Five Hodags declare collegiate intentions

As part of Rhinelander High School senior signing day on Thursday, five RHS seniors declared their intentions to continue their athletic careers at the collegiate level.

Lily Thorsen, a standout on the Hodag girls’ swim team, headlined that list. She signed a National Letter of Intent to swim at the NCAA Division I level at Green Bay. 

Two Hodags are WIAC-bound as Shawn Denis announced plans to swim at UW-Stevens Point while Bo Stott committed to play football at UW-River Falls. Logan Schwinger is also staying in state and will wrestle at Lakeland University in Plymouth. Dylan Vanderbunt rounded out the quintet and will go on to play baseball at Lake Region State College in Devils Lake, N.D.

“This day marks a significant milestone in the lives of our future student-athletes as they take bold steps toward a future in collegiate athletics,” Rhinelander High School activities director Brian Paulson said during Thursday’s program. “Today, we not only recognize each athlete’s hard work and dedication, but also celebrate the journey, and what has brought them here today.”

Thorsen continues Hodag swim’s D-I pipeline

    In this Nov. 15, 2024 file photo, Rhinelander’s Lily Thorsen competes in the 100-yard breaststroke during the WIAA Division 2 state girls’ swim meet in Waukesha. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

Lily Thorsen had seen the list of great Rhinelander High School swimmers that came before her. Now, she part of the elite group of Hodags will go on to swim collegiately at the Division-I level. 

Thorsen becomes the fourth Hodag girl in the last four years to sign on with an NCAA D-I program, joining sisters Malia and Karis Francis (Liberty University) and Abi Winnicki (UCLA). Thorsen called those other three teammates during her RHS career, which included WIAA Division 2 team state title in 2023 and a runner-up finish in 2021. She said those swimmers helped to pave the way and showed the level of dedication it takes to reach the next level. 

“I always kind of knew that I didn’t want to be done after high school, but Division I just feels impossible when you’re younger,” she said. “Then watching amazing swimmers before me — I watched the Francises and Abi — I watched all these girls do it, and it became very clear that if you put in the work, you could reach whatever level you wanted to.”

Thorsen had plenty of accomplishments in her own right, earning multi-event programs at the WIAA state meet each of the last three seasons. She was on the Hodags’ winning 200-yard freestyle relay at state as a junior and was the anchor of the Hodags’ runner-up finish in the 200 medley relay last November. Individually, she had two top-eight finishes in the 100 breaststroke at state, as well as a top-eight finish in the 200 individual medley.

Additionally, Thorsen served as a captain for this year’s team, which claimed the program’s sixth consecutive Great Northern Conference and WIAA D2 sectional titles. 

“Lily has been a really fun, organized and responsible team captain,” coach Jenny Heck said in her remarks. “She has a 4.2 GPA, and she’s willing to work hard, and knows what it takes to be great. I know she’ll always go above the beyond to reach her goals.”

Thorsen said she was grateful for Heck, all of her coaches, her parents and her teammates on the RHS girls’ swim team. She noted the connection she felt with her Hodag teammates is part of what drew her to Green Bay.

“I really felt a similar energy from the Green Bay swim team, and that team atmosphere is really what drew me there,” she said. “It’s definitely bittersweet to leave my Hodag home. It has been amazing to get to represent this community at the state level, my whole high school career, bring home that state championship, and I’m just so excited to continue to bring my Hodag pride to Green Bay with me and represent this community well.”

Thorsen, who will study nursing, joins a Green Bay women’s program that finished sixth out of seven teams in the Horizon League in the 2024-25 season. Rhinelander alum Zacha King was a freshman on the Phoenix men’s swim team this past season.  

Stott eager for a chance at River Falls

    In this Sept. 6, 2024 file photo, Rhinelander’s Bo Stott makes a leaping attempt to catch a pass, covered by Lakeland’s Tyson Redman at the end of the first half of a GNC football game in Minocqua. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

At 6-foot-3 and 245 pounds, Bo Stott has the frame to play at the next level, but a run of bad luck put that future in doubt.

Stott suffered knee injuries that cut short both his junior and senior years, but was still able to find a home with the Falcons. 

“Obviously the last two years didn’t go the way I wanted it to, but hopefully these next four, I can stay healthy, get some good playing time,” he said. “Obviously the WIAC is very, very competitive, so that should be fun.”

