RHS Sports recap: Friday, May 8

Baseball: Rhinelander 8, Northland Pines 1

The Rhinelander High School baseball team moved one step closer to its first Great Northern Conference title in 14 years Friday with a convincing 8-1 victory over Northland Pines in Eagle River. 

The Hodags broke open a 2-1 game with a five-run fifth inning as they outhit the Eagles 12-6 in the contest. Jackson Waydick went 3-for-5 at the plate with a double and four RBIs. Conner Rappley had two hits and two RBIs as he helped his own cause on the mound. Rappley allowed two hits over 5 1/3 innings, allowing an unearned run on two hits with two walks and 10 strikeouts. 

Second baseman Josh Willoughby and right fielder Rowan Wiczek left the game in the fourth inning after colliding while chasing a fly ball. Neither player returned to the contest. 

Rhinelander (12-0, 10-0 Great Northern) moved three games up on Northland Pines and Mosinee in the loss column in the GNC race with four conference games remaining and can clinch at least a share of the conference title with one more conference win. 

The Hodags’ first chance will come Monday on the road at Merrill.

Track: RHS girls 1st/13, boys 3rd/13, Otto Bacher Invite

The Rhinelander High School girls’ stack team won six events — sweeping the top two in three of them — as they claimed the Otto Bacher Invitational Friday in Merrill. The Hodag boys finished third in a 13-team field.

Aila Bergman claimed both the 100 and 300 hurdles for the Hodags wile Libbey Buchmann won both the shot put and discus. Macy Myers claimed the pole vault and the Hodags took first in the 4x100 relay with Shyanne Hueckstaedt, Marsadies Williams, Olivia Ruetz and Violet Biolo. 

Bergman and Williams went 1-2 in the 300 hurdles; Myers and Emeline Hintz went 1-2 in the pole vault and Buchmann, Jalyn Zadnik and Sam Aschenbrenner claimed the top three spots in the shot put. 

On the boys’ side, Avrom Barr was a winner in the 1,600 and Ayden Myers claimed the pole vault. 

The Hodags will travel to Tomahawk for an invite on Tuesday.

Golf: Rhinelander 3rd/8, GNC Meet No. 4

The Rhinelander High School golf team shot 332 on Friday as it finished third in the fourth leg of the GNC tournament at Eagle River Golf Course. 

The Hodags had three golfers place in the top 10 as the finished 10 strokes behind meet winner Lakeland. Chase West took third with a 77, Grant Gremban finished eighth with an 80 and Blake Petroff came home 10th with an 82. 

Hank Kowieski shot 93 and Dylan Shefveland shot 95.

The Hodags will travel to Merrill Saturday for an invite. 

Boys’ tennis: Rhinelander 7, Wisconsin Rapids 0

The RHS boys’ tennis team earned a 7-0 sweep over Wisconsin Rapids on the road Friday in non-conference play. 

Rhinelander was all seven flights in straight sets. Asher Rivord, Calvin Loomis, Aidan Lueder and Mark Currie took the singles flights while Danek Koniar/Henry Bonardelli, Brayden Barnhill/Kellen O’Malley and Owen Evers/Roan Childs made up the winning doubles combinations. 

The Hodags (12-7, 3-0 Great Northern) host Pacelli on Monday.

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