Returning to the top

Conference championship and Rhinelander High School boys’ basketball are a natural pairing. 

A look up to the rafters at the Jim Miazga Gym will prove that fact, with multiple banners needed to display all the years the Hodags have won the Great Northern and, before that, the Wisconsin Valley.

The Hodags had a nice run of titles in its first few years in the GNC but, after a 20-3 campaign that ended in a upset loss to Medford back in 2018, success in the conference had been fleeting. 

However, prior to the 2023-24 season, Hodag coach Derek Lemmens made a bold proclamation about his squad. 

“We have the ability to win this conference. I, for sure, think that,” he said. 

That proclamation seemed difficult to fathom at times, considering Rhinelander won only nine games the year prior and that Mosinee appeared to be the prohibitive favorite entering the season. It still seemed far-flung after a 57-55 overtime loss in Medford on Feb. 1 dropped the Hodags to 6-2 in the conference standings — with losses to the two teams it was chasing in the conference standings. 

What followed over the next three weeks was a magical four-game run in conference play that ended with the Hodags improbably cutting down the nets at the end of the regular season.

“I’m so proud of these seniors getting us back to the top of the conference and really just they way they were playing basketball at the end of this season, that’s a complement to their skills, their leadership and this senior class really got us back on track,” Lemmens said.

Rhinelander’s run to the GNC championship has been named as the top local sports story covered by the River News in 2024. Hodag Hoops gets the nod over a couple of other very strong stories not only because of the title drought the team ended, but how it ended up doing it.

That overtime loss at Medford, the result of a doomed inbounds play that gave the Raiders a steal and go-ahead layup in the final minute of extra time, put Rhinelander in basically a run-the-table scenario over its final four conference games. 

Step 1 was easy enough. Less than 24 hours after the Medford setback, the Hodags dispatched Tomahawk 61-24. Round 2 was bit harder as the Hodags struggled from the outside but fended off Lakeland 65-55 at home. 

That put Rhinelander at 8-2 in the GNC, a game behind Mosinee for the conference lead and tied with Medford for second with two games remaining. To have any chance of a conference title, the Hodags needed to go on the road and take down Mosinee. 

The Indians were viewed as the deepest and most talented team in the GNC. Big man Landen Thomer was a walking double-double by season’s end — and put up a 27-and-16 statline against the Hodags in the Feb. 16 rematch. Point guard Keagen Jirschele had been a thorn in the side of Rhinelander, and the rest of the GNC, ever since he transferred in from Wausau West prior to his sophomore year. 

The Hodags were down seven with less than five minutes to play in the game but hung around. Will Gretzinger made a go-ahead 3 in the final minute for Rhinelander. After Thomer answered with two free throws on the other end, Evan Shoeder answered with two of his own to put Rhinelander up by one with 22.6 seconds left. 

Jirschele had a chance to put Mosinee up with 6.5 seconds left, but missed both free throws and the Hodags held on in the final seconds. 

That made for a three-way tie in the GNC standings entering the final night — with Medford and Rhinelander squaring off for at least a share of the conference title at the Jim. In a close game late in the second half, Gretzinger took over again. After being held scoreless until the 10:08 mark of the second, he scored 17 of the Hodags’ final 21 points as Rhinelander won 50-45 to earn their first conference title in six years. 

The Hodags ended the season with a 16-10 record and lost to Rice Lake in the regional semifinal round of the WIAA tournament, but adding “2024” to their conference championship banner in the Jim made it a season to remember for the Hodags.

“It’s been an amazing ride and I can’t thank this group enough for all that they did and how special they made Rhinelander basketball this year,” Lemmens said.

Here are the remainder of the top 10 local sports stories from 2024.

2. Hodag Harriers run it back to state

    In this Oct. 25, 2024 file photo, the Rhinelander High School boys’ cross country team stands on the podium after finishing second in a WIAA Division 2 sectional in Colby. The sectional runner-up finish qualified the Hodags for the WIAA state meet as a team for the second time in four years. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

The return trip to Wisconsin Rapids for the Rhinelander High School boys’ cross country team in 2024 can be summed up in one word — redemption. 

Three years after making it as a team in 2021, the Hodags were back en masse at the D2 state meet in November, following a wild final month of the season that saw both triumph and heartbreak. 

On a team level, the return to state was a redemption story because, six days before punching their ticket to Wisconsin Rapids, they saw a chance to win the Great Northern Conference championship slip away in the final mile. 

