Hodag boys first, girls second at Hatchet Invite

TOMAHAWK — The Rhinelander High School boys’ cross country team hopes everything is falling into place as it looks to go toe-to-toe with defending Great Northern Conference champion Lakeland this coming weekend. 

The Hodags won their final tune-up Saturday, placing four runners in the top 10 as they took the Hatchet Invite at Tomahawk High School. It marked Rhinelander’s third-straight meet win on the boys’ side and second straight with Lakeland in the field.

There was a bit caveat, however, as the T-Birds rested a number of their varsity starters and didn’t qualify for a team score on Saturday. Still, Hodag coach M.J. Laggis said his squad had a great day as it prepares to make a run at its second GNC title in four years this coming Saturday in Eagle River. 

“We had a really good run today,” he said. “I think this is as good of a Saturday as we could have had — no injuries and everyone’s really feeling good. I don’t think you can do any better than we did today.” 

“We wanted to have a good mindset today. We know that this day doesn’t matter like next Saturday matters, but we wanted to get in the right mindset and kind of (treat it as) a dress rehearsal,” Laggis added.

The Hodag girls were the runners-up behind GNC-favorite Tomahawk on Saturday while Lakeland didn’t place with a number of its normal starters sitting out on the girls’ side as well.

    Rhinelander’s Avrom Barr leads teammate Greyson Gremban down the final stretch of the Hatchet Invite in Tomahawk Saturday, Oct. 12. Barr and Gremban finished second and third overall for the Hodags, who placed all seven of their varsity runners in the top 15 overall. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

The Hodags were once again led by the 1-2 punch of sophomore Avrom Barr and senior Greyson Gremban, with Barr winning the battle between the two. He came home second overall covering he 5K course in a time of 16 minutes, 37.3 seconds. Gremban was only eight seconds up the trail in third and both finished within a minute of race winner Taylor Karcz of Crandon.

“I thought they really did well. About the two-mile mark they were just pounding together and Avrom eventually took control there and beat Greyson. But they both looked really good. They’re feeding off each other,” Laggis said.

All seven of Rhinelander’s varsity runners earned medals by placing inside the top 15 individually. Senior Brody Kowieski posted his best run of the season, taking fifth overall at 17:47.9, sophomore Jackson Weinzatl was eighth at 18:22.3 and freshman Michael Brunette was 11th at 18:28.0. Junior Ayden Myers finished 14th in his second start of the year (18:46.2) and freshman Grant Gremban came home 15th at 18:47.6.

“Brody’s really coming on. I love the way he’s working. Jackson had a great race and so did Mikey. Grant Gremban has improved incredibly this year and have Ayden in the mix is really nice,” Laggis said noting all seven of his varsity runners posted sub 19-minute times. “We’ve never had it, but our mindset is Lakeland’s going to have it too. We can’t rest on it.”

The Hodags were without senior Brynn Teter, who rested Saturday with a minor injury. Sophomore Macy Myers led the team in her absence, taking seventh on the day with a time of 22:18.4.

    Rhinelander runners, from left to right, Luna Grage, Macy Myers, Hayley Schiek and Kara Monk run together during the Hatchet Invite in Tomahawk Saturday, Oct. 12. The Hodags placed six runners in the top 16 at they finished second in the girls’ division. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

The story for the Hodags, however, was the wall of runners it had for much of the race. All six of Rhinelander’s varsity runners ran near each other for the better part of the opening mile and a half before eventually spacing out. 

Senior Luna Grage posted her best finish of the year, coming home ninth at 22:38.5, senior Sophie Miljevich was 11th at 22:52.5. Then the Hodags had three straight sophomores cross the line with Hayley Schiek (23:09.9), Kara Monk (23:11.7) and Ella Miljevich (23:25.1) in 14th, 15th and 16th. 

“I thought they looked pretty strong and ran pretty good times,” Laggis said. “Not having Brynn there, it’s a little deceiving. It would be nice to have her there, but I thought Luna really looked good, and Sophie. You look at the front part with Macy there, they ran well. It will be nice to see what that looks like with Brynn back next week.”

Tomahawk placed five runners in the top 10 to edge Rhinelander 27-51 for the girls’ title. Antigo’s Lillian L’Esperance won the girls’ race with a time of 19:42.5. 

The Hodags’ attention now turns to the conference meet this Saturday at Northland Pines. Laggis said both sides should figure to be in the mix for a strong showing, but it will take a good week of preparation.

“I think this week staying healthy will be huge. We’ve had a lot of sickness but I think, maybe, we went through that at the right time,” he said. “Then it’s just being in the right mental mindset. I love it when we feel like the underdog and feel like we’ve got to come out and prove something. We just seem to be our best then.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].