New faces stand out for Hodag track at Tomahawk

The Rhinelander High School track team went with a lighter lineup on Tuesday as it competed in the Hatchet Invite in Tomahawk. Without a number of the team’s top-end athletes in the lineup, the Hodags finished third on the girls’ side and fifth on the boys’ side in the six-team meet.

Though early afternoon rain and the threat of evening storms put the meet in question for some time, coach Aaron Kraemer said the Hodags’ altered lineup had nothing to do with the weather and everything to do with giving some of its top competitors a break prior to next Tuesday’s conference meet in Medford. 

“We came off Otto (Bacher) on Friday assessing our athletes, seeing where we are at. We knew what we needed to do was allow our varsity athletes some time to rest,” he said. “There were some other varsity athletes that wanted to try our some different events. We wanted to give them that opportunity to run if they wanted to run but, for the most part, what we were trying to do is prepare our athletes for championship season here. Coming off a Friday meet, we knew we needed to give them a little more time to rest before they’re ready to go.”

Despite that, the Hodags still posted some solid results, winning four events on the girls’ side and scoring four other top-three finishes. Though Rhinelander was shut out of the winner’s circle on the boys’ side, the Hodags tallied a pair of runner-up finishes and three third-place showings. 

“I’m really, really proud of the way we competed today. We had a bunch of different things going on and a bunch of different (relay) teams that hadn’t run together,” Kraemer said. “It was good to get everybody out on the track. It’s hard when you’ve got a team of 100 athletes to get them all equal reps and playing time, especially when you’re trying to build a great team for the future. It was nice to see all of our athletes get an opportunity today and we had some really nice things happen.”

While top hurdler Aila Bergman was among those who rested on Tuesday, the Hodags still fared well in those events on the girls’ side thanks to junior Averie West. She won the 100-meter hurdles by more than a second and a half (19.40 seconds) and then came back later in the meet to take the 300 hurdles by roughly three-quarters of a second (56.29).

“We really missed her last year and she’s really come on strong this season,” Kraemer said. “Coach Rod (Olson)’s been working with her really, really well and, for her, it’s just about getting back into the fold, getting back into the rhythm. It’s nice to have a good set of hurdlers and kind of a 1-2 punch with her and Aila. She did a great job today. She carried the torch for the hurdles crew and won both of the events.”

Freshmen Olivia Ruetz and Macy Myers went 1-2 for the Hodags in the 400 meters. Ruetz’s time of 1:04.77 was the fastest posted by the team this season, and may complicate some decisions later this month as the team deliberates whether to run her in that event, or the 4x100 relay that immediately follows the 400 in the program.

“For her, we’re discussing where she fits best. She’s very conscious of where she can score and what she can do to make it to sectionals,” Kraemer said. “As a freshman, that’s her biggest goal, to do that. All that we can do is get the time for her and see where she stacks up with the rest of the region and give her the opportunity to do that. The tough thing is she’s a big part of the 4x1 team. That’s a difficult combination to do in a meet because you run a lactic effort in the 400 and it takes a long time to recover from that effort. If she fits in there for regionals and she feels like she can make it (to sectionals) then that may be the way that she goes.”

Sophomore Eva Heck scored the other win for the Hodags on Tuesday, claiming the high jump. Her leap of 4 feet, 6 inches was her best since last year’s regional competition, when she cleared 4-8 to qualify for sectionals.

“Eva’s been working very, very hard on getting her numbers back to where she was last year,” Kraemer noted. “For her, it’s just the consistency of her run. She has pretty good in-air mechanics and she works really, really hard to be really good at the high jump. She spends time on the weekends and time at practice with coach (Kayann) Kraemer. I’m not surprised by it. It took her a little while to get back into the track fold, but you saw that last year, as the season went on, she just got stronger and stronger. That’s what you want from your athletes. You want them peaking at the best times.”

On the boys’ side, Cyrus Leisure scored a runner-up finish in the 400 (57.52) and was part of a fourth-place finish in the 4x800 relay with Jonathan Campbell, Billy Leisure and Allen Wisnewski. 

“Cyrus is the middle distance king,” Kraemer said. “That’s what he’s been doing, running the 800, running the 400. I’m proud of his versatility. He’s a kid who’s got a quirky side to him but he certainly throws it down in the 400 and he did a great job today.”

Senior Abe Barlog took a night off from hurdles and showcased his raw sprinting speed. He came home third in the 200 meters (24.20) and was part of a runner-up finish in the 4x100 with Paul Van Camp, Kaden Worrall and Andrew Eckrich. 

Barlog is not the first hurdler who has dabbled in the sprints his senior year. Cole Worrall did the same two years ago as he took the 200 along with the 110 and 300-meter hurdles en route to GNC runner of the year honors. 

“Abe, he looked up to Cole a lot and that’s something Cole did at the end of his senior year, start running the 200,” Kraemer said. “Abe knows that he’s going to help us out in the hurdles and do a great job there, but it’s also his senior year and he wants to do the best he can to help us win a conference championship. His goal’s to get under 24 in the 200. He might fit in there. We’re looking for another person in our 4x2, which is dominated by seniors.”

Karly Gillingham took third for the Hodags in the long jump and was part of a third-place run in the girls 4x200 with Shyanne Hueckstaedt, Emma Deede and Millie Gruett. Kayla Skubal, Teagan Turcotte, Zoey Walker and Gruett ran to a third-place finish in the 4x400. 

Deede was fourth in the 100 while Ruetz and Turcotte took fourth and fifth in the high jump. Rhinelander was fourth in the 4x100 with an all-freshman lineup of Morgan Cahee, Arieanna Crossman, Taylor Dahlquist and Madalyn Soulier.

Grady DeBay, Marshal Durkee, Austin Sparling and Josh Haselton made up the third-place quartet for the Hodags in the 4x200 while Eric Kelly Jr., Sparling, Haselton and Eckrich took third in the 4x400. 

Eric Parish took fourth in the discus, Amos Bergman was fifth in the 300 hurdles and Landon Catlin took fifth in the triple jump. 

Rhinelander hosted the Hodag Invite Thursday at Mike Webster Stadium, which concluded after press time for today’s edition. In addition to serving as a final dress rehearsal prior to the GNC meet, Kraemer said it was an opportunity to showcase the team’s talents to the home crowd.

“I think the most important thing is to show our work to all of our parents who have done a great job supporting us and show out at our home meet,” he said. “That’s the biggest thing.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].