Those injuries limited Stott’s numbers the last two years. He switched from offensive line to tight end prior to his junior season, catching seven passes for 88 yards and a touchdown over two years in the Hodags’ run-first Wing-T offense. Defensively, he recorded 12 tackles, including two for loss, this past season.

“This past season, and the season before, Bo has gone through turmoil in his career, and he’s continued to answer the call every single opportunity that he has had,” Hodag football coach Aaron Kraemer said. “He’s a young man that has that potential and upside, as a college player. Bo is a very, very young senior, and he’s somebody that’s growing into becoming a spectacular athlete.”

Stott is heading to a Falcon program that has posted four straight winning seasons in WIAC play. River Falls went 7-3 last year, and had a 4-3 mark in the WIAC that included an upset win over No. 19 UW-Oshkosh in the second finale. 

“River Falls was the first place that really recruited me this summer, and they’ve got a great winning tradition, and some great coaches over there that really, I connected with, so that’s a really big reason,” Stott said. 

“I hope that I pray for him, that he stays healthy, that he plays a great four years of college football, because he is somebody in that we are truly, truly blessed to have here at RHS and somebody that’s going to make UW-River Falls and our community very, very proud as he embarks on this journey,” Kraemer added. 

Stott plans to major in business administration at UW-River Falls.

Denis eager to hit the water at UWSP

    In this Dec. 5, 2024 file photo, Rhinelander’s Shawn Denis swims the breaststroke portion of the 200-yard individual medley during a GNC boys’ swim dual meet against Lakeland at the Heck Family Community Pool. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

It wasn’t that long ago that the Rhinelander High School boys’ swim team frequented the UW-Stevens Point Natatorium either for the Great Northern Conference meet or WIAA sectionals. 

But Rhinelander hasn’t swam there since prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. That means, the first time Shawn Denis will officially touch the water at UWSP will be as a member of the Pointers’ men’s swim team. 

That doesn’t mean Denis didn’t try to get a head start on that endeavor.

“When I was there for my tour, I almost jumped in. I saw all the other guys jumping and I was like, I need to get out there, and I almost jumped in,” he said. 

To say Denis is eager for his freshman year at Point is an understatement.

“I’m ready to hit it and show that I’m there and I’m ready to win conference,” he said.

The Pointers will be getting a decorated swimmer, who was part of the Hodags dominant run during his career that included a WIAA Division 2 state championship in 2023 and runner-up finishes at state each of the last two years. Denis is also the only swimmer in RHS history to crack the 1-minute mark in the 100-yard breaststroke, doing at the state meet as both a junior and a senior. 

Additionally, Denis was part of the Hodags’ runner-up squad at state in the 200 freestyle relay this past February, was on the 200 medley relay team that finished fourth and placed seventh individually in the 50 freestyle. 

“Shawn was a three-sport athlete, a team captain and has great enthusiasm for racing and winning,” Heck said. “I’m excited to see what he does at Stevens Point, as they have a fast team, I know Shawn will love the challenge of racing, other fast swimmers.”

Denis said he was connected to the UWSP program by Rhinelander High School teacher and Rhinelander swim club coach Will Buhler.

“When I went there for a tour, I just connected with the team and the coaches,” he said.

Stevens Point is looking to get back on top in the WIAC after taking third at the conference meet this past winter. The Pointers had won every WIAC men’s swimming championship between 2000 and 2023.

Denis said the winning tradition in Rhinelander will help as he prepares for the next level.

“Coaching, it’s a huge part of all of our success, and feeder programs is another big thing, like the Rhinelander Swim Club, they do great work,” he said. “If it wasn’t for them, I would not be here today going to Stevens Point next year. Coach Jenny Heck, she’s helped me through a lot of things in and out of the pool. If it wasn’t for them, I would not be here today.” 

Denis, who plans to major in business administration, joins a UWSP men’s program that has produced 15 individual collegiate nationals champions — the first of which was RHS alum and former Hodag swim head coach Dan Jesse. He was a NAIA champion in the 100 breaststroke in 1978.

Schwinger’s wrestling journey to continue at Lakeland University

    In this Dec. 20, 2024 file photo, Rhinelander’s Logan Schwinger looks to turn Marathon’s Jace Ostrowski during the Hodag Scramble wrestling meet in the Hodag Dome. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

When Logan Schwinger qualified for the WIAA state wrestling meet this past February, he readily admitted it was not somewhere he could have pictured himself after winning only eight matches as a freshman. 

