Sports Digest

Snowstorm wipes out Thursday RHS slate

What was supposed to be one of the final full nights of action in Rhinelander High School sports before the holiday break was wiped away Thursday due to snow. 

The Hodag boys’ hockey team’s game at Waupaca as well as dual meets at Antigo for the Hodag boys’ swimming and wrestling teams were postponed. In all cases the host schools canceled school and extra-curricular activities Thursday because of an incoming snowstorm. 

Make-up dates for the Great Northern Conference contests were not immediately announced. 

The Hodag wrestling team was right back in action Friday, hosting the Hodag Invite, which concluded after an early holiday deadline for today’s edition. The Hodag hockey team will play West Bend and Homestead in Mequon Dec. 27 and 28, and the Hodag boys’ swim team is idle until Jan. 7 when it will face Medford and Shawano in a double dual at Medford. 

Rhinelander native Retzlaff to remain in Xfinity Series

Rhinelander native Parker Retzlaff will return to NASCAR’s second-tier Xfinity Series with a new team in 2025. 

Retzlaff will pilot the No. 4 Chevrolet for Alpha Prime Racing this coming season. 

Retlzaff parted ways with Jordan Anderson Racing following a rocky 2024 season that saw the second-year driver score two poles and three top-five finishes, but also a series-high 12 DNFs which dropped him to 21st in the final championship standings. 

“I feel like we still have something to prove,” Retzlaff stated in a press release announcing his arrival to Alpha Prime Racing. 

“We all want to win races, be consistent and prove we’re here to compete. Everyone here has told me how much they believe in me and what I can do,” he added.

Retzlaff’s ride will be a second car for the organization, which comes in off a 16th-place finish in the drivers points with Brennan Poole, who will once again drive the team’s No. 44 Chevrolet next year. 

“I’m just super excited to have him join us,” Alpha Prime Racing owner Caesar Bacarella said in the press release. “He’s a young, really talented racecar driver and he’s going to help elevate the team.”

In addition to his Xfinity Series efforts, Retzlaff made two starts in the top-tier NASCAR Cup Series in 2024, nearly pulling off a monumental upset in the August race at Daytona International Speedway. He was running second on the final lap, as he pushed eventual winner Harrison Burton to the lead, before fading back to seventh place at the checkered.

Alpha Prime announced Friday that Joe Williams will serve as Retzlaff’s crew chief. Sponsors for the 2025 season will be announced at a later date.

Nate Lemmens scores 100th career coaching win

Rhinelander High School alum Nate Lemmens, the younger brother of Rhinelander High School boys’ basketball coach Derek Lemmens, reached a milestone last week as he recorded his 100th career victory as head coach at Wausau West High School. 

Nate Lemmens reached the century mark as his Warriors defeated Medford 66-52 at Raider Hall. The milestone came exactly one week after Derek Lemmens scored his 200th career victory at Rhinelander. 

Nate Lemmens, in his 12th season at Wausau West, had a 100-165 career mark going into Friday’s game against Wisconsin Rapids that concluded after press time. The Warriors are off to a 4-1 start this year and posted their best record under Nate Lemmens last season, going 15-10.

The Hodags and Warriors will meet in non-conference play Feb. 4 in Wausau, marking the 11th meeting between the Lemmens brothers as opposing head coaches. Derek and the Hodags hold a 7-3 lead in the series.