La Crosse bound

DURAND — Track and field can be a fickle game — especially this time of year when one mistake or one unexpected twist can determine the fate of an athlete’s season. 

The Hodag track team experienced that Friday as it advanced six entries on to the WIAA state track meet out of a D2 sectional in Durand. 

Truman Lamers was the only of Rhinelander’s 12 entries on the boys’ side to make it to La Crosse, coming home with a runner-up finish in the high jump. Five of Rhinelander’s 13 entries on the girls’ side made it through — four of which did so in school-record fashion.

Aila Bergman made it in the 300-meter hurdles, and Rhinelander advanced its girls’ 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400 relays to La Crosse. Sophomore Macy Myers also advanced, individually, following a runner-up finish in the girls’ pole vault. 

“When you look at the sectional and all of the teams here, we have a really, really quality sectional,” Hodag boys’ track coach Kraemer said of the 33-team field that spanned basically the entire northwestern third of the state. “So for everyone that competed here, I thought we did the best we possibly could, and we got quite a few through on the boys’ side and the girls’ side, so I’m happy for what we were able to do.”

Bergman and Myers were also both part of qualifying relay teams — Bergman in the 4x400 and Myers in both the 4x200 and 4x400. Senior Lexi Bishop was on all three qualifying relays. They will be joined in La Crosse by junior Violet Biolo, sophomores Shyanne Hueckstaedt and Lucy Eddy and freshman Ellie Cummings. 

“There were definitely some things that leave you frustrated, and then there’s some things that just give you an unbelievable amount of joy. It’s very much an up and down type of thing,” Hodag girls’ coach Andy Wyss said. “I think it did maybe take us a little bit to kind of get up to speed and get going and then once we got rolling and then we were kind of firing on all cylinders.”

Bergman had, perhaps, the most trying day of any of Rhinelander’s qualifiers. Seeded fifth entering the finals of the 100-meter hurdles, Bergman broke from the starting blocks prematurely, resulting in a disqualification that cost her a chance to compete in that event in La Crosse for a second straight year. 

“It was really devastating, but I just got back up and I thought, ‘Well, I’m just going to give it my all in the other events that I’ve been really wanting to compete at state in,” she said.

Bergman did exactly that, crushing her own school record in the 300 hurdles (45.13 seconds). She took third place and earned an automatic entry to state after missing the field in that event by 0.02 seconds last year. 

Bergman followed with a strong leadoff leg in the 4x400 that had the Hodags vying for the lead at the first exchange. 

“I’m sure she was upset, but it really did not come across in her face,” Wyss said. “She looked like she was composed and pretty focused on the next race. I think that she knew that there was a lot at stake today, and you really just got to wipe this slate clean and get on the next one. I’m glad she was able to do that.”

Eddy, Bishop and Myers followed Bergman’s lead in the 4x400 and came home with a time of 4:03.66 in a runner-up finish. That bettered the team’s sectional qualifying time by nearly 7 seconds and smashed the 1994 school record of 4:09.7.

The 4x400 was the most straightforward relay to advance for Rhinelander, as the top four finishers in each event automatically qualify for sectionals. Bishop was fighting for the fourth and final transfer spot as she received the baton from Cummings at the top of the home straight in the 4x100. Suddenly, midway down the front stretch, Amery’s Lucci Aizpurua pulled up due to an apparent leg injury — knocking Amery not only out of the lead but out of the race. 

    Rhinelander’s Lexi Bishop, third from left, races toward the finish of the 4x100-meter relay while Amery’s Lucci Aizpurua, far right, pulls up after experiencing an injury during a WIAA Division 2 track and field sectional in Durand Friday, May 30. The Hodags finished fourth in the relay, earning an automatic spot in the WIAA state meet. It was one of six Rhinelander entries to advance to the state meet. (Valentina Moehring/RHS Track & Field)
  

That gave Bishop, Cummings, Biolo and Hueckstaedt the fourth and final automatic transfer spot as the team broke its own school record with a time of 50.16 seconds. 

