Hodag track takes third in season opener

The Rhinelander High School track team got its first taste of competition on Thursday, bringing a handful of athletes to the Wisconsin Rapids Indoor Invite.

The Hodags placed third in both the boys’ and girls’ divisions of the five-team meet. The Hodag girls won a pair of events and scored seven individual top-five finishes, while the Hodag boys scored six top-five finishes — led by a trio of runner-up showings.

All of this was accomplished with a skeleton crew of just over 20 athletes between the two squads. The majority of the team’s athletes were gone on spring break.

“The week of spring break is always tough because we’ve got a lot of kids that go on vacation and we’ve got a lot of kids just coming off winter sports … It’s tough for them. I want them to go out, relax and get themselves ready,” Kraemer said. “The kids that were prepared to compete today, we had lots of fun. It’s always good to come out of the blocks, to get your first throws in, your first jumps in. We were able to do some of that tonight and left with a good feeling.”

Even with the limited roster, some of the incoming freshman talent for the girls’ squad made an immediate impact as both Olivia Ruetz and Kara Monk scored a pair of top two finishes.

Ruetz flashed right away in the sprints, winning the 50-meter dash (7.33 seconds). She added a second-place run in the 400 (1:10.42).

“Olivia Ruetz, she was impressive today, both in the 400 and in the 50,” Kraemer said. “She’s just got a great attitude. In the first week of coaching her, she listens, she wants to learn and she it a beast as a freshman. I’m excited to see what she’s going to do moving forward.”

    Rhinelander’s Kara Monk pulls away from Wisconsin Rapids’ Mackenzie Keip in the 1,600-meter run during the Wisconsin Rapids Indoor Invitational track meet in Wisconsin Rapids Thursday, March 14. Monk took first place in the event for the Hodags. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

Meanwhile, Monk rallied late to win the 1,600 meters (6:25.13) and took home the runner-up spot in the 800 (3:03.20).

“She understands her body and really turned it on the last two laps,” Kraemer said. “Then she came off the track in the 800 and said she could have gone a little earlier. That’s something she’s going to learn and she’s going to grow from.”

Another freshman distance runner, Avrom Barr, was one of three athletes to score a runner-up finish for the Hodag boys. He came home second in the 800 meters (2:31.23), finishing just over a second off the pace.

“Those two as freshmen coming out to run on a 133-meter track and set the times that they did was impressive early on in the season,” Kraemer said of Monk and Barr. “I hadn’t seen either one of them all year, because they’re in different places than the sprinters during practice. I was very impressed by them. I saw them last year, but they were very, very impressive as far as their times and they’re just going to keep getting better.”

    Rhinelander’s Reid Schultz competes in the shot put during the Wisconsin Rapids Indoor Invitational track meet in Wisconsin Rapids Thursday, March 14. Schultz was the runner-up in the event for the Hodags. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Junior Reid Schultz opened the season with a runner-up showing in the shot put, recording a personal-best toss of 43 feet, 2 inches. 

“Reid throwing low 43s was impressive,” Kraemer said. “He’s really coming into his own. He had an excellent wrestling season. If it weren’t for an injury he probably would have been pushing toward state in wrestling and he’s ready for track. He’s in good shape and he fired one today.”

Senior Abe Barlog was the runner-up in the boys’ 50-meter high hurdles (8.92). 

Sophomore Libbey Buchmann, who finished sixth in the WIAA D2 state meet in the discus last June, opened her season with a third-place effort in the shot put (30-6 3/4). 

Senior Payton Campbell (6.52) and sophomore Sam Zwaard (6.65) were third and fifth, respectively, in the boys’ 50-meter dash. Zwaard took third in the boys’ 400 meters (1:00.48) while sophomore Violet Biolo was third in the girls’ 50 meters (7.53).

Rhinelander added a third-place finish in the girls’ 4-lap (4x133-meter) relay with the team of Biolo, Emma Liegh Deede, Tori Stella and Lena Timphus (1:25.27).

While the Hodags had only roughly a quarter of their roster in action on Thursday, Kraemer said it was a solid way to cap off the opening fortnight of the season.

“Overall, the first two weeks, I’m impressed, I’m excited and I feel like this group’s full of potential,” he said.

The majority of the team will be back for this afternoon’s Oredocker Indoor Invitational up in Ashland, though Kraemer noted a number of freshmen are scheduled to miss the meet due to a pre-planned class trip. Regardless, Kraemer said the meet will provide a good chance to get the first marks of the season for a number of his athletes.

“It will be good to travel up to Ashland,” he said. “I always feel we get some of our best indoor numbers at Ashland just because it’s a rubberized track and there are a lot of teams. We’re excited to head up there and see what everybody can do.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].