Hodag track takes 2nd at home

The dress rehearsals are over and championship season is upon the Rhinelander High School track team. The Hodags will enter the most important stretch of their season off of a solid performance on Thursday as it took runner-up in both the boys’ and girls’ divisions of their home Rhinelander Invite at Mike Webster Stadium.

Thursday’s meet served two purposes for the Hodags. It was a final tune-up for today’s Great Northern Conference meet at Medford and it afforded all 100-some members of the team a chance to run in front of the home crowd.

“We tried to get every kid at least one event and we were successful at doing that today. I was really proud of everyone and their performances,” Hodag coach Aaron Kraemer said. “I think we’re to the point where we’re ready for conference. We’re kind of getting hit by the injury bug and sickness a little bit. We’ve got to make sure we’re prepared and healthy and I think we’ll be competitive as we go into conference and the championship season.”

Rhinelander claimed four wins on the boys’ side and added four more runner-up finishes and seven third-place finishes as the team finished 19 points behind first-place Northland Pines in the 10-team meet. The Hodag girls had three wins, three runner-up finishes and five third-place showings as they finished roughly 29 points behind Tomahawk and edged Northland Pines by four points.

The biggest highlight of the day came in the throwing events as the Hodag boys swept the top three spots in both the shot put and the discus. 

    Rhinelander’s Sam Balge throws the shot put during the Rhinelander Invitational track meet at Mike Webster Stadium Thursday, May 9. Balge won the event with a personal-best toss of 44 feet, 10 1/2 inches. It was part of a dominant day for the Hodag throwers, who went 1-2-3 in both the shot put and the discus. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Senior Sam Balge uncorked a personal best toss of 44 feet, 10 1/2 inches — the longest throw for the team this year — as he took the event ahead of juniors Logan Schwinger (43-2) and Reid Schultz (41-6 1/2). Schultz got the win in the discus (126-4) ahead of Balge (118-6) and Schwinger (116-0).

“They just keep pushing each other to be better. It’s been a long time since we had shot put throwers over 40 and into the mid 40s and pushing into the upper 40s,” Kraemer said. “These guys, they’re incredible. They’re doing a great job and every single day they seem to be feeding off each other. That’s exactly what you want in the competitive throws room … They’ve worked hard in the weight room and you can tell that’s really paying off for them.”

Not to be outdone, sophomore Libbey Buchmann won the girls’ discus for Rhinelander. She threw 118-10 in the event, beating the throw that earned her sixth place at last year’s WIAA Division 2 state meet by more than a foot and a half.

“Proud of Libbey today throwing a PR in the discus by a foot,” Kraemer said. “She’s getting better and getting ready for championship season. She knows she’s got some stiff competition. Ayla McCormick from Tomahawk uncorked a 122 earlier this week. She knows, not only in the conference, but also in the region and the section, she’s going to have Ayla to push her.”

Buchmann was joined in the winner’s circle on the girls’ side by fellow freshman Aila Bergman, who once again swept the 100-meter hurdles (17.58) and the 300 hurdles (48.35). She added a third-place run as part of the Hodags’ 4x400 relay and was runner-up in the long jump (15-10) as the Hodags try to figure out how to utilize her for maximum points at conference.

“Aila’s practiced a total of 15 minutes with me in the long jump. That will tell you how much potential she’s got and how much raw ability and talent she’s got,” Kraemer noted. “She’s a talented athlete so the last thing we want to do is break her down for something she could really push far into championship season with. I know her goal is to make it to state. We wanted to get her a field event so she could help us score points for the girls.”

Truman Lamers took the win for the Hodag boys in the high jump (5-10) while Rhinelander claimed the 4x100 with Ben Olson, Sam Zwaard, Paul Van Camp and Myles Eagleson. 

    Rhinelander’s Myles Eagleson competes in long jump during the Rhinelander Invitational track meet at Mike Webster Stadium Thursday, May 9. Eagleson finished second in the event with a jump of 20 feet, 3 1/2 inches. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Eagleson, a sophomore, had a stellar day in the horizontal jumps, taking second in both the long and the triple. He went 20-3 1/2 in the long jump and 39-4 in the triple. 

