Youth Sports Roundup

JWMS girls win, boys 3rd at home track meet

The James Williams Middle School girls’ track team won six events Monday as it took first place in an 11-team home triangular that featured a number of teams from around the Northwoods. 

Isabelle Gray swept the 100- and 200-meter hurdles for the Hodags. Eva White scored a win in the long jump, Grace Delaney won the discus and the Hodags claimed the 4x100 and 4x200 relays. MaKenzy added a runner-up finish in the 100 hurdles, Katie Hazelton was third in the 200 hurdles and Baya Wyss took third in the pole vault. JWMS edged Tomahawk by 5 1/2 points for the win. 

On the boys’ side, the Hodags won a pair of events and took third, finishing 10 1/2 points behind Tomahawk and a half-point behind Northland Pines. 

Chris Kanitz won the 200 hurdles and was second in the 110 hurdles. Knox Fleming was second in the 200, Elias Puza took third in the 100 and the long jump and Elias Simonsen was third in the discus. The JWMS boys won the 4x100 relay and took third in the 4x200, 4x400 and 4x800. 

    Hans Sommer runs the anchor leg of the 4x800 relay for the JWMS boys’ track team Monday, May 5. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

    Chris Kanitz competes for the JWMS boys’ track team in the 110-meter hurdles Monday, May 5. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

    Holly Novak competes for the JWMS girls’ track team in the 100-meter dash Monday, May 5. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

    Espen McMahon competes for the JWMS boys’ track team in the 1,600-meter run Monday, May 5. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

    Olivia Eades takes the baton, cheered on by teammate Kelsie Skubal, for the JWMS girls’ track team in the 4x100-meter really Monday, May 5. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

    Elias Puza runs down the home straightaway in the 4x100-meter relay for the JWMS boys’ track team Monday, May 5. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

    Helen Buening competes for the JWMS girls’ track team in the 400-meter dash Monday, May 5. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

Hodags Dellenbach, Walkowski compete in state middle school bowling meet

    Natalie Dellenbach, left, and Brighton Walkowski represented the Rhinelander Area Youth Bowling Club at the BCAW Middle School Bowling Championships Saturday, May 3 in Appleton. (Submitted photo)
  

Two members of the Rhinelander Area Youth Bowling Club’s middle school team, Natalie Dellenbach and Brighton Walkowski, took part in the Bowling Center Association of Wisconsin Middle School Bowling Championships Saturday in Appleton. 

Dellenbach competed in Division A Girls at middle school state and threw games of 170, 146 and 180, tying for 12th out of 28 bowlers with a 496 series. Brighton Walkowski rolled games of 127, 164 and 133 for a 424 series and placed fourth in Boys’ Division C competition.

Both bowlers qualified for state based on their fill percentage during the regular season. 

“Brighton was pretty mellow and didn’t let the nerves get to him at all, which is pretty normal for him,” coach Cory Dellenbach said. “He struggled a little bit coming out of the gate not being able to pick up his spares and that put him behind early. He adjusted in the second game and started picking up some key spares and hitting the pocket more consistently to shoot a 164. 

“Natalie came out throwing well in the first game and shot a 170. I could tell she was a little nervous, but she collected herself quickly in that first game. Much like Brighton, Natalie struggled with key spare pickups in that second game and only threw a 146. She missed some corner pins and has some untimely splits in there too that didn’t help.” 

Both bowlers were making their first trip to the middle school state meet. Walkowski, an eighth-grader at Zion Lutheran School, will move up to the Hodag high school team next year while Natalie Dellenbach, a seventh-grader at James Williams Middle School will return to the middle school team. 

Following the middle school state tournament, Natalie Dellenbach traveled to Eagan, Minn. to take part in the USA Bowling Regionals on Sunday. She competed on one of four baker teams comprised of youth bowling in the Junior Bowling Scholarship Tour (JBST) in Wisconsin.

Dellenbach’s team finished 5-2-1 in round-robin competition and then went 1-2 in bracket play. Dellenbach finished the day with six strikes, 16 spares and nine opens in 31 frames for a 70.97 fill percentage.

JV Softball

The Rhinelander High School softball team stuck around after a 6-4 win over Crandon Monday, May 5 to play a varsity reserve game against the Cardinals. The Hodags won that game as well, 11-1.

(Photos Bob Mainhardt for the River News)

    Miranda Daab slides in to score a run.
  

    Nevaeh Anderson pitches for the Hodags.