RHS Sports recap: Tuesday, May 27

Track: RHS boys 1st/8, girls 2nd/8, WIAA regionals

The Rhinelander High School boys’ track team claimed the WIAA regional championship on Tuesday night while the Hodag girls were runners up in their division in a D2 regional at Mike Webster Stadium. 

Individually, the Hodag girls sent 13 entries to sectionals, including two in school-record fashion. Aila Bergman claimed the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, breaking her own record in the 300 hurdles in the process (46.06 seconds). Rhinelander also broke a 41-year-old school record in the 4x100 relay as the team of Shyanne Hueckstaedt, Violet Biolo, Ellie Cummings and Lexi Bishop won that event (50.75). Rhinelander also won the 4x400 while Libbey Buchmann took the discus and was runner-up in the shot put. 

Biolo advanced with a runner-up finish in the 100 meters, Macy Myers and Emeline Hintz went 2-3 in the pole vault to move on, Averie West was third in the 100 hurdles, Callie Hoerchler was third in the high jump, Jalyn Zadnik was third in the shot put and the Hodags also moved on with a runner-up finish in the 4x200. 

On the boys’ side, Logan Schwinger, Reid Schultz and Bo Stott all moved on in the shot put, going 1-2-4 in that event while Stott also advanced thanks to a fourth-place finish in the discus. Myles Eagleson won the triple jump and also advanced  in the long jump by taking fourth. Truman Lamers claimed the win in the high jump. 

Greyson Gremban was the runner-up in the 3,200, Ben Olson took third in the 200 and the Hodags advanced their 4x100, 4x200 and 4x800 teams thanks to runner-up finishes. 

Rhinelander beat Hayward by 11 points for the boys’ title while Hayward edged the Hodags by eight points for the top spot on the girls’ side. Sectionals take place Friday in Durand. 

Boys’ tennis: Rhinelander 2nd/7, WIAA subsectionals

The Rhinelander High School boys’ tennis team advanced all three of its doubles flights Tuesday in a runner-up finish in a WIAA Division 1 subsectional hosted at the RHS tennis courts. 

Aiden Ostermann/Michael Schiek, Payton McCue/Karter Massey and Hart Hokens/Van Tulowitzky all advanced. Ostermann and Schiek needed to win only one match at No. 1 doubles, while the other two flights earned byes into the second round and punched their tickets with straight-set victories. 

Aidan Lueder lost a match tiebreaker at No. 4 singles with a trip to sectionals on the line. Calvin Loomis pulled off an upset in his first match at No. 2 singles, but lost in the second round as his season came to an end. 

Sectionals take place Wednesday in Eau Claire. 

Golf: Rhinelander 5th/8, WIAA regionals

The Rhinelander High School golf team shot 325 and finished fifth in a WIAA Division 2 regional Tuesday at Trapp River Golf Course in Wausau. Rhinelander finished only one stroke behind Marshfield for the fourth and final team transfer spot. 

Individually, Sam Schoppe shot 79 and qualified for sectionals individually as one of the top four finishers not already on a qualifying team. Blake Petroff shot 81 and got into a four-man playoff for the final two transfer spots, but saw his chance to advance to the next round disappear on the fifth playoff hole. Grant Gremban shot 82, missing the playoff by a stroke. Brody Kowieski shot 83 and Hank Kowieski shot 84. 

Sectionals take place Wednesday, June 4 at Greenwood Hills G.C. in Wausau.

Baseball: Rhinelander 6, Wis. Rapids Assumption 0

The Rhinelander High School baseball team closed the regular season with a 6-0 shutout win over Wisconsin Rapids Assumption Tuesday at Stafford Field 

Senior Mason Schmidt scattered three hits and struck out six over six innings of scoreless baseball while Rowan Wiczek worked a perfect seventh to secure the shutout. 

Rhinelander scored twice each in the first, second and fourth innings. Dylan Vanderbunt had two hits and drove in two runs with Seth Nofftz added a pair of RBIs as the Hodags doubled up Assumption in the hit column, 6-3.

Rhinelander (11-10, 7-5 Great Northern) opens the WIAA tournament at home against Amery on Thursday.

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