RHS Sports recap: Friday, May 9

Track: RHS girls 1st/12, boys 4th/13, Otto Bacher Invitational

For the first time in program history, the Rhinelander High School girls’ track team was victorious in Merrill as it won the 38th annual Otto Bacher Invitational on Friday night. 

The Hodag girls won six events and beat Tomahawk by 18 1/2 points for the title. Aila Bergman won three events for the Hodags, including the 300-meter hurdles where she broke her own school record, winning the race with a time of 46.28 seconds. She was also victorious in the 100 hurdles and on the 4x400 relay with Violet Biolo, Lucy Eddy and Macy Myers.

Libbey Buchmann and Jalyn Zadnik went 1-2 for the Hodags in the girls’ shot put. Buchmann added a win in the discus and Myers was victorious in the pole vault. 

The Hodag boys came home fourth on Friday night. Their lone event win was in the opening 4x800 relay with the team of Shawn Denis, Jackson Weinzatl, Greyson Gremban and Avrom Barr. 

Rhinelander is back in action Tuesday in the Hatchet Invite in Tomahawk.

Baseball: Northland Pines 2, Rhinelander 1, 10 innings

For the second time this week, the Rhinelander High School baseball team fell on a mistake-induced walkoff as it fell to Northland Pines 2-1 in 10 innings Friday in Eagle River. 

A wild pitch with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the 10th pushed across the winning run for the Eagles. Pines went ahead 1-0 in the second. The Hodags tied it in the sixth on an RBI single by Seth Nofftz and worked out of a bases-loaded jam with nobody out in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings. 

Dylan Vanderbunt took the loss for Rhinelander, allowing a run on three hits with five walks and three strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings of relief. Conner Rappley struck out nine and allowed one hit over six innings in a no-decision. 

Vanderbunt had two hits for the Hodags, who outhit the Eagles, 6-4.

Rhinelander (6-8, 3-5 Great Northern) host Wausau East on Monday.

Girls’ soccer: Ashland 2, Rhinelander 0

The Rhinelander High School girls’ soccer team dropped a key non-conference game against a regional opponent, falling on the road 2-0 at Ashland on Friday. 

Avalon Piff scored twice for the Oredockers in the 21st and 38th minutes. Rhinelander outshot Ashland 15-9, but the Oredockers had an 8-4 edge in shots on goal.

Rhinelander (8-4-0, 5-0-0-0 Great Northern) travel to Mosinee on Tuesday.

Golf: Rhinelander 3rd/10, Northland Pines Invite

The RHS golf team shot 324 Friday and finished third in the 10-team Northland Pines Invitational at St. Germain Golf Course. 

The Hodags finished only two strokes behind first-place Northland Pines, which edged Tomahawk by a stroke. 

Sam Schoppe tied for third on the day with a round of 78, leading three Hodags in the top 10. Grant Gremban was fifth with a 79 and Chase West shot 81 to tie for 10th. Blake Petroff shot 86 and Hank Kowieski shot 89.

The Hodags return to action Saturday in the Merrill Best Ball Invite. 

Full reports will be published in Tuesday’s River News.