Taking next step

For the six Rhinelander High School track entries that have qualified for the WIAA Division 2 state track meet, competing today at UW-La Crosse is one thing. For most of them, however, the goal will be to get another run at Veterans Memorial Stadium tomorrow and vie for a shot at the state podium.

That’s a legitimate chance for the group, given where most are seeded heading into this morning’s preliminaries in a number of the running events, and finals in two field events. 

Regardless of how today and tomorrow shake out, getting a chance to compete in a La Crosse is a moment no one can take away — as Hodag girls’ track coach Andy Wyss reminded a group that includes seven qualifiers and state alternates during practice Monday.

“It’s a special thing because it’s a very exclusive club,” he said. “School records vary by school and they can be broken a year later. They can be broken the same year. Those things are fleeting, but the experience of ending your season at the state meet — in that stadium, with that crowd, with the best of the best — I mean, there’s really nothing better. It’s the pinnacle of our sport.”

Today’s schedule will include preliminaries for junior Aila Bergman in the girls’ 300-meter hurdles, as well as the prelims for all three relays in which the Hodag girls’ squad qualified — the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400. 

Sophomore Macy Myers will compete in the finals of the girls’ pole vault this morning and senior Truman Lamers will compete in the boys’ high jump. 

Here are five storylines going into the meet.

Rookies and veterans

Four of the Hodags’ 10-member delegation will be back at La Crosse for the second straight year. Bergman returns after competing in the 100-meter hurdles last year while senior Lexi Bishop, junior Violet Biolo and sophomore Olivia Ruetz were on the 4x100 relay team that qualified a year ago. 

Bishop is slated to be a part of all three relays today while Biolo competes in the 4x100 and 4x200. Ruetz will serve as an alternate for Rhinelander in the 4x100 and 4x400. 

Wyss said the turnover of having athletes who have competed at state before mixed with first-time competitors at La Crosse is something he wants for the program moving forward. He added that he will rely on the returning state athletes to help shepherd the rookies through the experience. 

“There are those kind of first-year jitters and that those people have been there before,” Wyss said. “They don’t have that, and they can be leaders. Luckily, those ones that have been there before are very much leaders. They’ll set a tone for the rest of them, which is good.”

The biggest adjustment is the atmosphere. The state meet draws in thousands of spectators and is, by far, the largest track meet that any of Rhinelander’s athletes have competed at. 

“It’s overwhelming, but it’s cool to see all the people that come in support, Just being in the atmosphere is crazy,” Biolo said. 

“It’s very out of your comfort zone since it’s at a college,” Ruetz added. “You’ve just got to relax and really enjoy being there because really, that’s the accomplish, being at state.” 

Lamers is making his first trip to La Crosse today, as is Myers, who will compete in three events. Sophomore Lucy Eddy, sophomore Shyanne Hueckstaedt and freshman Ellie Cummings — all part of the Hodag relay crew — are also first-timers along with freshman Mady Treder, who will serve as a relay alternate. 

“They’ve been very helpful, just answering every question I have, and kind of just like showing me the reins,” Cummings said of the advice she’s received from the returning state athletes. 

As for Bishop, the lone senior to advance on the girls’ side, she said she’s excited to take a group of underclassmen under her wing. 

“I think it’s really, really great to see people like just like me that are passionate about running,” she said. “It feels kind of weird to be the only senior, and it’s also really sad knowing that I have to leave, but it’s also really great to know that we have this many young people that are that good and that passionate about this sport. I know that I won’t have to worry about them doing amazing things next year.”

Bergman seeks podium in 300 hurdles

    Rhinelander’s Aila Bergman competes in the 300-meter hurdles during a WIAA Division 2 track and field sectional in Durand Friday, May 30. Bergman finished third in the sectional, which had the top three qualifiers overall in Division 2 for state in the event. (Brett LaBore/Lakeland Times)
  

It’s not all that common for someone who finished third at sectionals to have legitimate podium aspirations.  However, considering who Bergman raced to get in the field in the 300 hurdles, a top-six finish and a spot on the medal stand come Saturday afternoon is a distinct possibility. 

