Gremban, Teter named Hodag XC’s fastest harriers

One day after its final race at the WIAA Division 2 state meet, the Rhinelander High School cross country team officially put a bow on its 2024 season with a banquet in the RHS commons.

The Hodags handed out eight team awards, as decided by the coaches, among seven different athletes. Senior Greyson Gremban, who helped guide the Hodag boys to their second team appearance at state in four years, earned the team’s Fastest Harrier and Most Dedicated awards. Sophomore Avrom Barr won the Long Hauler Award and senior Brody Kowieski was named the team’s most improved runner. 

On the girls’ side senior Brynn Teter won the Fastest Harrier award while fellow senior Luna Grage was named Most Dedicated. Sophomore Macy Myers won the Long Hauler award and freshman Gretchen Fiebke was selected as most improved. 

    Rhinelander High School cross country team award winners pose for a photograph following the team’s banquet in the RHS commons Sunday, Nov. 3. Pictured, from left to right, are Avrom Barr, Greyson Gremban, Brody Kowieski, Luna Grage, Macy Myers, Gretchen Fiebke and Brynn Teter. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

By the numbers, Gremban was the Hodags’ fastest runner much of the year on the boys’ side. He was the individual runner-up at the Great Northern Conference meet, took third at the WIAA Division 2 sectional in Colby and finished 48th last Sunday at the WIAA Division 2 state meet. 

Gremban was the lone runner on the squad that ran at state back in 2021 who was around to do so again in 2024. More over, coach M.J. Laggis said Gremban’s leadership, work ethic and desire to push his teammates will make him, “one of those guys you can’t replace in a program.”

“Greyson was our No. 1 guys in the majority of our races this year,” he said. “The biggest thing I can say is when people say they want success, they want this to happen or that to happen, my question is did you do the work on the front side? He does the work. That can’t be understated. He put in all the miles, all the effort. The achievement that he has wasn’t luck.”

Teter, like Gremban, was Rhinelander’s top finisher in the majority of races this year. She had a breakout senior campaign that included a fifth-place finish at conference and a ninth-place finish at sectionals, where she came within 11 seconds of qualifying as an individual for the WIAA D2 girls’ state meet.

“Brynn, from wire-to-wire, she was a totally different runner this year than last year,” Laggis said. “She had a different attitude. She carried herself differently. She got into a race and she was a bulldog. She wanted to race and race well. I was so happy with how she ran at sectionals. She was a whisker away (from qualifying) and it broke my heart, but at the same time, it made me feel good how far she came. She turned into a fantastic runner for us.”

Hot on Gremban and Teter’s heels for much of the season — and even placing ahead of them from time to time — were Barr and Myers. 

Barr was third at the conference meet, fourth and sectionals and led the Hodags with a 44th-place finish at state in a time (17:03.4) that was less than two seconds off the fastest performance the Hodags have had at state since Laggis took over the program in 2013. 

“We were talking about who’s run the fastest time at state (for Rhinelander) in the modern era and I guarantee he’s going to shatter that by the time he’s done,” Laggis said. “I want to see him continue to work that hard and stay dialed in. He’s a fantastic kid and a wonderful worker.”

Myers, in her first year of cross country, was among Rhinelander’s fastest right out of the gate and had the team’s best finishes at conference (fourth) and sectionals (eighth). She finished 7.3 seconds away from making it to state as an individual. 

“She took to it like a fish to water,” assistant coach Melissa Krueger said. “It was impressive to see her log the miles. She dealt with some aches and pains in the beginning, which is really challenging, especially if you’re new to the sport. We didn’t hear complaining. We watched her continue to log the miles. If there was every a choice at practice between the shorter route or the longer route, she took the longer route. That’s what she brings to the cross country team. Other people noticed it and are inspired by it.”

Kowieski steadily improved for the Hodags all season, after having to shut it down only weeks into last year’s campaign with a knee injury. He was consistently the No. 3 runner for the Hodags on the boys’ side and bounced back from a setback at last month’s GNC meet to finish 15th at sectionals and help the Hodag boys punch their ticket to Wisconsin Rapids. 

“Brody’s a true leader and a leader in every capacity. As a junior he had an injury that basically ended his season,” Laggis said. “When it came to that conclusion, he continued to be a leader and supportive of the team. Fast forward to his senior season he hadn’t run a race for a long time. He started slow. He started gradual … It was ‘We’re going to keep getting better week in and week out. We’re not going to get hurt. We’re going to keep getting better.’ That’s exactly what he did.”

Grage missed a number of races, especially early in the season, due to injury. Her best run of the year came in the last regular season meet at Tomahawk, where she placed ninth. She was 24th at conference and 63rd at sectionals. 

“She was always trying to give her very best and do little things that no one ever sees. She picked up every girl, getting them ready to go, getting them ready to run and I can’t say enough about the character that she displayed through out her career,” Laggis said. “She was a fantastic leader at practices, often on the bike. She was leading stuff in the weight room the best that she could and she was always, always pushing that bar of when she could run again. That was really uplifting to me because you want to see a senior finish it the right way — on the course and seeing what they can do. She did that and it did my heart a lot of good.”

Fiebke, another first-year racer, made her way into the varsity seven by the midway point of the season and became a staple there down there stretch. She narrowly missed earning all-GNC recognition, placing 23rd at conference and was Rhinelander’s No. 4 runner at sectionals, placing 45th. 

“A number of girls made some dynamic and impressive drops, either throughout the year or from year-to-year,” Laggis noted. “In her case, from where she started to where she finished, she took about 3 minutes off and she came a really long way. It’s well-deserved and we hope she’s a big part of where we’re going in the future.”

In addition to the team awards, the team recognized its four captains for the year — Gremban, Kowieski, Grage and Sophie Miljevich. 

The Hodag girls finished third at the GNC meet, losing out on second place in a tiebreaker with Medford, and finished sixth at sectionals. The Hodag boys took second at conference, but then knocked off GNC champ Lakeland to take the second and final team qualifying spot at sectionals. Rhinelander then edged out sectional champion New London in a 14th-place finish at the WIAA state meet. 

“A lot’s been said but I can’t overstate it, their accomplishment was awesome … Congratulations to you guys. It’s well-deserved and I’m super proud of you,” Laggis said in his closing remarks. “My hope is that the younger group here understands what the older group brought to you and make that go again. On the girls’ side, there’s no reason that can’t happen. The dedication is there It’s something to look forward to on all sides.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].