31 Hodags earn all-GNC honors

Rhinelander High School had a total of 31 athletes garner All-Great Northern Conference honors during the 2024 sports season, including two who earned co-player of the year honors in their respective sports.

Senior Karter Massey was named the co-defensive player of the year in boys’ soccer while sophomore Celia Francis shared GNC swimmer of the year honors. 

The awards and all-conference teams were announced Monday by the GNC. Overall, girls’ swimming led the way for Rhinelander with 22 all-conference awards among 10 different swimmers. The Hodag cross country team garnered eight awards, followed by boys’ soccer with seven, football with five and volleyball with one. 

All-conference teams in football, boys’ soccer and volleyball were based on the results of voting by the coaches in each of those respective sports during virtual meetings conducted last Wednesday. Awards in girls’ swimming, cross country and girls’ tennis were based on the results of each sport’s conference meet, with the exception of swimmer of the year, which was voted upon this past Sunday by the conference coaches. 

In boys’ soccer, Massey shared the defensive player of the year award with Northland Pines senior Nick Boxrucker. Both were anchors of their respective defenses. Boxrucker’s Eagles allowed 0.8 goals per game, the second best rate in the GNC while Massey’s Hodags were third in the GNC at 2.0 goals allowed per contest. 

“Karter Massey, I also believe he’s one of the better players in the conference on defense,” Hodag boys’ soccer coach Nathan Bates said. “Karter was the force back there.”

    Rhinelander’s Malia Francis competes in the 100-yard backstroke during the GNC girls’ swimming meet in Colby Friday, Oct. 25. Francis, who won four events at the conference meet, was voted the conference’s co-swimmer of the year. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Francis was the only swimmer to win four events at last Friday’s GNC girls’ swim meet in Colby. Individually, she claimed the 200-yard individual medley and the 100 backstroke. She was also part of the Hodags’ winning 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay teams. 

“She really swam well and she’s getting sharper and her turns looked great,” Hodag coach Jenny Heck said of Francis’s performance following Friday’s meet. “This is what we need from her. She’s really showing some strength. It’s kind of coming together.” 

She shared that award with Lakeland junior Olivia Mickle, who was given the honor for the second time in three years. Mickle scored wins in the 200 and 500 freestyle on Friday night. 

As for the rest of the Hodags’ All-GNC honorees:

Football

Rhinelander earned five all-conference awards in football. On offense, senior Reid Schultz received second-team honors on the line while junior running back Cyrus Leisure received honorable mention. On defense, the Hodags had a pair of second teamers in senior linebacker Sam Schoppe and senior defensive back Truman Lamers while junior Caden Sieker received honorable mention in an injury-shortened season. 

The Hodags were allowed to nominate only five players because of the slotted system the GNC uses for all-conference recognition. Rhinelander was given the least nominations due to its last-place finish in the conference.

“We had to choose wisely,” Hodag football coach Aaron Kraemer said. “We were between a couple of different guys. There was some special stuff done this year. I know it didn’t shake out the way we wanted it to, but there were some guys that had nice numbers, some guys that did some great things that were deserving of the recognition.”

Offensively, Leisure and Schultz were a big part of a unit that was third in the league in rushing and fourth in total yards. Schultz earned credit as the leader of the Hodags’ offensive line.

“Reid is a mauler,” Kraemer said. “A lot of the offensive linemen on the list are the leaders of their teams and he certainly belongs in that conversation.”

Meanwhile, Leisure finished eighth in rushing yards (336) in the conference, despite missing a game late in the season and having the fewest attempts of anyone inside the top 10. Leisure’s 8.2-yard per carry average was second in the GNC, behind only offensive player of the year Paxton Rothmeier of Medford. 

“Cyrus is deserving of the recognition because of his yards-per-carry average,” Kraemer said. “It’s hard to deny when you look at the rest of the conference, when a guy’s got over eight yards per carry and is second to Paxton Rothmeier in yards per carry, that’s pretty special.”

Lamers finished tied for the league lead with five interceptions from his safety position but was bypassed for first-team honors by Medford’s Evan Wilkins, Merrill’s EJ Weix, Mosinee’s Treve Stoffel and Tomahawk’s Brayden Larson. Larson was the only one of that group to record multiple interceptions in conference play this year (4).

While Kraemer said he was surprised Lamers was passed over for first-team honors because of his individual numbers, he conceded a Rhinelander defense that finished seventh in points allowed, seventh in yards allowed and No. 6 against the pass likely hurt his case. 

“The hard thing is when you don’t perform as an entire defense at a high level, it’s hard to get that recognition, because defense is such a team-based event,” Kraemer said. “In my mind he’s one of the best safeties in the conference, if not the best safety. I’m really proud of the way that he played. I’m really proud of the way he grew into his position. He’s a three-year starter there and well-deserving of the recognition.” 