That’s because not only did Bergman finish third in last Friday’s Durand sectional with a school-record time of 45.13 seconds, her time was third-fastest overall in the state. She trailed only sectional and reigning D2 state champ Elletta Uddin of Osceola (43.49) and Hayward’s Brianna Hexum (44.96), who Bergman beat out to win the regional title earlier in the week. 

Bergman said hanging with the top two seeds in the state coming out of sectionals gives her confidence going into this weekend. 

“I think, yeah, it does. It has something for me to look forward too,” she said. “I think it was cool to race these type of girls because they’re really good and just get myself a PR as well.”

Bergman and Hexum will go head-to-head in the first of two preliminary heats today. The winner of that heat, and the winner of the second heat, will automatically advance to Saturday’s finals. From there, the next eight fastest times between to two heats will round out the 10-runner filed for the finals.

Bergman will need a solid run to make the finals. Currently West Salem’s Olivia Maki — who was fourth in the Durand sectional — has the 10th-fastest seed time at 46.21. Making the podium will likely require at or near another PR as six athletes have seed times of 45.37 seconds or faster. 

“I think going into Friday, I’m going to be looking at trying to focus more on my form over the hurdle and just run it how I think I can — my best,” Bergman said, noting that a top-three finish in the event is her ultimate goal.

“I’m confident in our ability across every event, but looking at who’s been there before, who’s been consistently good, who’s running the right times, I am most confident in Aila’s ability to finish very strong, to end up on the podium to bring home a medal,” Wyss said. “I hope she feels that too going in here.”

Myers has busy program

As she left Durand last Friday, Myers already knew she would have two events on her plate at La Crosse — the pole vault and the 4x400. A third was added when the Hodags made it as an extra qualifier in the 4x200 with one of the 10 fastest times statewide across all four D2 sectionals.

“I was just so surprised that we were going to state because we were sixth (at sectionals),” she said. “I just did not imagine that I would ever get state for any running event, so I’m really glad that I have a strong relay that can help me get state for running.” 

Myers noted because where the 4x200 preliminaries fall during today’s program, she may have to check out of the pole vault for a bit to run that race. However, that’s something she’s been accustomed to this year after competing in the 800 meters before returning to the pole vault pit to break her own school record in the pole vault — twice. 

The second time she did that came at the Great Northern Conference meet back on May 22, when she put up a mark of 11 feet, 3 inches after finishing second in the 800. Matching that mark should likely have her hunting for the medal stand today. The 11-foot vault she had at sectionals is tied for fourth-best among the 16 qualifiers in the field. Only two in the field — Xavier’s Caroline Basehoar and Campbellsport’s Sienna Hewett — cracked 12 feet during the sectional round. 

“I think it’d be really fun to PR with, like an 11-6,” she said. “Like, best-case scenario, that would be really fun. But, you know, vaulting really can just go any way, depending on the weather and how you are doing. So I’m just excited to see how I can do.”

Regardless of how things go in the pole vault, Wyss said the experience will serve Myers — the only sophomore among the top 10 qualifiers — well for subsequent tries at the state meet.

“To be able to get her there as a sophomore, vaulting as high as she is as a sophomore, she can go and get some of those meet jitters out and experience it and see what it’s like. That should really help get her hungry for junior and senior year,” he said.

Relay aspirations

    Rhinelander’s Violet Biolo takes the baton from teammate Shyanne Hueckstaedt in the 4x100-meter relay during a WIAA Division 2 track and field sectional in Durand Friday, May 30. The Hodags, despite a fourth-place finish in sectionals in the event, are seeded sixth-fastest overall in the state. (Brett LaBore/Lakeland Times)
  

Last year, when the Hodags qualified for the 4x100 relay with a fourth-place finish at their sectional, they were the slowest of the of the 16 qualifiers in that event. 