Brody Kowieski broke down while running fourth in sight of the finish. He was eventually disqualified after receiving assistance from teammate Grant Gremban as he staggered and stumbled to the line, overcome by exhaustion on an unseasonably warm October day. Jackson Weinzatl faded out of the top 10 late and the conference title went to rival Lakeland instead. 

It was a different story six days later as Rhinelander and Lakeland vied for the second of two team qualifying berths for the state meet. The Hodags stood strong this time, beat out Lakeland by 15 points and returned to state for the first time in three years.

“Especially with the emotions of a week ago, wow, it was good to see that turnaround,” coach M.J. Laggis said. “To see the resilience of our boys and how they practiced Monday, everybody was just in a complete good mindset. I couldn’t believe it. They had a great week and there was a lot of confidence today that they were going to come out and have a great race. That’s just what they did.”

The return to state was a personal redemption story for senior Greyson Gremban, the lone remaining link from the team that ran in Wisconsin Rapids back in 2021. The following year teammate Cody Ruetz made it individually, but Gremban finished one spot from earning the final individual berth to state. In 2023 Gremban was favored to qualify individual, but faded on sectional day and was again the sixth-fastest individual on a non-qualifying team in a sectional that took five. 

There was no doubt Gremban was making it to state this year — he finished third in the sectional — but the performance by he and his teammates made good on a promise Gremban made moments after missing out on the 2023 state meet.

“Luckily I get one more crack at it and I get the opportunity to do that with a lot of underclassmen,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll see seven green shirts next year (at state).”

The Hodags finished 14th at state, finishing ahead of Shawano who won Rhinelander’s D2 sectional. Sophomore Avrom Barr led Rhinelander with a 44th place finish, followed by Greyson Gremban in 48th. Kowieski, Weinzatl, Michael Brunette, Ayden Myers and Grant Gremban made up the rest of the crew. 

3. RHS swim teams have solid showings at state

    In this Feb. 16, 2024 file photo, the Rhinelander High School boys’ swim team poses with the runner-up trophy after finishing second at the WIAA Division 2 state swim meet in Waukesha. The group, from left to right, included coach Dan Jesse, head coach Jenny Heck, Brock Arrowood, Judson O’Malley, coach Brent Olson, Shawn Denis, Samson Shinners, Zacha King, Dolan O’Malley, Mathias Fugle, Charlie Antonuk and Christopher Larson. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

There were no double golden trophies for the Rhinelander High School swim program this year, unlike in 2023 when the Hodags took home both the WIAA Division 2 boys’ and girls’ team state titles. Regardless, 2023 was yet another strong year for Rhinelander swimming. The Hodag boys walked away from Waukesha as state runners-up in February while the Hodag girls finished third in November. 

In both cases, the Hodags were outclassed in their title defense by a school from the southern part of the state. McFarland won seven events and beat the Hodags by 82 points for the D2 boys’ title. Whitefish Bay claimed eight events as they won the girls’ title by 90 points over Madison Edgewood, which edged the Hodags for second. 

“Of course, we wanted that trophy, but they were tears of happiness. They enjoyed this year together. It was such a united team and that’s something no trophy can display,” coach Jenny Heck said following the girls’ state meet. 

Even without repeating as team state champions, there were still plenty of individual accomplishments. Celia Francis repeated as state champion in the girls’ 200-yard individual medley, leading wire-to-wire in that event to beat out top-seeded Cheyenne Borroughs of Stoughton by 2.01 seconds. She added a runner-up finish in the 100 backstroke with the seventh-fastest time in D2 state history (55.39). Rhinelander was also the state runner-up in the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays.

On the boys’ side, senior Zacha King finished second in the backstroke and the Hodags scored runner-up finishes in all three relays. 

Overall, the Hodag boys got on the podium eight times, placing in the top six with half of their 16 entries at state. The Hodag girls had 10 podium finishes among their 18 state entries. 

Underscoring the program-wide success, the Hodags had in 2024, only two schools placed in the top 3 in all three relays events in both the boys’ and girls’ state meets in 2024 — Rhinelander in D2 and Middleton in D1. 

That goes along with all the local success the Hodags have had. At the end of 2024, both the RHS boys’ and girls’ swim teams are sitting on six consecutive GNC and six consecutive WIAA D2 sectional titles. 

4. Hodag girls’ track team shines in 2024

    In this May 31, 2024 file photo, Rhinelander’s Violet Biolo hands the baton to teammate Olivia Ruetz in the D2 girls’ 4x100-meter relay during the WIAA state track and field meet in La Crosse. The 4x100 relay was one of three state qualifying entries for a resurgent Hodag girls’ track team in 2024. (Brett LaBore/Lakeland Times)
  

Overshadowed a bit by the boys’ side of the program over the last five years, the Rhinelander High School girls’ track team had its opportunity to shine during 2024. Though both squads finished fourth at the Great Northern Conference meet, the Hodag girls really came into their own in time for the postseason. 

