Youth Sports Roundup

JV football

The Rhinelander High School JV football team closed out its season with a 36-12 victory over Merrill at Mike Webster Stadium Monday, Oct. 20.

(Photos by Bob Mainhardt for the River News)

    Jaxon West attempts to make an interception along the sideline during the fourth quarter of Monday’s game.
    Micah Sieker (51), Connor McGee (31) and Noah Monk (54) chase the Merrill quarterback during the third quarter of Monday’s game.
  

    Matthew Haselton breaks free on a long run during the second quarter of Monday’s game.
  

JV cross country competes at conference

The Rhinelander High School cross country team had a handful of runners compete in the junior varsity portion of the Great Northern Conference meet at Northwood Golf Club Saturday, Oct. 18.

Freshman Espen McMahon led the Hodag boys’ contingent, taking fourth in the race with a time of 21 minutes, 27.4 seconds. Chasin Wallmow finished sixth for Rhinelander (22:43.5), Logan Creapeau was 11th (23:35.2) and Alex Kniewel was 20th (30:47.4).

On the girls’ side, freshman Adeline Olson finished third with a time of 27:08.2. Senior Grace Cornelius took sixth (29:04.0).

    Rhinelander’s Adeline Olson (90) races Merrill’s Elliann Slozes (136) in the JV girls’ division of the Great Northern Conference meet at Northwood Golf Club Saturday, Oct. 18.
  

    Rhinelander’s Espen McMahon competes in the JV boys’ division of the Great Northern Conference meet at Northwood Golf Club Saturday, Oct. 18.
  

Middle school harriers celebrate season success

    The James Williams Middle School cross country team poses for a photo. Pictured, in the front row, from left to right, are Derek Jorata, Liam Johnson, Avery Verbist, Charlotte MacIntyre, Kylie Hartke, Lilly Paszek and Jacob Baumann. In the middle row are Patrick Sparks, Harmony Gomez, Otto Gordon, Ryder Clark, Jack Congdon, Lizzie Eades, Quinn Stinebrink and Jade Chiamulera. In the back row are coach Mindy Paszek, Casey Waksmonski, Dawson Ruetz, Helen Beuning, Malachi Franklin, Tyson Fischer, Fielder Lueth, Olivia Eades, Channing Waksmonski, Natalie Dellenbach and coach Anita Snyder. (Submitted photo)
  

The James Williams Middle School cross country team recently wrapped up its 2025 season with an end-of-season banquet Monday, Oct. 20 at the Cedric A. Vig Outdoor Classroom. The team celebrated an impressive year of achievements and growth. Despite a number of hiccups throughout the season, with several top runners sidelined by injuries, the team made the most of every race and showed tremendous resilience and heart.

The boys’ team earned two first-place finishes, while the girls’ team secured two second-place finishes. Together, the teams posted an astonishing 26 individual top-10 finishes and an additional 25 top-20 finishes throughout the season.

A highlight of the evening was honoring the 11 eighth-grade athletes who are moving on to high school. Their leadership and dedication have been instrumental to the team’s success, and their absence will be deeply felt next season.

Coaches Anita Snyder and Mindy Paszek shared their excitement for the future, noting that they look forward to seeing the sixth and seventh graders continue to grow, along with welcoming a new group of incoming runners next year.

The message they left their athletes with was simple but powerful: “Keep being great athletes, great students, but above all — great people. Stay kind. Stay supportive. Stay true to who you are. And when life gets tough — because it will — dig deep.”