Rhinelander finished fourth at sectionals again this year, in dramatic fashion no less after an injury to Amery’s anchor Lucci Aizpurua opened the door for the Hodags to take the final automatic transfer spot. 

The difference is, this year, the Hodags aren’t just happy to be in the field. They’re legitimate podium contenders as they come in with the sixth-fastest qualifying time in the state (50.16 seconds).

“I think last year we were so surprised that we made it to state and we didn’t even really consider going to finals Saturday,” said Biolo, who was also part of the 4x1 last year. “But this year, we actually have a shot so it’s really cool to see how much we improved and like how we have the potential to get there.”

In fact all three Rhinelander relays have a legitimate shot to at least make the finals, if not vie for a spot on the podium. 

In addition to the 4x200 coming in with the 10th seed, the Hodags have the ninth-fastest qualifying time in the 4x400.

Wyss said getting all three relays through to Saturday is a challenging, but realistic, goal.

“That’s my goal. I hope that’s their goal,” he said. “Once you get to the state meet, that’s a huge accomplishment. You can kind of breathe easy a little bit once you get there, because that’s a big box checked. But, once you get there, then it’s kind of like, ‘Hey, what do we want to accomplish while we’re here?’”

Vying for a podium in the 4x400 could be difficult, as the top six teams all qualified with sub 4-minute times — meaning the Hodags would need to knock at least another three seconds off a school record they broke by nearly seven last Friday. However Bergman, who runs the opening leg of the event, said competing for a spot in the finals and lowering that record even further are definitely within reach.

“I think our 4x4 has come a long way, and it’s definitely improved a lot throughout the season with all the workouts we’ve done,” she said. “This year, it’s just been really cool to see how far we’ve come and everything that we’ve done, worked on, it all worked out.”

Lamers’s last jump

    Rhinelander’s Truman Lamers clears 6 feet, 2 inches in the high jump during a WIAA Division 2 track and field sectional in Durand Friday, May 30. Lamers, a senior, will be making his debut at the WIAA state track meet in La Crosse today. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

Getting Truman Lamers to the state track meet has been a pit of a personal mission for Hodag boys’ track coach Aaron Kraemer — especially considering the talent Lamers displayed as an underclassman, and the injuries that have hindered him much of the last two seasons. 

Lamers will get his chance in the high jump this morning. While he’s down on the qualifier list — tied for 12th out of 17 entrants with a sectional height of 6-2 — today will be more about the experience than anything else. 

“He’s just a great kid. And so to spend another week with him in his athletics and another week with him in school, basically, because the seniors graduated on Sunday, that’s going to mean a lot to me before he goes off to Florida and college. To spend that time with him is going to be great,” Kraemer said.

Lamers has dealt with numerous injuries over the last two years between football, basketball and track — everything from ankles to shoulders and even an eye injury.

Lamers credited Rhinelander’s athletic trainer, Ethan Willey, for helping to manage his aches and pains during the spring. However, the biggest challenge for Lamers this year — and part of the growth that helped him get to La Crosse — has been learning to act when his body says enough is enough.

“Just being honest with my coaches about the state of my body and making sure not to push through too much, because I’ve tried that in the past, and obviously it doesn’t turn out well,” he said. “So just openly communicating with them and being honest has been the best thing for us to work through it.”

While Lamers is seeded outside the top 10, a career day and a little bit of luck could put him in a position to vie for the podium. Little Chute’s Calvin Van Possum comes in as the top seed, having cleared 6-6 at sectionals. Three others cleared 6-5 and four more made it over 6-4. 

“The competition is going to be crazy high at this caliber of a meet, but I mean, with high jump, it’s just anyone could have that day,” he said. “It’s really anyone’s ball game when it comes down to it. So I just have to go out and do whatever I can, be as clean as I can through as high as I can. That’s all I can do.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].