Hodag track competes in Wausau

The Rhinelander High School track team rested some of its key starters Tuesday as it traveled to Wausau East for the Sawmill Invite. The results showed in the points total as the Hodag boys placed eighth in a 14-school field while the Hodag girls were 10th in their division.

While the majority of the Hodags’ top scorers stayed back in preparation for this afternoon’s meet in Kaukauna, Tuesday’s meet afforded the opportunity to give others a crack in a few events. 

“We were missing some of our top athletes of both genders, and then some other ones at the bottom. So we really had the kind of our middle group with us today against a lot of competition, and some good competition,” said Hodag girls’ coach Andy Wyss, who oversaw both squads Tuesday. “It was a good opportunity for them to get out and get kind of those opportunities that they might be coming to them as we get toward the end of the year.”

In general, the Hodags scored the most points in the distance events on Tuesday. Rhinelander still had a number of key runners compete on the boys’ side as senior Greyson Gremban came home second in the 800 meters (2 minutes, 7.85 seconds) and third in the 1,600 (4:48.10). Sophomore Avrom Barr added a third-place run in the 3,200 (10:24.10), Shawn Denis was fifth in the 1,600 (4:51.02), Ayden Myers took fifth in the 800 (2:15.89) and Rhinelander took fifth in the 4x800 relay with a lineup that included Jackson Weinzatl, Konner Bex, Dean Gillingham and Jonathan Campbell (9:21.88).

One the girls’ side, Kara Monk scored fifth in the 1,600 (6:19.39), Emily Schiek was fifth in the 3,200 (15:49.96) and Luna Grage took sixth in the 800 (2:50.58).

“They’ve kind of been the backbone of these last few meets, really strong, really consistent,” Wyss said of the distance unit. “They’ve been putting down in a lot of points when they’ve had the opportunity, running times really well. The training that they’re doing with coach (Bennett) Rozek and Mrs. Coach (Jayme) Wyss is paying off. They’ve real solid for us.”

Sophomore Shyanne Hueckstaedt scored a fifth-place run for the Hodags in the 100 meters (13.71), Rhinelander’s best finish in the sprinting events. 

“We got five entries in the 100 and 200, so this was kind of a kind of a last chance of like, ‘OK, who do we have in these relay spots?’ We have a few spots solidified, but there are a couple up for grabs and you know Shyanne got the opportunity and she ran well,” Andy Wyss said.

Macy Myers had a runner-up showing in the girls’ pole vault, clearing 9-6 and losing out on a tiebreaker for the win in that event based on total misses. Emeline Hintz took fifth, clearing 8 feet. On the boys’ side, though they did not score any points, sophomore Charlie Antonuk and junior Ben Olson both set personal-bests, clearing 10 feet for the first time as they tied for ninth in the event. 

“We’ve seen a lot of good things out of the pole vaulters. That’s been an exciting event for us, and we’ve seen just a lot of excitement from it. The good thing is we’re still pretty rough around the edges. To see the boys kind of climbing those heights and knowing that we still have a lot of work to do is good,” Andy Wyss said. “I know that coach (Jayme Wyss) has her eye on Ben Olson. He brings a lot of speed to the event. I think we got some potential on the boys side now too.”

Other individual point scorers for the Hodag boys included Bo Stott (seventh, discus) and Gillingham (eighth, 3200). Grage added an eighth-place showing for the Hodag girls’ in the 400 meters.

Rhinelander will take part in the 12-team Kaukauna Invite this afternoon, the first of a few key tune-up meets leading into championship season.

“Entries are going to be pretty limited and the competition is going to be pretty high,” Andy Wyss said. “We have to kind of see what we want to do. We’re still missing, I think, some key components with some nagging injuries that we want to take care of now before we get to the end. Hopefully, we can put together a pretty decent lineup and compete well down there.” 

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].