It’s safe to say Schwinger didn’t give wrestling at the collegiate level much thought at that point, either. But following three years of incremental success, Schwinger found himself landing with Lakeland University, a private, NCAA Division-III institution in southeastern Wisconsin.

“Even though going far can seem even impossible, it just takes a little bit of focus, dedication, some time, and discipline,” he said. “And the impossible, it becomes possible. That’s kind of what I want to say, because I was in those shoes, only having eight wins again (as a freshman), and then like being a state qualifier, four year or three years later. So anything is possible.”

Schwinger got to 100 wins for his high school career thanks to a 41-win campaign this past season that included runner-up finishes at the Great Northern Conference tournament and WIAA regionals. He followed that with a third-place finish at WIAA sectionals, which earned him a ticket to the Kohl Center in Madison. 

Coach Scottie Arneson admitted to getting a little chocked up at the podium Thursday, recalling the amount of progression Schwinger has made over the last four years. 

“Logan came a long ways during his high school career. He’s been an awesome leader in the practice room, awesome leader on just the buses and all the overnight trips, and he’s going to be missed in the practice room,” he said.

Schwinger will still have a connection to Arneson when he arrives at Lakeland. The program is led by Mike DeRoehn, who was the head coach at UW-Platteville when Arneson wrestled for the Pioneers. Schwinger said he chose Lakeland over an out-of-state offer because of how DeRoehn stayed in contact with him. He also said he immediately enjoyed the smaller feel of Lakeland’s campus.

“When I went there for the tour, I really liked the team atmosphere,” he said. “I talked with a lot of the guys, and they were all super cool and I liked the facility. I mean, it’s in the middle of a cornfield. So, it’s pretty cool and it’s pretty small, too, about the size of our school.”

The Muskies finished 12th of 16 teams at the NCAA Division-III regional this past winter. Schwinger plans to be a business major at Lakeland. 

 Vanderbunt to see familiar face at Lake Region

    In this April 17, 2025 file photo, Rhinelander’s Dylan Vanderbunt throws a pitch during a non-conference baseball game at Crandon. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

It didn’t take long for Dylan Vanderbunt to recognize who wanted to be his head coach at the collegiate level. After all, Vanderbunt had seen him a number of times before in the opposing dugout. 

Steven Anderson, former head coach at Lakeland Union High School in Minocqua, took over the NJCAA Division-I program this spring and made Vanderbunt one of his first recruits for his next class of incoming freshmen.

“It’s awesome. I mean, I’ve played against this guy for three years, so I’ve kind of built a relationship with him, which helped me in my decision in committing there,” Vanderbunt said. “He let me come down and I think it was October. I went up to Devils Lake and he actually let me practice with the team. So it was awesome. I got to spend a whole weekend with the guy, and so that helped develop my relationship and I actually built relationships with the teammates already.”

Vanderbunt is one of two returning all-conference players for the Hodag baseball team this spring. In addition to hitting leadoff, he’s been in the rotation as one of the team’s starting pitchers. 

Hodag coach Joe Waksmonski said, above all else, Vanderbunt’s passion for the game of baseball has helped him get to the next level. 

“The main reason Dylan is able to play and move on to the next level is just his commitment to be to the best version of himself,” he said. “Dylan’s passionate about working on his game, spending countless hours hitting, throwing the pitching, with dad, with many different teammates. 

“He works with different teammates in the offseason, helping them get better and be a leader. Dylan has also been passionate about his training. He’s very consistent in the weight room and does a great job keeping up with the latest trends in training.”

The Royals just finished a 14-31 campaign in Anderson’s first season at the helm. Vanderbunt noted that Anderson took the style of baseball he employed at Lakeland with him to Lake Region State. 

“It’s wild, it’s fun. He loves stealing bags. He’s an aggressive coach,” he said.

Vanderbunt, who plans to major in sports management, thanked his parents and his coaches for their support as a high school athlete and encouraged athletes returning to RHS to make the most of their experience. 

“I think RHS, we have great athletics and take advantage of that,” he said. “I took advantage of that, and I doubted my work a lot. I didn’t know what type of athlete I would become between like from my sophomore year to my junior year. I had no clue what I wanted to be. But in the long run, work, work, work, it pays off. So just keep at it.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].