Hodag track sends 6 to state

COLBY — Prior to the start of the year, coach Aaron Kraemer hinted that this season might be the start of something special for his Rhinelander High School girls’ track team. That promise seemed to be realized Thursday in the biggest meet of the year. 

Of the six entries the girls had, half of them advanced to the WIAA state meet after placing in the top four in a WIAA Division 2 sectional in Colby.

Sophomore Libbey Buchmann will make a return trip to La Crosse in the discus and, this year, she won’t be alone. She’ll be joined by sophomore Aila Bergman, who posted a runner-up finish in the 100-meter hurdles, and by the girls’ 4x100 relay of senior foreign exchange student Lena Timphus, sophomore Violet Biolo, freshman Olivia Ruetz and junior Lexi Bishop. They edged Amery in a photo finish to take the fourth and final qualifying spot in that event.

“I’m really proud of the girls that are going through to state. They’ve earned it. It’s always good to have multiple people going. It’s a lot more fun,” Kraemer said. “The girls, last year I thought they were a few pieces away from being very, very successful. Libbey and Aila shined out and there were a lot of great things that happened, but when you add a team that won conference in middle school, add some pieces from there, you’re going to be tough, and we certainly are.”

    Rhinelander’s Libbey Buchmann throws the discus during a WIAA Division 2 sectional track meet in Colby Thursday, May 23. Buchmann finished fourth in the sectional to qualify for state with a toss (129 feet, 2 inches) that was fifth best overall in D2. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

Buchmann took fourth in a surprisingly strong field in the discus on Thursday. Though she bettered her toss from regionals, her throw of 129 feet, 2 inches was only good enough to earn the final automatic transfer spot. Arcadia’s Casidi Pehler won the event (133-11) and six of the top eight throws statewide in D2 came out of the Colby sectional.

“I was not expecting that. I’m really proud of the girls that got all of their PRs though. Most of them got like seven feet of PRs,” Buchmann said. “It feels good. I’m a little disappointed with how I threw but it got me there.”

“That’s something for a sophomore to be upset about taking fourth and going to state, but she’s got her eye set on something bigger and I don’t blame her for that,” Kraemer said. “She’s got a lot of potential and a long way to go yet. It’s going to be really cool to see what she does at state.”

Bergman will make her first state appearance. She put down the third-best qualifying time in the preliminaries of the 100 hurdles at 16.57 and then shattered her personal best in the finals, taking runner-up with a 15.86. 

“I don’t know what happened. I just went and, I don’t know, I got second. It was surprising,” Bergman said. “I felt good. I was really nervous but it helped, I guess.”

“She’s smooth on the hurdles,” Kraemer said. “She’s been working on getting nice and low and coming off the hurdle hard. Coach Rod (Olson)’s been working a ton with her just to get her times down. To take second in that race, which was extremely competitive, you can’t ask for much more of an effort from her.”

Bergman nearly punched a ticket in the 300 hurdles as well but had to settle for a school record and a fifth-place finish at sectionals in that event for a second straight year. She went 46.70 on Thursday, smashing her previous school mark by 0.17 seconds, but a slight bobble on a hurdle near the halfway portion of the race slowed her momentum as she was caught and passed by Rice Lake’s Adeline Sheplee for the final transfer spot down the stretch. 

Bergman narrowly missed earning a special exemption into the race at state, reserved for those who finish outside the top four in their sectional but have one of the eight best performances in the state. Bergman’s time was ninth-best in D2, 0.02 seconds out of eighth.

“She had one complication with a hurdle that just set her back,” Kraemer said. “That’s the unfortunate truth in a lot of sports, one mistake can end up costing you, but she still ran a great race. Fifth is a great place in this sectional. Unfortunately, it’s two years in a row, but that’s going to make her hungry to get there and now she’s going to have the experience of running at the track at La Crosse. Once you get a taste of that, it’s hard to ever want to be anywhere else.”

    Rhinelander’s Lexi Bishop receives the baton from teammate Olivia Ruetz to begin the final leg of the 4x100-meter relay during a WIAA Division 2 sectional track meet in Colby Thursday, May 23. Bishop held on to fourth place at the line by 0.04 seconds as the Hodags advanced to state in the event. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

While Bergman missed qualifying for state in another event by fractions of a second, the Hodags got there by a blink of an eye in the 4x100. Bishop outleaned Amery’s Hannah Rosenberg to the tape by 0.04 seconds to take fourth (51.04) and punch a ticket to La Crosse. That was the surprise of the day as Rhinelander came seeded eighth in the event.

“It’s kind of crazy to think about. We were just hoping to PR,” Timphus said. 

“I literally was freaking out. I started jumping up and down. I was so happy,” Ruetz said of her reaction when she realized Bishop won the race to the line. “My goal was to make it to sectionals this year and I got to state.”

“Lexi can do anything she want’s to do and she’s an unbelievable competitor,” Kraemer said. “She’s someone who just wants to win. I think this is a big step for her. Going to state and running on that track is just going to motivate her to be better in her open events. She’s already great, but it’s really cool to see a freshman go, for our German foreign exchange student, really cool for Violet, who worked her tail off last year and, of course, Lexi.”

Ruetz and Biolo were also part of an 11th-place run in the 4x400 relay with freshman Lucy Eddy and senior Kyleah Hartman. Buchmann finished 13th in the shot put, only throwing twice in the preliminaries due to a sore shoulder. 

    Rhinelander’s Myles Eagleson competes in the long jump during a WIAA Division 2 sectional track meet in Colby Thursday, May 23. Eagleson finished seventh in the event, the best finish for the Hodag boys in the sectional. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

On the boys’ side, sophomore Myles Eagleson came the closest to state, taking seventh in the long jump (20-4). His jump of 20-2 in the preliminaries was just enough to sneak into the finals in ninth place. He bettered that by two inches on his fourth jump and missed out on the top four by a half foot.

“For a sophomore to get to the finals, that’s pretty cool,” Kraemer said. “He bettered his jump from the prelims and that’s all you can ask. He’s six inches away from state. He’s the guy that works the hardest. He works his tail off, so it wouldn’t surprise me if, next year, he’s right back here and he’s taking a spot at state.”

Junior Logan Schwinger missed the finals by less than two inches in the shot put, settling for 11th in that event (46-10). Fellow junior Reid Schultz came home 12th with a personal-best toss of 46-0 1/2.

“Big PR for Reed in the shot put today. Him and Logan both, we get a little bit further and we’re talking about finals and an opportunity to throw for state,” Kraemer said. “Both of those guys had an amazing year … and we get one more year of them.”

Rhinelander took ninth in the 4x200 with the quartet of senior Abe Barlog, sophomore Sam Zwaard, sophomore Ben Olson and junior Zach Germain. Zwaard, Olson, Germain and senior Paul Van Camp took 10th in the 4x100.

“Our boys’ 4x1 and 4x2, it’s just good to get here,” Kraemer said. “We ran in a very tough sectional at Rice Lake. Those two races are extremely competitive, we know that, but they got to the sectional and they raced their best race. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to get them through but that’s another team we lose one senior on.”

The state meet takes place this coming Friday and Saturday in La Crosse. Bergman and the girls’ 4x100 team will compete in preliminaries Friday afternoon in hopes of making Saturday’s finals. Buchmann will compete Saturday morning in the discus.

“It’s the best meet that there is. I can’t wait for the girls to see it,” Kraemer said. “Libbey’s been down there, but it will be great for Aila to get that opportunity and for the young girls who are racing in this 4x1, it’s going to be life-changing for them. It’s going to be a major, monumental thing in their athletic career.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].