RHS girls 1st, boys 3rd at Marathon Invite

The Rhinelander High School track team got outdoors for the first time on Thursday and put up some strong results that it hopes will bode well next month once championship season rolls around.

The Hodag girls won four events and had 23 top-five finishes overall as they won the 10-team Marathon Invite. The Hodag boys racked up a win and 15 top-five finishes as it came home in third place. 

Not only was it the first outdoor meet of the season, after last Tuesday’s Hodag Hybrid meet was canceled due to inclement weather, it provided an opportunity for a number of athletes to try their hand at several different events. 

“We put in a lot of entries tonight,” Hodag girls’ track coach Andy Wyss said. “I submitted over 200 entries between the boys’ and the girls’ teams and there were a lot of kids with four events. We really tried to take advantage of the fact that the entries were unlimited and we had our first outdoor meet canceled at home. So we’re going to take advantage of the opportunity while it’s here.”

Junior Aila Bergman had a big meet for the Hodags, playing a role in three of the team’s four victories. She swept the 100 hurdles (17.18 seconds) and 300 hurdles (47.54) and was part of the winning 4x400 relay at the end of the night with Lucy Eddy, Olivia Ruetz and Macy Myers (4:23.61). Bergman also added a runner-up showing in her first long jump performance of the spring (15 feet, 3 1/2 inches). 

Moreover, it was big night for the hurdle crew on the girls’ side. Senior Averie West made it a 1-2 finish with Bergman in the 100 hurdles, taking second (18.69). Bergman, junior Eva Heck and West went 1-2-3 in the 300 hurdles. 

“That’s a pretty big deal, so we got some good things going on there,” Wyss said. “I’m hoping we can add a little more depth in there, especially on the boys’ side in the hurdle races, but that’s definitely an area where our girls excelled tonight.”

Junior Libbey Buchmann, who took fourth at state last year in the discus with a throw of 123-8, nearly equalled that mark in her first performance in that event this season. She took the win on Tuesday with a toss of 121 feet. She added a runner-up showing in the shot put (33-9).

“I thought she did well in the shot too,” Wyss noted. “She’s seemed a little tough on herself. I think that even though both shot and disc went well for her today, I think that she was maybe even hoping for more. I think she’s hungry to get back in and keep working on it, so that’s a good sign.”

The lone win on the boys’ side came in the 4x800 relay as the team of Shawn Denis, Jackson Weinzatl, Avrom Barr and Greyson Gremban crossed with a winning time of 8:47.08. It was part of a solid night for the distance crew on the boys’ side. Gremban was the runner-up in the 3,200 (10:20.58), Denis took third in the 800 (2:12.35) and Barr came home fifth in the 1,600 (5:01.85).

“This is one of the strongest distance crews we’ve had on the boys’ side, for sure,” Hodag boys’ track coach Aaron Kraemer said. “They’re focused on one thing, and that’s dropping time and winning conference. That’s their deal and they’re competitive.”

Rhinelander also got a strong performance from its throwers on the boys’ side on Thursday. Reid Schultz threw a personal-best of 46-0 1/2 to take second in the shot put while Logan Schwinger and David Houg finished third and fourth in the event. The Hodags went 2-3-6 in the discus with Schwinger, Houg and Schultz. 

“You look at how they’re going to stack up in the remainder of the (season), I think we’ve got four guys that could really (compete). It’s going to be who’s the best at the end of the season I think with those four or five guys,” Kraemer said. “With Reid, it’s being able to rotate out of the back and stay consistent and hit the spots in the center of the circle. I think that he’s got a lot left yet in those small things, and (Thursday), obviously PR, which is fantastic for him and I couldn’t be happier and more proud of him.”

The surprise of the night on the boys’ side came in the long jump where junior Sam Zwaard took second with a leap of 20-1 1/2 in his first crack at the event. 

“He can really jump and, you know, you expect that from him because he is fast and he can create momentum and velocity on the track,” Kraemer said. “But when you look at it, he’s never long jumped before. That’s his first time. Maybe he’s had two practices with coach Wyss. So that’s promising.”  

Senior Truman Lamers finished second in the high jump Thursday, clearing 6-1 and losing a tiebreaker based on the number of misses against Marathon’s Garrett Bracewell. Lamers added a fifth-place showing in the triple jump. Aiden Myers took third in the pole vault, the Hodags finished fourth in the 4x400 and fifth in the 4x100.

On the girls’ side, Rhinelander came home second with its 4x800 squad of Brynn Teter, Gretchen Fiebke, Ellyse Younker and Luna Grage. Sophomore Emeline Hintz took third in the pole vault with her best jump of the season, 9-6, only four inches off the school record set by Macy Myers a week prior in Wausau. Myers was fourth in the event on Thursday (9-0).

“Coach (Jayme) Wyss said she had a real good week at practice and she kind of thought it was going to show in this meet, and it did,” Andy Wyss said. “That was a PR for her and get her right back up there with Macy. They’re going to be going back-and-forth all year, so it’s good to see Emeline kind of get on top again.”

Jalyn Zadnik took third in the shot put, Violet Biolo was third in the 100 meters and the Hodags took third in the 4x200 with Reese Gehrig, Millie Gruett, Alexa Segovia and Karly Gillingham. 

Lexi Bishop placed fourth in both the 100 and 400 meters for Rhinelander, Heck was fourth in the high jump, Grage took fourth in the 3,200 and freshman Addison Fish was fourth in the triple jump. Two more freshmen, Mady Treder and Ellie Cummings were fifth in the triple jump and 400, respectively. Teter added a fifth-place run in the 800.

Rhinelander beat out Tomahawk 166-111.5 for the girls’ title with Marathon, Stratford and Athens rounding out the top five. 

Stratford won the boys’ division with 181.5 points, followed by Marathon, Rhinelander, Edgar and Tomahawk.

The vast majority of Rhinelander’s 100-plus athlete track roster took part in Thursday’s meet. Many had multiple events, some of which were not in their usual disciplines. Kraemer said an objective early in the outdoor season will be to try to collect as much data as possible as the team looks to hone its lineup for Great Northern Conference meet and the WIAA tournament series. 

“You can really see where some other kids stand out and put them into some things that they can be successful with. We know they can be fast on the track, but that translates into some of those other events,” he said.

The Hodags return to action this coming Thursday at the Northland Pines Invite in Eagle River.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].