49 RHS athletes earn All-GNC honors

The All-Great Northern Conference teams for the spring 2024 season were officially announced by the conference last Friday, with Rhinelander High School being well-represented.

Forty-nine RHS student athletes earned all-conference recognition in one of the six sports sanctioned by the conference. Twenty-four different RHS athletes earned all-conference honors in track and field, followed by 10 in boys’ tennis, eight in girls’ soccer, three in baseball and two each in softball and golf.

Additionally, RHS swept conference player of the year honors in both soccer and tennis. Emma Chiamulera and Sophie Miljevich were the GNC defensive and co-offensive players of the year in girls’ soccer. In tennis, John Currie, Joey Belanger and Dalton Fritz were conference players of the year while Rhinelander’s Matt Nichols took home GNC coach of the year honors. 

All-conference teams in girls’ soccer, softball and baseball were voted on during GNC spring coaches meetings conducted May 20. The All-GNC track and boys’ tennis teams were determined by finishes in each sport’s respective conference championship meet while the All-GNC golf team was determined by season-long results over the seven legs of the conference tournament.

Girls’ soccer

    Rhinelander’s Sophie Miljevich deflects the ball away from Lakeland’s Jenna Klappa during a WIAA Division 3 regional final girls’ soccer game in Minocqua Saturday, June 1. Miljevich, who led the GNC in goals and total points, was named the conference’s co-offensive player of the year when the All-GNC girls’ soccer team was announced last Friday. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

Despite taking second in the conference, the Hodag girls were well-represented with two conference players of the year among their eight all-conference honorees.

In addition to their player of the year honors, both Chiamulera and Sophie Miljevich were unanimous first-team all-conference selections. Freshmen Ella Miljevich and Vivian Lamers earned second team honors, along with senior Morgan Van Zile. Seniors Leah Jamison and Mya Krouze received honorable mention along with junior Mia Tulowitzky.

“I’m not too disappointed. I’m happy and proud of the girls for what they accomplished this year,” Hodag coach Nathan Bates said. “With Sophie and Emma getting players of the year, I think that was well-deserved.”

Sophie Miljevich led the GNC with 15 goals scored during 10 conference games. She was also tied for third in assists (7) and led the conference with 37 total points. It marked Miljevich’s third straight all-conference selection. She was earned unanimous first-team honors last spring as a sophomore and was a second-team honoree as a freshman.

“The numbers spoke for themselves,” Bates said. “Since freshman year, she’s been at or near the top of the conference. Freshman year, I think she was No. 3 in the conference. Last year she was second behind (teammate) Ava (Lamers). She played great this year. She had a lot of great opportunities.”

Similarly, it marked Chiamulera’s third straight all-conference appearance. She was a first-teamer last year and earned second-team honors as a sophomore. Chiamulera anchored a Rhinelander defense that was second in the conference, allowing only four goals in 10 conference games.

“Emma, she’s been an amazing, amazing defender,” Bates said. “This year, stepping up as a captain of the defense and running her defensive line, I couldn’t be more proud of her and she deserved that whole-heartedly. She’s done a fantastic job and we’re going to miss her greatly next season.”

While happy that a number of his players were recognized, Bates said there was some consternation regarding some of the awards, based solely on the numbers. Sophie Miljevich shared offensive player of the year honors with Medford’s Sierra Tessmann, who had only three goals on the season and did not finish in the top 10 an any of the three major offensive statistical categories kept by the conference. 

Ella Miljevich and Lamers received only second-team honors despite having some of the best statistics in the league. Lamers was tied for second in the conference in goals (8) and was fifth in total points (17), while Ella Miljevich led the GNC in assists (12) was tied for second in total points (24) and tied for fifth in goals (6).

“One of my girls was top two in the conference in terms of points standings with goals and assists and she ended up with a second-team award,” Bates said. “Truthfully, in my opinion, I think that’s not right. Vivian Lamers was also in tied in the top three and she also, in my opinion, should have been first. 

“At the end of the day, I do think it was well-deserved with the number of awards that we received this year but I think there needs to be something fixed when it comes to the top players in the conference for things that we can show, statistically proven on paper.”

It was a similar story for Van Zile, who also tied for second in goals (8) and was fourth in the conference in total points (20) as she earned second-team honors.

“Morgan Van Zile’s been a pivotal part of this team and has done an amazing job,” Bates noted. “She’s stepped up in a major way this year. I’m very, very proud of her and her second team award is fantastic.”

Jamison tied for third in the conference in assists (7) while Tulowitzky was a key piece on the defensive line with Chiamulera. Krouze earned all-conference honors in goal for a third straight year. She was second in the league in goals against average (0.27) and third in save percentage (.882).

“Mia had a huge role this year,” Bates said. “Leah Jamison also has been a utility player for us. Anywhere we’ve needed her, she’s stepped and done the job. She’s played forward. She played defense part of the season, she played midfield. 

“Mya, as goalkeeper, in my opinion, should have been in the top two based off goals allowed, which showed how strong out defensive line was this season.”

In addition to the three conference players of the year, Mosinee’s Kaitlyn Selle and Northland Pines’ seniors Zoe Anderson and Sarah Nagel received unanimous first team honors. Lakeland’s Stephanie Hartzheim and Medford’s Tanya Tessmann shared coach of the year honors. 

Baseball

    In this April 13, 2024 file photo, Rhinelander’s Seth Nofftz lays down a bunt during a non-conference baseball game at Wisconsin Rapids. Nofftz, a junior, received second team honors when the All-GNC baseball team was announced last Friday. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

Despite a one-win season and a last-place finish in the Great Northern Conference, the RHS baseball team had decent representation in the all-conference voting. 