The Hodag girls posted their best outdoor conference meet finish since 1995, taking fourth at the GNCs this year. What’s more, the team qualified three entries for the WIAA state meet and had a podium finisher at state for the third time in the last five seasons. 

Sophomores Aila Bergman and Libbey Buchmann headlined the list, qualifying for state in the 100-meter hurdles and the discus throw, respectively. Both set school records this year in the process. Bergman broke her own mark, going 46.70 seconds in the 300 hurdles at sectionals as she narrowly missed a trip to state in that event. Buchmann broke a 25-year-old mark in the discus, throwing it 134 feet, 9 inches at the Dale Peterson Invite in Antigo May 16.

Buchmann made it back on the podium at the WIAA D2 state meet in La Crosse, finishing fourth in the girls’ discus. Though she failed to match her school-record toss on a rainy day at state, her mark of 123-8 was good enough to make in back to the podium. 

Bergman got to state with a personal-best run of 15.86 seconds in the 100 hurdles at sectionals, which had her seeded ninth going into the state meet. She was unable to match her sectional performance as she took eighth in her heat, and 16th overall with a time of 16.37 seconds. That ended up being 0.35 seconds away from making the finals.

The Hodags also qualified their 4x100 relay team comprised of foreign exchange student Lena Timphus, junior Lexi Bishop, sophomore Violet Biolo and freshman Olivia Ruetz. The quartet had a thrilling finish at sectionals, with Bishop holding on to the fourth and final transfer spot to the state meet by 0.04 seconds. They finished 15th at the state meet.

5. Close only counts …

    In this Sept. 20, 2024 file photo, Tomahawk’s Landyn Seymour runs in for a touchdown with 3 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of a GNC football game against Rhinelander in Tomahawk. The Hatchets won the game, 21-14, one of three one-score losses the Hodags had to their three closest rivals during the 2024 season. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

The storyline for the Rhinelander High School football team in 2024 was a case of what might have been. 

Conceivably, Rhinelander was three or four plays away from being 6-0 to start the year, but instead found itself 3-3 will losses to all three of its closest rivals.

The Hodags went into the Week 3 Axe Game at Lakeland without starting quarterback Truman Lamers, who was sidelined by an eye injury the week prior. The Hodags fell behind 12-0 early, but rallied to get within a touchdown to begin the fourth quarter. The Hodags couldn’t muster a tying drive in the fourth quarter and, after Lakeland took an intentional safety in the final seconds, backup quarterback Chandler Servent was unable to get off a Hail Mary attempt before being sacked on the final play as the Hodags lost 12-8. 

Two weeks later was perhaps the biggest blow as the Hodags rallied from down 7-0 at halftime against Tomahawk to take a 14-7 lead, but the Hatchets tied it early in the fourth quarter. Driving in the final minute for what the Hodags hoped to be the winning score, Lamers was intercepted deep in Hatchet territory by Brayden Larson, who then caught a long pass to set the Hatchets up on the edge of field goal range with 10 seconds remaining. The Hatchets feigned what would have been a 48-yard attempt. Instead Larson, the holder on the play, stood up and threw a 31-yard pass to Landyn Seymour with three seconds remaining to deal the Hodags a crushing 21-14 defeat.

“Sometimes there are plays made in a game that turn it against you and they made the plays they needed to make,” Kraemer said.

Adding injury to insult, Lamers played most of that game with an injured labrum and was a game-time decision the following week for the 90th Bell Game against Antigo. Though Lamers threw for a touchdown and ran for two others, the Hodag defense couldn’t slow down Antigo’s balanced attack and Lamers threw a late interception as the Hodags fell 28-20. That marked the sixth straight trophy-game loss for Rhinelander against Lakeland and Antigo after Kraemer won his first six games between those squads as coach of the Hodags.

“It’s hard to lose to the Axe. It’s hard to lose the Bell,” Kraemer said. “Obviously, they’re rivalry games and you want to come out on top of those. The positive thing is that we’ve played two really good games in those games against tough teams. The unfortunate thing is we came up a little bit short.”

Rhinelander lost its last three games to Mosinee, Medford and Merrill to finish 3-6 and miss the WIAA tournament for the second time in three years. 

