1981 Alpine ski team inducted into Hodag Hall of Fame

Assistant coach Jim Reevs said he never questioned that the 1981 WIARA state-champion Rhinelander High School boys’ Alpine ski team would one day get its moment in the sun. 

It took a little more than four decades but, Wednesday night, that moment was realized. 

The team was inducted in the Rhinelander Athletic Booster Club’s Hodag Hall of Fame during the ABC’s 42nd annual banquet at The Pines Event Center.

The story of the celebration of the team’s upset win over Brookfield that year was similar to that of state championship teams recently honored in the Hodag city. There was a police and fire department escort back into town and a school-wide assembly recognizing the team’s accomplishments. 

How Rhinelander celebrates its champions was the all the assurance Reevs needed to know that, one day, the team would be immortalized in the hall of fame.

“The recognition that we’ve gotten really means something,” he said during his remarks. “In Marquette (Mich.), the boys team won eight years in a row the state meet. They didn’t have an assembly. I don’t know if they’ll get inducted into the hall of fame. I don’t know if they were really appreciated or not. This is a huge appreciation.” 

“I want to thank the Rhinelander Athletic Booster Club for sponsoring this event,” he added. “It really does make a difference in peoples lives. We talked about the impact sports has on young people and here we are, 40 years later being recognized for being state champions back in 1981.”

Reevs spoke on behalf of the team and head coach, Bill Schneider who was inducted with the team posthumously. Assistant coach Charlotte Schneider was also in attendance along with team members Todd Bessey, Eric Eggman, Brian Kief, Greg McGuire, Bart Musil, Dan Peterich, Tom Schneider and Bob Shoberg. Team members Shane Arneson, Terry Haese and exchange student Henk Twisk were unable to attend.  

Reevs started by telling how the then owners of the Camp 10 ski area near Rhinelander did not want the team training there that year, which led to the Hodags striking a working relationship with Ski Brule in Iron River, Mich. That ended up being a fortunate twist of fate when the WIARA state meet moved from Rib Mountain in Wausau to Ski Brule due to poor early-March snow conditions. 

Reevs noted that the Hodag squad was somewhat intimidated by a dominant Brookfield squad from the Southern Conference, which showed up to the state meet with aerodynamic ski suits and a different set of skis for each event — uncommon luxuries for interscholastic racing back in the early 1980s. That prompted Reevs to summon the team back on the bus for a pre-race pep talk.

“When this day is over, it’s not going to be the racing suits, it’s not going to be the three pairs of skis. The best team in the State of Wisconsin is going to walk away with the championship today,” he said.

The Hodags’ depth showed through that day, placing five skiers in the top 19 in a field of more than 90 competitors as the edged Brookfield for the crown. Tom Schneider had a runner-up showing in giant slalom, was third in slalom and placed third overall in the meet. Musil finished eighth, Shoberg was 12th, Peterich finished 14 and Eggman was 19th overall following a runner-up showing in the downhill. 

Ultimately, Reevs said team chemistry was the secret weapon that put the Hodags over the top.

“Our team chemistry was unbelievable,” he said. “The people that skied together, how they supported each other, how they met every night before the race and tuned their skies, you hear of Super Bowl champions or World Cup champions, World Series champions, they always talk about the chemistry of the team was special. The chemistry of this teams was really special, too.” 

The squad was the fourth state-champion Alpine ski team to be inducted into the Hodag Hall of Fame, joining the 1967 squad (2014) and the 1963 and ’65 squads (2015). Reevs thanked Gene Belmas, coach of the 1967 team and the one who nominated the other state-champion ski squads, for working to get the 1981 team inducted as well.

“If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here,” Reevs said. “Gene was the one that submitted this and submitted our names so we could be recognized. Thanks a bunch, Gene. We really appreciate what you have done.”

Finlan, Kreitlow receive Heart of the Hodag

    Pat Finlan, left, speaks, while Jim Kreitlow looks on during the Rhinelander ABC Banquet Wednesday, May 29. Finlan and Kreitlow, both long-time coaches with the Rhinelander wrestling program, received the ABC’s Heart of the Hodag Award for their dedication to the community. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

The Hall of Fame induction was only part of the program on Wednesday night. The club’s second-highest honor, the Heart of the Hodag Award, was presented to longtime wrestling coaches Pat Finlan and Jim Kreitlow, who have each supported the Hodag wrestling program for more than 35 years. 

Paul Ellenbecker, who served as Hodag wrestling head coach from 2012-2021, was tasked with trying to get both to attend the banquet under the ruse that each was to present the award to the other. However, Ellenbecker said it didn’t take long for him to realize he was going to have a hard time keeping a secret, especially from Finlan.

“About probably 30 seconds into it, I’m thinking, ‘I’m talking to a lawyer. He’s way smarter than me. He’s going to figure this out.’” Ellenbecker said. “The ABC couldn’t have made a better choice, picking these two men. Both of them are deserving of this award. I’m proud of you guys.”

Ellenbecker credited Finlan’s ability to work with any wrestler, regardless of their skill level, and Kreitlow for his tireless fitness plan and work ethic that has earned him the nickname “The Machine” in local wrestling circles. 

While Finlan may be viewed as the more soft-spoken of the two, Kreitlow recalled the mistake he made in his early years with the program when he challenged Finlan to a match. 

“I didn’t realize that Pat was a state champion at Two Rivers High School, wrestled for the Wisconsin Badgers and was fifth in the Olympic Trails in 1988,” Kreitlow quipped. “I went and did my best, but I don’t think I scored a point.”

Both men said they were grateful for the honor during their remarks.

“It’s such an honor to receive this. It’s a terrific thing for this community to do,” Finlan said. “That’s why we do it. We love the kids. We want to see them grow. We want to teach them, build character, teach them how to win, teach them how to lose, teach them to be part of a team.”

Added Kreitlow, “It’s been a lot of great years with Pat and I want to thank him for all of his years of coaching. I want to say thank you to the ABC for nominating both Pat and I. I really appreciate this award. It’s fantastic and something that I’ll always cherish.”

Other honors

Additionally, the ABC recognized its two student-athlete scholarship winners from the Class of 2024 — Owen Kurtz and Emma Chiamulera. 

The ABC also honored the 2023 RHS girls’ swim team for its WIAA Division 2 state championship and the 2024 RHS boys’ swim team for its runner-up finish at the D2 state meet. 

In his remarks, ABC president Brandon Karaba noted that the ABC gave back $32,860 to the Rhinelander community — which allowed the club to surpass $400,000 in donations since 2002. In addition, Karaba thanked Scott Borths and Ali Shoeder from Shoeder’s RV and Marine for co-sponsoring a raffle with the ABC again in 2023. In two years, Karaba noted that raffle has generated roughly $80,000 that has done directly back to participating sports teams that sold raffle tickets. 

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].