A pair of juniors, infielder Seth Nofftz and outfielder Dylan Vanderbunt, earned second-team honores while senior Kaden Vanney received honorable mention.

“We got some pretty good representation for the season that we had,” Hodag coach Joe Waksmonski said. “I thought Seth, Dylan and Kaden, all three just happened to be our 1-2-3 hitters in our lineup and, for the most part, they did produce during the conference season. They got to get some recognition for that.”

Nofftz was the only Hodag player to crack the conference leaderboard in an offensive category, as his 15 total hits were tied for fourth in the league. Nofftz, who was the Hodags’ everyday shortstop this spring, hit . 349 in the conference with three doubles, an RBI and a pair of stolen bases.

“Seth, being a top-of-the-lineup hitter, he put together some really good at-bats and had some hits,” Waksmonski said. “He’d get streaky at times. Whenever he was on the bases, he was also a threat to run. I felt that’s why the coaches had him at second-team.”

Vanderbunt hit .333 with 13 RBIs in conference play while Vanney hit .344 with three doubles and a team-best nine RBIs in the GNC.

“Dylan, just having the ability to bunt the ball to get on base, and like Seth, to have the speed and be a base-running threat,” Waksmonski said. “Kaden was our No. 3 hitter in the lineup and you could see him getting better as the year wore on, especially in the conference season. Even a couple of the outs he had this year were loud outs. A lot of teams respected that.”

Mosinee’s Keagen Jirschele was a unanimous first-teamer as both a pitcher and an infielder as he earned conference player of the year honors. Medford’s Justin Hraby was voted conference coach of the year for the third time in four seasons.

Softball

    In this April 11, 2024 file photo, Rhinelander’s Chase Verbist puts the ball in play during a GNC softball game at Mosinee. Verbist, a freshman, led the Hodags in batting this spring and received honorable mention when the All-GNC softball team was announced last Friday. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

The Hodag softball team, which tied for last in the GNC, received a pair of honorable mentions with senior Lily Treder and freshman Chase Verbist. 

The two, statistically, were Rhinelander’s best offensive players. Verbist hit a team-best .414 in the conference with three doubles and three RBIs. 

“She was talked about very highly from every single coach in our conference,” Hodag softball co-coach Sadie Adamski said. “She might have been quite, but she was still a quiet leader. She was talked about for her hitting. Coaches noted how well she hit the ball all season long.” 

Treder, a second-team honoree in 2023, hit .308 with a team-best four RBIs. During the team’s banquet this past Sunday, Adamski noted that Treder lost out in a tie-breaking vote for one of the final spots on the second team. 

“All the conference coaches were very impressed with her shortstop play as well as her outfield,” co-coach Ali Bender said. “Constantly, other coaches would come up to us and say, ‘your centerfielder’s a stud.’ She’s just an all-around athlete. She was great to her teammates, hit really well this year. That was awesome to see.” 

Lakeland pitcher Saylor Timmerman and Mosinee infielder Taelyn Jirschele shared player of the year honors in the conference. Lakeland’s Whitney Furtak and Mosinee’s Cody Brietzke earn co-coach of the year honors.

Other sports

The All-GNC track, boys’ tennis and golf teams were previously determined based upon conference performances. 

The Hodags had 13 different athletes earn first-team all-conference honors in track and field by winning at least one event at the GNC meet in Medford. Sophomore Aila Bergman made the first team twice with wins in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, as did sophomore Violet Biolo and freshman Olivia Ruetz who were on the conference-winning girls’ 4x100 and 4x400 relays. Lena Timphus and Lexi Bishop joined the two in the 4x100 and Lucy Eddy and Kyleah Hartman rounded out the 4x400.

Additionally, Libbey Buchmann took first-team honors in girls’ shot put, Myles Eagleson was the conference champ in the boys’ triple jump and the Hodags earned first team in the boys’ 4x100 relay with Zach Germain, Ben Olson, Sam Zwaard and Paul Van Camp.

Buchmann and Eagleson also earned second-team honors — in girls’ shot put and boys’ long jump, respectively. Abe Barlog was the conference runner-up in the boys’ 300 hurdles while Logan Schwinger took second-team honors in the boys’ shot put. The Hodag girls claimed second team in the 4x200 relay with Shyanne Huecksteadt, Nicole Long, Karly Gillingham and Emma Deede the Hodag boys were second in the 4800 with Shawn Denis, Jackson Weinzatl, Greyson Gremban and Avrom Barr. 

Schwinger received honorable mention in the boys’ discus, Germain took third in the boys’ 100 meters and Connor Dumppprope received honorable mention in the boys’ 300 hurdles.

In tennis, the Hodags earned all-conference honors in every flight, including five first-team awards.

By winning the conference titles at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles, Currie, Belanger and Fritz earned conference player of the year honors along with spots on the first team. Zacha King took first-team honors at No. 4 singles, and the Hodags also won the conference titles at No. 2 doubles with Dawson Pontell and Michael Schiek, and at No. 3 doubles with Aiden Ostermann and Karter Massey.

Nick Lesch and Payton McCue received honorable mention thanks to third-place finish at Nos. 2 and 3 singles, respectively. 

In golf, players received points each time they finished inside the top 10 in one of the seven legs of the conference golf tournament, with the winner receiving 10 points, down to one point to the 10th-place finisher. The top 15 in the conference standings after the final round earned all-conference honors. 

Sam Schoppe finished sixth in the conference point standings, earning a spot on the second team while Brody Kowieski finished 11th and received honorable mention. 

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].