Hodag wrestlers compete in Merrill, Lakeland

It was a busy couple of days for the Rhinelander High School girls’ wrestling team. After finishing in the middle of the pack Saturday, Jan. 10 in the Bluejay Challenge in Merrill, the squad was back on the mat Monday, taking part in a make-up Great Northern/Wisconsin Valley challenge night at Lakeland Union High School in Minocqua.

Rhinelander was in the middle of the pack there, too — finishing fourth out of the six teams a field that also included Tomahawk, Lakeland, Medford, Marshfield and D.C. Everest. 

The second of three scheduled challenge nights ahead of the inaugural conference tournament was originally planned for Tuesday, Jan. 6 at D.C. Everest, but was postponed due to icy road conditions.

“I think it’s a great event. I’m glad we’re able to do some conference meets,” Hodag girls’ coach Caleb Radtke said. “I think the girls really like it. I think they like the format of being able to wrestle on a conference duel, just like the boys do, and it’s good competition.” 

The Hodag girls held their own Monday, going 6-6 in their contested bouts, led by junior Cassidy Lindner. She improved to 25-3 as she dominated both of her matches. Lindner started with a late second-period pin over Tomahawk’s Lillian Taves and then knocked off Lakeland’s Emma Louis by technical fall in the second period. D.C. Everest’s Madison Kersten scratched from her scheduled bout against Lindner.

“Another good night for Cassidy. She looked good out there, took some nice shots, finished nicely. Looked good on top. It’s good night for her all around,” Radtke said.

    Rhinelander’s Katie Hazelton takes down Lakeland’s Moriah Lewis during a GNC/WVC Challenge match in Minocqua Monday, Jan. 12. Hazelton recorded a last-second takedown to defeat Louis, 6-4. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

Katie Hazelton wound up third in her four-wrestler bracket after losing out on a three-way tiebreaker for first with a 2-1 record on the night. 

Hazelton started her night with a last-second takedown of Lakeland’s Moriah Lewis to earn a 6-4 decision and added a pin over Marshfield’s Madason Cournoyer in her final bout. The freshman nearly went unbeaten on the night, as she was leading Lakeland’s Jordyn Durant in the third period of their bout before getting turned and pinned with 24 seconds remaining. 

“Really good night for Katie. She did get beat by (Moriah Louis) at Merrill on Saturday. So it was a quick turnaround for her and she was able to get it done,” Radtke said.

Skylar Leitl split her matches on the night, holding on for a 7-6 win over D.C. Everest’s Kalie Dement in the opening round before getting pinned by Tomahawk’s Alena Cerkes. Nevaeh Anderson also picked up a win, pinning Tomahawk’s Riley Wilmot.

“It was a good night for both of them. Nevaeh’s kind of had a little bit of a break here. She’s had some stuff going on, so it was good to see her out competing again, and glad to see she got a win tonight,” Radtke said. “Skylar as well, that girl from D.C. Everest (Dement), she’s been beat by her twice on the season so far. So, I was really glad to see her come out strong, hand fight hard and get to her attacks and ultimately get her hand raised.” 

Miranda Daab was pinned in both of her matches on Monday.

The final GNC/WVC Challenge night of the season for the Hodags will take place this coming Tuesday at Tomahawk. The conference tournament is set for Feb. 6 in Medford.

Bluejay Challenge

    Rhinelander’s Skylar Leitl looks to escape against D.C. Everest’s Kalie Dement during a GNC/WVC Challenge match in Minocqua Monday, Jan. 12. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

Both the Hodag boys’ and girls’ squads were in Merrill Saturday, Jan. 10 for the Bluejay Challenge. The Hodag girls tied for 13th in a 26-team field while the Hodag boys were 23rd out of 27.

Lindner reached the finals at 120 pounds thanks to a pair of technical falls in the preliminary rounds and a quick pin over Lakeland’s Jazmine Champman in the semifinals, but lost to Payten Craig of Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau/Melrose-Mindoro by major decision, 14-2 in the championship match. 

“It was another exciting day for Cassidy. There were some opportunities that were there (in the championship match), and we were just unable to capitalize on them,” Radtke said. “Bigger picture, She wrestled really well again. I feel like she got back to her offense. She was shooting a lot of shots, being aggressive, and I was happy to see that today.”

Leitl went 1-3 on the day and finished seventh in a 10-wrestler bracket at 152 pounds. She finished her day with a win by pin in the championship match. Hazelton was 1-4 on the day and took eighth at 132 pounds. Daab was winless to take fourth in a four-wrestler bracket at 235.

“There’s a lot of fight. I think we are starting to get better as a team. I mean, we’re definitely learning and growing (and) starting to win a little bit more, in my opinion, which is nice,” Radtke said. “(We’re) starting to beat girls that we were getting beat by or had extremely close matches with. I’m starting to see some separation and pulling away so that’s good to see.”

On the boys’ side, the Hodags failed to have any of their varsity wrestlers reach the championship bracket. The best finishes on the day came from Avrom Barr and Gage Anderson, who finished 10th at 144 and 157, respectively. Barr won two matches on the day while Anderson avenged a loss to Merrill’s Ryan Coates earlier in the season. 

“In a dual meet setting that’s a difference of 12 points when we get pinned in a dual meet and pin them (today), if you’re looking at dual-meet wise, you’re looking at closing the gap on a team like Merrill,” Hodag boys’ coach Scottie Arneson said. “And that’s a kid we’re gonna see for two, three, possibly four more times this year. It’s always a good one to get, and hopefully we can just keep gaining confidence.”

Michael Tredupp (126), Ivan Loka (132) and Anthony Boldt (150) all finished 17th in their brackets. Hoyt Dantoin was 18th at 138 and Jeffree Dupree was 19th at 165.

“We were able to get put together some wins at the end of the day, which, which always leaves you feeling good,” Arneson said. “I think some kids are disappointed with the place value that’s next to their name at the end of the day, but when we can get almost 25 minutes of mat time in one day, it’s always good for a program and especially an inexperienced one like ours.”

The Hodags also had a few wrestlers compete in JV brackets, with Noah Monk taking second at 113, Elias Puza finishing third at 165 and Dawson Sachse taking fifth at 175.

The Hodag boys were at Lakeland Thursday taking on the T-Birds and Elcho in a double dual that concluded after press time for today’s edition. Visit RiverNewsOnline.com for a recap of those duals and read a full report in Tuesday’s River News. 

Both the Hodag boys’ and girls’ squads are in action Saturday, with the Hodag boys heading to the Weston High School Invite and the Hodag girls traveling to River Valley.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].