Of Schoppe’s 60 tackles on the season, 48 came in GNC play, which ranked sixth-best in the conference. Schoppe was also tied for sixth in tackles for loss (6) and recovered two fumbles in league play.

“Sam Schoppe’s the leading tackler of our defense and a guy that made some really big stops for us,” Kraemer said. “He had a really, really nice senior season and I know he would feel the same way. He’s definitely deserving of that honor at the inside linebacker position.”

Sieker received recognition despite missing two games, and parts of two others, due to issues with a shoulder he injured against Tomahawk and re-injured against Mosinee that eventually cost him the remainder of his season. Even in limited playing time, Sieker was tied for fifth in the league in sacks (3) 10th in the league in tackles for loss (10).

“Caden, shortened season for him but a guy that a lot of the coaches remembered because he’s a dominant player on the defensive side of the ball,” Kraemer said. “When he played he was one of the best defensive linemen in the conference, there’s no question.” 

Medford swept the special awards in the GNC with Rothmeier earning offensive player of the year, Wilkins receiving defensive player of the year and Ted Wilson earning coach of the year. 

Soccer

In addition to Massey, senior goalkeeper Barak Rappley earned first-team honors for the RHS boys’ soccer team, headlining the squad’s list of seven all-conference recipients. 

Rappley’s 66 saves during conference play were the second-most in the league — and that was despite missing a game and a half due to injury. He led the league with a .857 save percentage and his 1.29 goals against average was third in the conference. 

“In my opinion, he’s the best goalkeeper in the conference. That was well deserved,” Bates said.

Senior Hart Hokens received second-team honors for Rhinelander while four players received honorable mention — defender Aiden Ostermann, midfielders Charlie Johnson and Michael Schiek and forward Asher Rivord. 

Offensively, Hokens had the best numbers of the group. His five goals ranked seventh in the GNC. Schiek had two goals and two assists in league play, Johnson had a goal and two assists and Ostermann recorded an assist. 

“I’m very pleased with the haul we got this year. I’m very happy with the boys and they should be pretty happy, too,” Bates said.

Lakeland’s Dominic Gironella and Northland Pines’ Cody Vojta shared offensive player of the year honors while Lakeland’s Ihor Myshchyshyn was voted coach of the year. 

Volleyball

    In this Sept. 10, 2024 file photo, Rhinelander’s Libbey Buchmann puts up a block against Antigo’s Sydnie Heinzen during the first set of a GNC volleyball match at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium. Buchmann was voted second-team All-GNC in volleyball, Rhinelander’s first honoree of second team or better since 2017. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

The Hodag volleyball team had only one all-conference honoree, but it was a noteworthy one as junior Libbey Buchmann was named to the second team. That marked the first since 2017 that any Hodag has earned more than honorable mention in the GNC. That year Hope Wissbroecker was a unanimous first-team selection and conference player of the year while libero Stephanie Kuester was named to the second team. 

Buchmann recorded a team-best 78 kills in conference play while recording a .094 attacking percentage. Additionally, Buchmann’s 3.22 digs per set were the second most in the conference for a non-libero, behind only Tomahawk’s Claire Albert (3.26).

“That is the big one I was hoping for,” RHS volleyball coach Jayme Wyss said. “Could not have asked for higher being that we are so far down and her hitting percentage just isn’t at first team. But she deserves it the recognition.”

Medford and Mosinee shared both player and coach of the year honors after splitting the GNC title. Medford’s Kayla Baumgartner and Mosinee’s Bridget Frye were the co-players of the year while Medford’s Ashley Jochimsen-McCarron and Mosinee’s Justin Jacobs shared coach of the year honors.

Other sports

The remainder of the all-conference lists were determined through each sports respective conference meet. 

In swimming, Francis, Ella Heck, Ellyse Younker, Lily Thorsen, Vivian Lamers, June Chiamulera and Millie Gruett all received first-team honors by winning at least one event. Chiamulera, Thorsen, Younker, Heck and Gruett joined Kiley Pooch, Rylee Mickevicius and Emma Houg by earning second-team honors at some point during the meet. Receiving honorable mention for third-place finishes were Younker, Gruett, Mickevicius and Pooch.

In cross country, the top seven finishers at the GNC meet Oct. 19 in Eagle River earned first-team awards, with positions 8-14 earning second team and positions 15-21 receiving honorable mention.

On the boys’ side, Greyson Gremban and Avrom Barr earned first-team honors for Rhinelander after finishing second and third, respectively, at conference. Ayden Myers (12th) made the second team while Michael Brunette (15th) received honorable mention. 

Macy Myers (fourth) and Brynn Teter (fifth) were first-team honorees for the Hodag girls while Hayley Schiek (15th) and Sophie Miljevich (21st) received honorable mention. 

Rhinelander failed to place any players in the top three in individual flights at the GNC girls’ tennis tournament and thus failed to receive any all-conference honors for the first time since joining the conference in 2010.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].