Bishop said it took a few moments for her to process what exactly happened and what it meant for her team.

“She kind of started like tripping up a little bit, kept on running and then suddenly dropped,” she said. “All of us kind of paused for a second, and a little bit slowed down, because we didn’t know what happened. I couldn’t establish what happened until we had all crossed finish line.”

The injury had a broader effect on the statewide landscape. Aizpurua was the three-time defending state champion in the 100 meters and had won the sectional in that event going away earlier in the afternoon.

“She’s a phenomenal athlete. And for our sport, it’s hard to watch,” Wyss said. “At the same token, like we talked about with Aila and the 100 hurdles, that false start gave some girl a chance who probably wouldn’t have gone. That’s just the reality of our sport. It’s an any given Sunday, what do you bring right this second kind of a deal. 

“And it sucks, absolutely. But that left an opening for us, and we definitely are going to enjoy it. Our time was, again, a school-record time. We broke the school record by another half second. Those It’s not like that time wasn’t deserving it going on. So I’m OK with it.”

As it turned out, Rhinelander’s 4x100 relay would have qualified for state regardless of whether it finished fourth or fifth on Friday. The WIAA extends extra qualifying spots to those who finish outside the top four of their sectional but have a performance that ranks among the 10 best overall across all sectionals in their division in an event. Rhinelander’s time in the 4x100 was seventh-best statewide. 

That provision — which was expanded from the top eight to the top 10 this year — allowed Rhinelander’s 4x200 relay to also qualify. The squad of Bishop, Eddy, Myers and Biolo finished sixth in that event, but clocked in with a time of 1:46.26. That proved to be the 10th-best time in the state, which granted the squad an extra spot in the state field. It also broke a nearly 50-year-old school record in the event of 1:46.9, set back in 1976.

“I didn’t realize if they’d broken all three relay records today,” Wyss said of his relays. “Those were longstanding records that they were able to come out here and crush today, so that was just great to see.”

    Rhinelander’s Truman Lamers celebrates after clearing 6 feet, 2 inches in the boys’ high jump during a WIAA Division 2 track and field sectional in Durand Friday, May 30. Lamers tied for second in the event, qualifying for the WIAA state meet. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

On the boys’ side, Lamers advanced in his second and final sectional appearance in the high jump. Hindered by an ankle much of the season, Lamers was able to breeze through the opening heights cleanly. He raced past 6-foot, 6-1 and 6-2 without a miss until he was one of three jumpers left standing. Lamers missed his chances at 6-4 and ultimately tied for second.

“I knew 6-foot clean was my goal coming in,” Lamers said. “I knew it might take an end of the road 6-1 or 6-2, but just staying clean that’s always so important to me, that consistency. Being able to get back to 6-2 for the first time this year, that was quite the feeling. I got pretty excited.”

For Kraemer, who also had a coach-quarterback relationship with Lamers on the RHS football team, seeing Lamers get the opportunity to sport the Kelly Green and White in La Crosse is the ultimate culmination to the senior’s career.

“For him to get the opportunity down at state that a lot of others have had in the last couple of years, for him to get it in senior year and that to be the last thing he does as a Rhinelander Hodag, that means a lot to me,” he said. “He’s had an amazing career in every sport that he’s been in. He’s an amazing kid. To finish his senior year at the best meet of the year, I think one of the best spectacles of the year, as far as all the sports are concerned, I’m really, really excited for him to have that opportunity.”

    Rhinelander’s Macy Myers begins her approach in the pole vault during a WIAA Division 2 track and field sectional in Durand Friday, May 30. Myers finished second in the event, qualifying for the WIAA state meet. (Valentina Moehring/RHS Track & Field)
  

Myers made cleared 10 feet in her first attempt, which proved to be vital later on in the event. She also made it through 10-6 and 11 feet to claim the runner-up spot. She made it to La Crosse in her first year competing in pole vault. 