6. Francis returns to Olympic Trials

    In this June 14, 2024 contributed photograph, Rhinelander native Malia Francis stands on deck during practice for the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Francis competed in the Olympic Trials for the second time in her swimmer career. (Submitted photo)
  

Rhinelander native Malia Francis made her second trip to the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2024, just three years after her first trip.

Plenty changed in that time. Francis was going into to her senior year at RHS in 2021 and posted a qualifying time in the 100-meter backstroke for the Olympic Trials. Since then, there was knee surgery and a successful redshirt freshman year at Liberty University. She successfully made it back to the Trials in the 200 backstroke after posting a qualifying time in her last meet before the deadline. 

She came home 38th in the event, with a time of 2 minutes, 14.07 seconds. 

“Getting to see some of the fastest swimming in the world, that’s an experience you can’t really match. The was super cool and really inspiring, I think, just to get to witness that,” she told the River News following the Trials. “Being able to see former Olympians and younger kids trying to make that team, just seeing that highest level of swimming was just so cool.”

Francis is on pace to finish her collegiate swimming career prior to the next U.S. Olympic Trails in 2028. She’ll be 24 by then but, with Los Angeles set to host the 2028 Games, she said she has not ruled out taking one more shot at qualifying for the Trials.

7. Belanger sets the scoring standard

    In this Jan. 16, 2024 file photo, Rhinelander’s Joey Belanger scores his 100th career high school goal during the third period of a non-conference boys’ hockey game against Kingsford in Iron Mountain, Mich. Belanger, the Hodags’ all-time leading scorer finished with 202 points on 110 goals and 92 assists, in his RHS career. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

It will likely be a long time before the Rhinelander High School boys’ hockey team see another goal scorer like Joey Belanger. 

The senior finished as the program’s all-time leading scorer and reached a milestone never before accomplished in Hodag hockey, scoring his 100th career goal during a non-conference game this past January at Kingsford, Mich. 

“I couldn’t believe it. It’s the first time in program history that that’s ever happened. It’s awesome to be a part of history,” he said afterward. “It feels pretty good. You take every goal you can get. I’m not disappointed at all. We all played a hard game. I thought, overall, we all played pretty good.”

Belanger reached another nice, round figure a few weeks later, recording his 200th career point during a GNC tournament game against Antigo. Belanger finished his career with 202 total points on 110 goals and 92 assists — marks that will likely stand in the Hodag hockey record books for some time.

“That kid’s a pure shooter, a pure goal scorer,” coach M.J. Laggis said. “I’ve seen a lot of kids that can shoot the puck and I’ll tell you, Joey Belanger can shoot the puck at a high level in high school hockey.”

8. Smith makes it to state

    In this March 2, 2024 file photo, Rhinelander’s Alexis Smith competes on vault during the WIAA Individual State Gymnastics meet in Wisconsin Rapids Saturday, March, 2. Smith was Rhinelander’s first state qualifier in gymnastics in three years. (Matt Frey/Star News)
  

Freshman Alexis Smith took an unconventional path to become the first state qualifier for the Rhinelander High School gymnastic program in three years. 

Smith finished sixth in the vaulting competition at a WIAA Division 2 sectional in Antigo last February. The WIAA takes only the top five and ties from each event to state, but Smith got in as an alternate because Mosinee’s Jaiden Reed — who finished in third at sectionals in the event — was unable to attend the state meet. 

“I was really upset at first. I realized that I was that close to being able to go to state. I kind of felt disappointed in myself, but I knew that I did good. It’s my freshman year and I was proud of myself either way,” Smith said. “When I found out that Jaiden was not going to state, it was like a weight lifted off my chest. I was so happy, so excited, really grateful that I have this opportunity.”

Smith finished 24th in the vault at state with a score of 7.983. She was Rhinelander’s first state qualifier in any event since 2021, when Lilli Bishop qualified on balance beam. Smith was the first Hodag to qualify specifically on vault since Brittany Terzinski in 2007. Elle Spiegelhoff competed on vault after qualifying as an all-around competitor in 2012.

9. No snow causes headaches for skiers

    In this March 2, 2024 file photo, Rhinelander’s Brynn Teter completes a lap during the classic portion of the WNSL state distance championship Nordic ski races in Cable. Teter skied in a tank top as the temperature reached 50 degrees during the state meet — symbolic of a warm and dry winter that forced a number of cancellations and postponements for outdoor sports. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

2024 in the Northwoods will likely be remembered for its winter — or lack thereof. It was one of the warmest and driest winters on record in the area. The lack of snowfall, and the quick thawing of what snowpack was there, made for headaches all winter long for the Hodag ski teams.

