Sports Digest

All-GNC teams announced

The All-Great Northern Conference teams for baseball, softball and girls’ soccer were officially announced Friday, with several Hodags receiving recognition.

The list confirmed information leaked by the Rhinelander High School Activities Department Facebook page a day earlier. The Hodag girls’ soccer team had eight honorees, including defensive player of the year Emma Chiamulera and co-offensive player of the year Sophie Miljevich. Both were unanimous first-team all-conference recipients. 

Senior Morgan Van Zile, freshman Ella Miljevich and freshman Vivian Lamers all received second-team honors while senior goalkeeper Mya Krouze, junior Mia Tulowitzky and senior Leah Jamison all received honorable mention.

In baseball, infielder Seth Nofftz and outfielder Dylan Vanderbunt received second-team honors, while infielder Kaden Vanney received honorable mention. In softball, freshman Chase Verbist and senior Lily Treder received both honorable mention. 

The all-conference teams were selected in voting by the GNC coaches in their respective sports during a meeting May 22 in Tomahawk. More on the honorees, and a complete list of all-conference teams, will be published in the Friday, June 7 edition of the River News.

UWSP’s Comer earns All-American, all-region honors

Rhinelander native Bradley Comer, a senior for the UW-Stevens Point baseball team, was named a NCAA Division-III All-American by both the American Baseball Coaches Association and D3Baseball.com last Thursday. 

Comer earned All-America honors for the second-straight year after a fifth-team nod by D3baseabll last season. He was a first-team all-region selection earlier in the week by both organizations. 

Comer earned all-region honors for the fourth-consecutive season. A first-team All-WIAC selection again this season, Comer led the Pointers in hitting at .371 with team-highs in home runs (14), runs batted in (53), hits (63), slugging percentage (.700) and tied for the team-lead with 12 stolen bases. This season, he became the all-time leader in program history in games played (226), home runs (51), hits (320), runs scored (225) and RBIs (251). Comer had three-straight multi-home run games in late April and was named the WIAC player of the week. He had the team's longest hitting streak of the year with 17-straight from April 20 to May 9.

The Pointers finished 26-17 overall and third in the WIAC. UWSP posted wins over ranked teams five times, including a win over top-ranked Endicott in March.

Retzlaff to attempt NASCAR Cup Series debut Aug. 24

Rhinelander native Parker Retzlaff will attempt to make his first career start in the top-tier NASCAR Cup Series Aug. 24.

Retzlaff will pilot the No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet during the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. He will attempt to earn one of the four open qualifying positions available in the up to 40-car field.

“This is the goal — racing in the NASCAR Cup Series, and especially racing at Daytona,” Retzlaff stated in a press release by Beard Motorsports last week. “It’s what I have been working for and it’s what everyone that races in the lower series work toward. It’s an exciting time getting ready to make my first start in the Cup Series and it’s an incredible opportunity to do this with Beard Motorsports. Everyone in the NASCAR garage knows what that team is capable of, especially at the superspeedways, so I’m just really excited and ready for this chance.”

The 21-year-old Retzlaff currently competes full-time for Jordan Anderson Racing in the second-tier NASCAR Xfinity Series. Following an ninth-place finish Saturday in Portland, Ore., Retzlaff sits 16th in the Xfinity Series standings. He has a pair of top-five finishes on the year — including a career-best third-place finish in the series’s season opener back in February at Daytona. 

Beard Motorsports family-owned and run team that primarily competes at drafting-style race tracks in the Cup Series. Since making its NASCAR Cup Series debut in the 2017 Daytona 500, a handful of drivers have sat behind the wheel of the No. 62 Chevrolet. The team recorded a sixth-place finish with driver Anthony Alfredo in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega, Ala. this past April.

“I love that we are able to give the opportunity to race at this level for young drivers. They are always excited to be a part of the team, to be at the track and interact with guests,” said Amie Beard, executive vice president of Beard Motorsports. “Parker certainly seems eager to prove himself and we are looking forward to working with him and helping him to further his goals.”

Hodag girls’ basketball Junior Elite Camp to run June 10-12

The Rhinelander Basketball Association, in conjunction with the Rhinelander High School girls’ basketball team will hold a three-day camp to girls entering grades 4-6 Monday, June 10 to Wednesday, June 12 at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium. 

“Led by RHS girls’ varsity basketball coach Ryan Clark and staff, this camp will focus on skill development and increasing player enjoyment for the game,” the RBA stated. “Players will participate in a variety of drills, contests, and games (2v2, 3v3, etc) to build on the basketball skills taught, as well as developing life skills such as teamwork, work ethic, sportsmanship and leadership.”

The camp will run from 1 to 2:45 p.m. each day. The cost of the camp is $30 per player and all participants will receive a complementary camp T-shirt. 

Registration is available at the following link: https://forms.gle/tmpimkFwFoLTas638. For more information, contact Clark at 715-550-0908 or visit the RBA’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/rhinelanderbasketball.