Sports Digest

RNC mountain bikers compete in Eau Claire

The Rhinelander Northwoods Composite club mountain bike team took part in its second Wisconsin Interscholastic Cycling League race of the season Sunday at Lowe’s Creek in Eau Claire. 

The Rhinelander High School partition of the squad finished 27th out of 33 Division 2 squads in the half-league event. The Rhinelander Northwoods Composite side, comprised of area riders outside the School District of Rhinelander, took 20th. 

Brothers Holden and Henry Schmitz were the only high school riders to compete for RHS. Holden Schmitz was 19th in the varsity boys’ division, finishing the three-lap course in 1 hour, 16 minutes, 57.1 seconds. Henry Schmitz was 16th in the D2 boys’ JV3 division, finishing two laps in 54.15.0.

On the RNC side, Cody Price was 24th in the varsity boys’ race (1:18:06.4), William Gregersen was 17th in D2-JV3 (55:11.0). Conley Meyer was eighth in the D2-JV2 race covering a shorter two-lap course in 42:09.8. Everett Smith was 23rd in the same division (49:48.8).

In middle school action, RNC had four riders in the top 11 of the high-end MS2 boys’ category. Rhinelander riders Hans Sommer (37:09.7) and Jacob MacFarland (37:15.3) were third and fifth, respectively. Emmett Tucker was seventh (38:36.7) and Liam McKissack was 11th (40:10.0).

Alexander Rusch was seventh in the eighth-grade boys’ race (19:58.5), Evelyn MacFarland was fifth in the sixth-grade girls’ race (22:55.6) and Cecily Sharpe was 17th in the sixth-grade girls’ race (33:42.2).

The WICL teams that did not compete in Eau Claire on Sunday will compete in Waukesha this coming weekend. The next race for the RNC squad will take place Sept. 28 in Fall River.

Rhinelander native Retzlaff nabs Xfinity Series top 10

Rhinelander native Parker Retzlaff scored an eighth-place finish in NASCAR’s second-tier Xfinity Series last Saturday at Worldwide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois.

After qualifying 26th, Retzlaff piloted his No. 4 Chevrolet for Alpha Prime Racing into the top 10 by the end of the race. It marked only the second top-10 finish of the season for Retzlaff, and the first since a runner-up showing at Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway on April 19.

“Feel strong on the efforts we showed yesterday. Thank you (car sponsor) Advion for joining us,” Retzlaff posted on X following the race. 

Last Saturday’s race marked Retzlaff’s 100th career Xfinity Series start and his 14th career top 10 finish. The result was not enough for Retzlaff to advance into the series’ 12-driver playoff for the championship. He finished the regular season in 25th in the championship standings. While still eligible to compete in the remaining seven races of the season, Retzlaff can finish no better than 13th in the final standings.

The series is back in action tonight at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

Rhinelander’s Kowieski earns Lou Warobick Foundation scholarship

Brody Kowieski, a 2025 Rhinelander High School graduate and member of the RHS boys’ golf team was named a recipient of Lou Warobick Junior Golf Foundation Sportsmanship Scholarship, the organization announced last week in a press release. 

The scholarships are awarded annually to college-bound high school senior boys’ and girls’ golfers from Wisconsin who best exemplify good sportsmanship and contributions to their school and community. Golf coaches, athletic departments, golf professionals, associations and other golf officials throughout Wisconsin nominate high school seniors.

The scholarships are meant to promote good sportsmanship. The foundation is  named in memory of Wisconsin State Golf Hall of Fame honoree, Lou Warobick. 

Kowieski was one of seven students, statewide who received the award. He is attending the University of Notre Dame this fall.

WIAA moves team state wrestling tourney to La Crosse

The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association and the La Crosse Center have reached a three-year agreement, moving the state team wrestling tournament to the La Crosse Center effective in March 2026.

“With the expansion of the state team wrestling tournament format this year and the advent of the state girls’ team tournament in 2027, this event has actually outgrown the UW Fieldhouse’s floor space and warm-up areas,” WIAA Executive Director Stephanie Hauser said. “The UW staff has created a welcoming environment for this tournament for 19 years. We are very grateful for nearly two decades of hospitality and look forward to continuing to host the Individual Championships on UW’s campus at the Kohl Center. We are excited to continue to provide the outstanding championship experience for the student-athletes, coaches and spectators with the move to the La Crosse Center.”

In June, the WIAA Board of Control approved an expansion of the state boys’ team wrestling tournament to increase the qualifying teams in Divisions 2 and 3 to eight teams, equaling the number of Division 1 qualifiers. The new format requires additional mats to accommodate Division 2 and 3 quarterfinals in the tournament schedule. The available floor space in the UW Field House is limited to four mats. An additional two mats will be required when the girls’ state tournament adds a dual-match format to determine its team champion in 2026-27.

Built in 1980, the La Crosse Center offers a competition area of 21,000 square feet that can accommodate 8-10 wrestling mats with a seating capacity of 4,537 for the tournament and built-in concession areas. Additional square footage of open space will be utilized for team and warm-up areas.

The La Crosse Center has successfully hosted WIAA state tournaments in recent years. The first-ever state girls’ individual wrestling tournament was conducted in the facility in 2022. In 2021, Divisions 2, 4 and 5 of the state boys’ and girls’ basketball tournaments were held at the venue in efforts to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the Center has hosted the Bi-State Wrestling Classic since 1982 and has been the home of the La Crosse Catbirds of the Continental Basketball Association and the La Crosse Spartans of the Indoor Football League.

A state team wrestling tournament with a dual-meet format to determine a team champion in all three divisions began in 1991-92. The first two team tournaments were held at UW-Stevens Point. Then in 1994, the tournament moved to West Allis Central High School where it remained through 2004 when it moved to the UW Fieldhouse in Madison in 2005 through the 2024-25 season.

The state boys’ team wrestling tournament, termed the “Meet on the Mississippi,” is scheduled for Friday-Saturday, March 6-7, 2026. Tournament competition time schedules will be altered to accommodate the change in format. The state individual wrestling tournament is scheduled for Feb. 26-28, 2026 at the Kohl Center in Madison.