“It’s been awhile since we’ve had someone jump consistently in the 20s,” Kraemer said. “Sometimes you can see a freak jump and you’re impressed by it but, at the same time, replicating it is a whole other thing. I told him he made me a believer today. Jumping over 20 feet is something special, especially for a sophomore. I’m really proud of him.”

The Hodags continued to experiment with senior Abe Barlog in the sprints. A hurdler by trade — he took third in the 110 hurdles Thursday — Barlog ran the 200-meter dash once again and came home third with a time of 24 seconds flat. He was also part of a third-place finish in the 4x200 with Amos Bergman, Ryley Hull and Van Camp. 

“He’s making it hard on me to make a decision of who to put in the 200 on Tuesday,” Kraemer said. “The tough thing is he’s got to run the 110s and the 300 hurdles and he can score in that, too. If he wants to push for the team, he’s going to have to do all three, which is going to be tough with a prelim and a final in the 110s.”

In the girls’ sprints, junior Lexi Bishop had a strong race at home, taking third in both the 100 (13.24) and the 200 (27.68) in personal-nest times. She was also part of a third-place finish in the 4x100 with Reese Gehrig, Violet Biolo and Olivia Ruetz. 

“She’s a warrior and doing an excellent job. She just keeps getting better and better,” Kraemer said. “Two PRs tonight in those events and you never know what happens at conference. Anything can happen. I’m really proud of her and all of her accomplishments.”

The Hodag girls did well in the hurdles again. Sophomore Eva Heck finished second behind Bergman in the 300 hurdles while freshman Macy Myers took fifth. Junior Averie West added a fifth-place run in the 100 hurdles. Rhinelander took second in the 4x200 with Shyanne Hueckstaedt, Karly Gillingham, Emma Deede and Myers. Biolo, Kyleah Hartman and Ruetz joined Bergman in the third-place run in the 4x400. Brynn Teter, Maria Hubler, Kara Monk and Luna Grage were third in the 4x800.

Monk and Grage finished fifth in the 1,600 and 3,200, respectively. Hueckstaedt added a fifth-place run in the 200. 

On the boys’ side, Shawn Denis took third in the 800, Olson was fifth in the 100 and Greyson Gremban placed fifth in the 3,200. Denis, Jackson Weinzatl, Avrom Barr and Gremban were third in the 4x800. Connor Dumpprope, Eric Kelly Jr., Zwaard and Cyrus Leisure were fifth in the 4x400.

Attention now shifts to today’s conference meet in Medford where Rhinelander will look to improve upon finishes of fourth and sixth between the boys and girls at last year’s GNCs. 

The Hodags come in a bit dinged up on the boys’ side with Lamers, Zach Germain, Jackson Fuss and Dumpprope, among others, trying to navigate injury or illness. Northland Pines and Lakeland appear to be the front runners on the boys’ side, though host Medford can never be counted out either. 

“If our boys can do what they did tonight, a 1-2-3 in the shot and disc — which is going to be tough with everyone throwing their varsity athletes — and can get Truman healthy and ready to go and Miles has a good night and Truman does well in the high jump, we can walk out of there with 50, 60, 70 points and the boys’ can do a lot of things too,” Kraemer said.

The girls’ race appears to be more wide open. Upstart Tomahawk and Northland Pines have shown the best form throughout the season, but the Hodags haven’t seen the full hand from teams like Lakeland, Medford or Mosinee yet this year. 

“When there’s all this depth, you never know where things will fall,” Kraemer said. “You can count on Northland Pines scoring in the distance if Nora (Gremban) races for the girls. You count on Aila scoring well in the hurdles. A lot of things can happen though and you never know. That’s the thing, what is the meet strategy for every single team? Tomahawk’s tough. Mosinee’s always got fast girls. You never really know what’s going to happen until you run it.

“I hope they go in with their cup full. We’ve had a great season. There’s no reason to worry about whether or not we win, it’s just let’s go have our best times, best races and do the best that we can to score well — and maybe we’ll be coming home with a trophy.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].