Hodag BMX marks 25 years with a bang

In a Saturday night special, the Hodag BMX Club celebrated 25 years of racing with some of the fastest laps its seen turned at its facility, and plenty of fireworks both on and off the track.

In the end a pair of Minnesota riders — Taylor Riedemann and Rylee France — took home the biggest prizes of the night, claiming the main events in the Pro-Am Open and the Women’s shootout as part of a special night that featured a purse well in excess of $5,000 split among six classes. 

Local riders fared well with track operator Robbie Deede winning the top prize in the 36 & over class. Track regulars Brody Haff of Rhinelander and Jackson Wergin of Hazelhurst claimed the titles in the 13-16 and 12 and under classes while Lucas Basal of Marquette, Mich. scored the win in the 17-35 class. 

The day started with time trials for the Pro-Am field followed by a parade of bikes into downtown and back to the track before the semifinals and main events were held. The night ended with a fireworks display as the club toasted a major milestone in its history.

“It was a lot of fun, man. It was cool,” Deede said. “I’ve been here since the beginning and we saw a bunch of the guys that started it down here today. We celebrated some of the people that started it who aren’t here anymore. It was intended to be a celebration, a fun day, and that it was.”

Riedemann and France were already in town as the pro-level national riders were scheduled to put on a training clinic last Thursday prior to the big race. That event got pushed back to Sunday due to rain, and Riedemann and France put on another clinic on the track Saturday night for everyone in attendance. 

Riedemann was the fastest of the 64 riders in the time trials Saturday afternoon, lapping the track in just over 30 seconds. He breezed through the 16-rider semifinals and into the three-round main event. He swept all three rounds in the main to claim the lion’s share of a purse of more than $3,000.

    Rylee France of Saint Michael, Minn. crosses the finish line to win the Women’s division of the Hodag BMX Club’s 25th Anniversary Race in Rhinelander Saturday, Aug. 17. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

France put on a similar display in the girls’ main event, sweeping all three rounds en route to victory. 

“There are some amazing riders in the midwest. Taylor and Rylee are awesome,” Deede said afterward. “I’m proud and privileged to know some of these riders, to be able to bring them in to train some of our local kids and to let them see what they’re doing.”

None of the Hodag BMX contingent made the final eight in the Pro-Am class. Neenah’s Joe Drawenek scored a pair of runner-up finishes and a fourth to claim second overall in the class. The rest of the top five were Joshua Johnson of Oshkosh, Xavier Malmin of Lake Geneva and Foster Chadek of Larsen. Logan Briggs of Oshkosh took sixth followed by a pair of Wisconsin Rapids riders, Hunter Kimball and Dakota Schaetz. 

Mya Poters of Junction City, who has frequented the Hodag BMX track on a number of occasions, claimed two seconds and a third to finish runner-up in the women’s division. She was followed by two other riders from Central Wisconsin BMX — Trinadee Stoflet and Taylor Dickey, both of Wisconsin Rapids. 

Hazelhurst’s Jayce Wergin was the top of the local contingent in the women’s division, taking fifth, she was followed by Addison Morin of Wisconsin Rapids, and then Maddelynne Quandt and Capri Melton, both of Rhinelander. 

Deede scored the win in the 36 & over class after narrowly escaping a crash out of the gate in the final round of the main event. Hazelhurst’s JJ Wergin and Joshua Coplan became entangled at the bottom of the starting hill and wiped out. Wergin held the overall lead after winning the first two rounds, but a sixth-place finish in the final round dropped him second place, two points behind Deede — who scored a second, third and first in the three rounds. 

Willie Freshour of Hortonville took fourth and Bryce Hattamer of Gwynn, Mich. was fifth. Local rider Ken Davis Jr. came home seventh.

“When you run those three rounds, it’s a war of attrition. I knew just run smart laps. To finish first, you must first finish,” Deede said.

    Rhinelander’s Brody Haff takes off during time trails during the Hodag BMX Club’s 25th Anniversary Race in Rhinelander Saturday, Aug. 17. Haff won the Boys 13-16 division on Saturday. (Weston Kibler for the River News)
  

That saying held true in the 13-16 class, which featured a mainly a field of local riders. Rhinelander’s Trevor Martin got the holeshot in the one-round main event and led the field before crashing in the middle of Turn 2. That handed the lead over to Rhinelander’s Brody Haff, who held off fellow hometown riders Cole Biermeier and Alec Pilat for the win. Hazelhurst’s James Wergin was fourth, followed by Eli Franklin of Antigo, Josh Behl of Rhinelander, Noah Spicer of Rhinelander and Martin.

Basal won the first round of the main event in the 17-35 class and then rode a pair of runner-up finishes to wrap up the overall victory. Brennan Polaski of Crandon took the final round, but finished one point behind Basal in the runner-up spot. Rhinelander’s David Houg took third. Regulars Alex Matushak of Woodruff, Raven Brooks of Crandon and Brandon Kegley of Pelican Lake finished fifth, sixth and seventh. 

Jackson Wergin bested a field of 22 riders that was narrowed to eight through two rounds of heats and a semifinal to claim the top prize in the 12-and-under class. Tomahawk’s Kaeden Bethel and Rhinelander’s Noah Biermeier-Prott rounded out the top three. Other locals to make the main events included Rhinelander riders Emmerich Crass in fifth, Hailey Jackson in sixth and Greyson Drake in eighth. 

“There were a lot of local riders, well represented. There were a lot of out-of-town hot shoes, but it was a good night,” Deede said. “It was a high level of competition. It’s a little different than the normal format we run, but we wanted to have some fun, change it up a little bit and it was really cool. We saw a lot of riders from all surrounding states. It was a fun night.”

While Saturday’s race marked a big celebration, it’s far from the end of the season for the Hodag BMX riders at West Side Park. The club is off tonight as a number of riders prepare for this weekend’s state championship race in Madison. 

The track will close out its summer series this coming Monday and Wednesday before shifting to Friday night races, which will continue through the end of October. 

While Deede said Saturday night’s event was the culmination of a quarter century of success for the volunteer-driven club, he hopes it also serves as a springboard to even better things over the next 25 years.

“We’re looking at going further, attracting larger races to our area in the future,” he said. “The facility there, the grounds are there. When you have world riders saying this place is awesome, that warms your heart as a volunteer, as a track designer and a track operator.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].