RHS boys win two events, take fourth in Ashland

ASHLAND — The Rhinelander High School boys’ track team was still missing a number of key pieces on Tuesday, but turned in a fourth-place performance in the eight-team Oredocker Large School Invitational in Ashland.

Several of Rhinelander’s returning athletes led the way as the Hodags scored a pair of wins and had 11 top-five finishes overall.

“Indoor is not practice, but kind of gauging what we have to do in our workouts and in our development,” coach Rod Olson said. “So we’ll follow that same game plan. We’re not at all worried about winning meets yet. We’re just using it as a foundation for the future.

“It was a good meet, but definitely not full staff right now.”

A couple of Rhinelander’s top athletes from last year broke into the winner’s circle on Tuesday. Junior Avrom Barr claimed the 1,600-meter run in a time of 5 minute, 0.24 seconds. He led most of the way and beat Hayward’s Christian Larson the line by 2.11 seconds. 

Senior Ayden Myers won in his season debut in the pole vault, clearing 13 feet. He won a tiebreaker for the win over Northwestern’s Hudson Landwehr, needing fewer jumps to clear the height. It was part of a solid day overall for the Hodag pole vault crew. In addition to going 1-2 on the girls’ side with Macy Myers and Emeline Hintz (see related story), the Hodags got a fifth-place showing on the boys’ side from junior Charlie Antonuk and a sixth-place finish from sophomore Paul Denis.

“I think pole vaulting has come so far in Rhinelander in the last couple years,” Olson said. “We got great coaching and we got some kids that are bought into it. Once you get that success, it just grows and you get more interest from those coming up.”

    Rhinelander’s Dean Gillingham competes in the 4x800-meter relay during the Oredocker Large School Invite track meet in Ashland Tuesday, March 24. (Blake Richard/River News)
  

Overall the Hodags had a solid showing from its distance crew. In addition to Barr’s win in the 1,600, the Hodags were second in the 4x800 with the squad of junior Jackson Weinzatl, junior Jonathan Campbell, Denis and sophomore Dean Gillingham (9:27.04). Gillingham won a three-way photo finish for fourth in the 800 (2:14.07) and sophomore Michael Brunette came home fourth in the 3,200.

“I did see some growth within our own team,” Olson said. “Like Mikey Brunette, I can see some strength, gains in him, and just the approach to running a race like the 2-mile. Avrom did outstanding.” 

Rhinelander added a 3-4 finish in the 55-meter hurdles with the junior tandem of Amos Bergman and Ryley Hull. Junior Landon Catlin was third in the triple jump, senior Sam Zwaard took fifth in the long jump and the Hodags were fifth in the 4x400 with the squad of Hull, Campbell, sophomore Konner Bex and sophomore Matthew Haselton.

Rhinelander finished behind GNC rivals Northland Pines (first) and Lakeland (third) in the meet, though the Hodags were still without a number of key pieces following spring break — including sprinters Cyrus Leisure and Ben Olson, and jumper Myles Eagleson, all of whom qualified for sectionals last year.

“We got quite a few of our teams here that are conference and regional competitors. I saw some of their younger athletes starting to grow too,” coach Olson said. “So, you know, no rest for us. We gotta keep improving every day, every week. But yeah, just a great meet and pretty happy with what we saw for the crew that we brought.”

The Hodags were back in action Thursday at Northland Pines in a meet that concluded after press time for today’s edition. Visit RiverNewsOnline.com for a recap of that contest and read a full report in Tuesday’s River News. 

Rhinelander competes Tuesday at the Merrill Indoor Invite. Coach Olson said once again the lineup will likely feature a mix of top returning athletes and new faces as the team begins to solidify what its lineup will look like once it gets outdoors.

“We’re going to stay with the same approach. Let’s see what we’ve got. are moving some kids in and around events, trying to see what they are good at, where we can shine, what kind of runner we’ve got in each kid,” he said.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].