said. 

Here are five storylines from the recently completed season.

Greyson’s gauntlet

The Hodags had one state hopeful this year. Junior Greyson Gremban was primed to make a run to Wisconsin Rapids after finishing one spot away from qualifying in 2022. 

Gremban turned in a strong season again for Rhinelander, finishing as the Hodags’ top runner in every race. That included a fourth-place run at the Great Northern Conference meet that appeared to set him up will for a strong run at sectionals. 

However, sectionals did not play out as Gremban hoped. Gremban was in the hunt for the final qualifying spot as the race entered its final mile. The battle was between he, Medford’s Tanner Hraby, Antigo’s James Meade and Stanley-Boyd’s Lucas Walker, with the four of them battling for the final three qualifying spots. Gremban fell to fourth among that group as they entered the woods one final time, a half mile from the finish. When they came out, the other three had pulled away.

Walker was the final runner to transfer, taking ninth with a time of 17 minutes, 1.7 seconds. Gremban came home 11th at 17:29.5.

“I thought he was going to stay right there and he tried to make a move and got outmoved today,” Laggis said. “That’s just cross country, somebody had a little better day. Greyson won’t tell you, but he’s been battling being sick all week. He missed a day of practice, which is unheard of for him. He laid it on the line today and it just wasn’t enough.”

Boys’ team

The Hodags achieved a lot on the boys’ side, despite a lack of depth. The team suffered a blow prior to the season when sophomore Olin Slette transferred out of the district, and another when junior Brody Kowieski sustained a season-ending knee injury in early September. 

“That’s a big dagger,” Laggis said of Kowieski’s injury. “You can’t hide that, but now you’ve got to rebound and work with what you have. It’s just he was the No. 2 and a scorer. We had that wall of guys behind him and I felt really good about where we were going. Now we’ve just got to retool, keep trying to grow and get our guys faster all the way around.”

The emergence of freshmen Avrom Barr and Jackson Weinzatl helped Rhinelander overcome Kowieski’s injury. Barr finished ninth at the GNC meet and followed that with at top-20 finish at sectionals, while Weinzatl took 15th at conference and 35th at sectionals.

“Avrom and Jackson have just grown so much this year,” Laggis said. “Avrom’s been very time-conscious. He talks to me in school all the time about dropping time, dropping time. It’s on his brain. He’s telling himself he can do and he just keeps doing it. Jack’s the same thing. I’m totally impressed with those two kids.”

Senior Gavin Denis, who narrowly missed out on all-conference honors for a second straight year was a solid top-five runner for the Hodags all year, and finished 31st at sectionals. Junior Shawn Denis battled through injury during the second half of the year and missed sectionals. Rhinelander picked up junior Augustus Porter midway through the season and he settled into the No. 5 role in Shawn Denis’s absence. Hank Kowieski and Jonathan Campbell rounded out the boys’ squad.

Girls’ team

Senior Leah Jamison was Rhinelander’s top runner on the girls’ side in every race during the season. She took 15th at conference and 20th at sectionals for a girls’ squad that relied on depth much of the year.

 “She’s been our No. 1 tape-to-tape, from the start of the year to the end of the year,” Laggis said. “She was our No. 1, just a fantastic young lady and I’m going to greatly miss her.”

Junior Sophie Miljevich settled into the team’s No. 2 role and steadily closed the gap to Jamison throughout the year. After earning all-conference honors as a freshman, Miljevich faded outside the top 21 last year but bounced back with a 18th-place run at conference this year. She finished 30th at sectionals and was Rhinelander’s No. 2 runner behind Jamison all season. 

“I can’t say enough how impressed I am with her and how far she’s come,” Laggis said. 

Juniors Luna Grage and Brynn Teter factored into the mix for Rhinelander, but faded late in the year as they battled through injury. Like the boys’ squad, the Hodags had a group of freshmen emerge with Kara Monk, Ella Miljevich and Hayley Schiek. All three finished just outside of all-conference recognition and had a propensity to run together, reminiscent of the “Green Wall” the Hodag boys used to make it to state in 2021. 

“Hayley and Ella and Kara, that’s such a base for next year, it’s just crazy,” Laggis said. “They’ve got to get more competitive, and they will, and they’ve got to keep improving.”

Flying at GNC

The Hodags’ best race of the season, by far, was the Great Northern Conference meet at Nine Mile Forest. Virtually every runner on the team set a personal-best time at the meet, led by Gremban, who broke under the 17-minute barrier for the first time. That helped the Hodag boys edge Tomahawk and Medford for the runner-up spot in the conference.

“It’s just a big boost for them. You work hard and you get to this point, and I think they’ve got a lot of confidence,” Laggis said. “Finishing second is awesome, but we’re a long ways away from Lakeland, but it’s all building toward next year for them.”

The Hodag girls also had a slew of personal records at the meet, with Jamison going under 22 minutes for the first time.

What’s next

Rhinelander figures to be in a good spot going into next year in both the boys’ and girls’ division. The Hodag girls bring back six of their top eight runners from the season — graduating only Jamison and fellow senior Maria Hubler. 

“On the girls’ side, I think we have a nucleus that gets it,” Laggis said. “Soph, her fire’s lit again and I’m really encouraged by that. I want to see her take on a leadership role next year, get a group of girls and boys that can go after the conference.” 

Led by Gremban, the Hodag boys figure to be solid again next season. Throw in another year of growth for Barr and Weinzatl and healthy runners in Brody Kowieski and Shawn Denis as the team could be in position to make a big jump forward. 

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].