On the Alpine side, most of the season went off as planned, but snow conditions typically ranged from pure ice to mashed potatoes, or somewhere in between. 

“I think most of my happiness is that none of my athletes have a true injury coming out of this year,” coach Rod Olson said after the season “It was just something. The coaches and officials did the best they could but it was really crazy conditions, fighting either ice or slush, or the combination of, all season.”

Things weren’t much better for the Hodag Nordic skiers, either. The Hodag Nordic Challenge, one of the biggest scholastic ski races in the state, was nixed due to a lack of snow. That was far from the only alteration on the schedule. Of the eight races on the team’s calendar, only two went off on their scheduled dates. Five were canceled all together, the state distance championships were postponed by three weeks and the team added three impromptu races to its schedule wherever it could find snow.

The WNSL State Distance Championship were postponed three weeks because of the mild weather. The temperature approached 50 degrees during the first day of the state meet, staged on man-made snow at the American Birkebeiner trailhead in Cable. Skiers splashing through puddles of melting snow and competing in T-shirts were sights befitting of the unusual season. 

The warm weather even impacted Ski For Light, a national skiing tour for the visually impaired, which staged its 49th annual event in Rhinelander. The skiing portion of the weeklong event was shortened to only a couple of days because of melting trails at Northwood Golf Course. Participants made the most of their time in Rhinelander with off-snow activities during the week — including a spin class at the YMCA of the Northwoods, a game night in the Hodag Dome, audio-described films, bowling and guided outdoor hikes.

“I know that the snow hasn’t been plentiful here, but we’ve squeezed every last drop out of it. We’ve used it,” said participant Monty Lilburn, who came from Vancouver, British Columbia, to participate in the event.

10. Cycling milestones

    In this Aug. 17, 2024 file photo, the Hodag BMX Club celebrated its 25th anniversary with a fireworks display at the end of a special race at West Side Park in Rhinelander. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

Two notable events took place in the cycling community in the area, taking up the No. 10 spot on our list.

First, the Hodag BMX Club celebrated its 25th anniversary season, highlighted by a pro-am race and a fireworks display Aug. 17. 

“We’re very fortunate to have some really good volunteers. We have a lot of awesome donors and sponsors that help us out,” track operator Robbie Deede said. “The past, present and future who have made this place so stinking awesome. It’s a labor of love and it’s something that we’re all very proud of, to make our community a better place, to give kids of all ages something to do.”

Less than two months later, competitive mountain biking returned to the Northwoods as the Wisconsin Interscholastic Cycling League staged the fifth round of its six-event season at Camp Tesomas just north of Rhinelander in the town of Pine Lake. Though the greater Rhinelander area has had a team in the WICL for the better part of the last decade, October’s race marked the first home race for the program, and the first time the trails at Tesomas had been raced on since 2015. The event attracted roughly 1,000 competitors and more than 2,000 spectators to the Northwoods. 

“We’re racing around Crystal Lake and it’s right here,” Rhinelander-Northwoods Composite team coach Jon Lester said prior to the event. “We have a beach. We have the pine trees, the leaves are changing colors. The camping’s unique. Usually we’re parking in a field and everyone’s in a line. We have all remote campsites in the woods. They’re, hopefully, going to have a memorable experience. I hope it’s a success and they all enjoy this and we can continue it.”

Honorable mentions

It should be noted that the untimely passing of youth baseball coach Dan Bauer was excluded from this list solely out of deference to its inclusion in our list of top news stories of 2024 (See Page 1).

A few stories did not make our top 10 list but deserve honorable mention. The Great Northern Conference will be getting a bit of a shake up next fall as it welcomes Merrill in as a full-fledged charter member beginning in the 2025-26 school year. Merrill’s move from the Wisconsin Valley Conference to the GNC received final WIAA approval in March. Merrill was one of the original members of the GNC, but was moved back to the Valley when Rhinelander entered the GNC in 2010 … The Rhinelander Ice Association had some successful youth teams during the 2023-24 season, sending both of its Peewee (12U) squads to the Wisconsin Amateur Hockey Association state tournaments. The Hodag Peewee A team finished sixth in its tournament in Somerset, going 1-2 in the event. The Hodags hosted the Peewee B state tournament and the home squad fared well, going 2-1 to take third in the tournament … While the Hodag swim teams have dominated the GNC as of late, they don’t have the longest current run of success for a Rhinelander High School program. That honor belongs to the RHS boys’ tennis team, which captured its 10th consecutive conference title this past spring. Only Mosinee softball (11) has won more consecutive conference titles in the history of the GNC.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at jeremy@rivernewsonline.com.