“I was really, really happy to go state for that,” she said. “I wasn’t like super expecting that I’d go to state. I was seeded second, but I just didn’t want to get my hopes up, and I’m really glad that I was able to have a good vault day.”

Myers was nearly joined at state by sophomore teammate Emeline Hintz, but she needed multiple attempts to clear 10 feet and, with only two girls left standing after 10-6, it came down to total jumps to determine which of the six who bowed out at that height got the final two transfer spots. Hintz ended up tied for seventh as a result. She also missed out on a special qualifying exemption as the top-10 mark ended up at 10-6.

“They both vaulted well,” Wyss said. “Unfortunate, that looks like maybe Emeline won’t be joining us, but that Macy was able to get those higher heights, back up there at 11 feet, and coming in at the second place at sectionals, that’s good to see. To get some of those nerves out and actually finish where you’re supposed to finish, that’s good for her.”

For the first time in her career, junior Libbey Buchmann missed advancing to state. After placing in the top six in discus at state in each of the last two years, Buchmann could only muster a throw of 113-7 on Friday. That barely got her into the finals of the event. She was unable to improve the mark in her final three tosses and settled for ninth. 

Buchmann also had a chance in the shot put, where she came in seeded fourth following regional competition, but her best mark of 34-5 3/4 left her in 10th and outside of the finals for that event. 

“She’s kind of been up and down and then to not in qualifying either, that’s tough,” Wyss said. “But, she’s got one more year, and I just know that she’s not going to be satisfied with not making it there. So I expect some hunger coming back next year.”

Despite posting personal records, the Hodags were unable to advance either of their entries in the boys’ distance events. The squad of senior Shawn Denis, sophomore Jackson Weinzatl, senior Greyson Gremban and sophomore Avrom Barr dropped nearly five seconds from regionals as they went 8:16.26 in the 4x800, but that time was only good enough for sixth — nearly eight seconds out of the final transfer spot. It was a similar story in the 3,200 where Gremban made a late push to finish fifth and broke a PR at 10:00.44, but wound up nearly 21 seconds off the blistering pace set by the top four. 

“It’s just sad, especially when the first thing they say coming off is, sorry. They have nothing to be sorry about,” Kraemer said. “They’re really great kids. And, obviously, you want your seniors to go. Shawn and Grayson have been fantastic captains for us. This year, they really held us together, and they really were the glue that helped us win a conference championship, helped us win the regional. So I’m proud of them.”

Rhinelander wasn’t able to advance any throwers on the boys’ side, either. Seniors Logan Schwinger and Reid Schultz both made the finals in the shot put and finished seventh and ninth, respectively. Schwinger had a toss of 50-0 1/2 while Schultz threw 47-5 3/4. Senior Bo Stott qualified in both throwing events, taking 13th in discus (123-1) and 14th in shot put (42-5 1/4).

Elsewhere on the boys’ side, junior Ben Olson came home ninth in the 200 meters (23.12); was 10th as part of the 4x100 relay with fellow juniors Sam Zwaard and Cyrus Leisure and sophomore Landon Catlin (44.70) and was 14th in the 4x200 with Zwaard, junior Evan Shoeder and freshman Matthew Haselton (1:35.15). Junior Myles Eagleson placed 14th in the long jump (18-3) and 15th in the triple jump (39-2).

Junior Jalyn Zadnik had a personal-best toss of 34-9 in the shot put that earned her a ticket to the finals in that event. She was unable to improve on that mark as she placed ninth in the event. Biolo narrowly missed the finals in the 100-meter dash, settling for 10th (12.85). Senior Averie West was 10th in the 100 hurdle preliminaries (17.01), and senior Callie Hoerchler tied her personal best in the high jump, clearing 4-8 as she tied for 10th. 

The WIAA state meet gets underway Friday morning at UW-La Crosse and will include the finals in the boys’ high jump and girls’ pole vault — along with preliminary races in the girls’ 300 hurdles and the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400 relays.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].