GNC rivals Rhinelander, Lakeland likely to vie for swim sectional title
Hodags projected to send 15 entries to expanded state meet
The Rhinelander High School girls’ swim team will be looking to extend its historic run of sectional championships on Saturday. A familiar rival will be trying to stand in its way.
Team review: RHS girls’ golf
Lady Hodags make strides on the course in their second season
Year No. 2 of the Rhinelander High School girls’ golf team brought with it some steps toward solidifying the team’s long-term future.
Gillingham, Barr finish mid-pack at state
Junior Dean Gillingham and senior Avrom Barr both had mid-pack finishes, taking 57th and 70th, respectively out of the field of 152 runners in the Division 2 boys’ race at the Ridges in Wisconsin Rapids.
Barr, Myers named fastest Hodag harriers again
For the second straight year, seniors Avrom Barr and Macy Myers were honored as the fastest harriers on the Rhinelander High School cross country team during the team’s banquet Tuesday, Oct. 27 in the RHS commons.
Shoutouts & Callouts
Ueck, we did it!
The world champion Milwaukee Brewers played for each other, they played for their manager, they played for their city and their state, and they played for the one man everyone wishes would have been here to witness this moment.
Barr, Gillingham prepping for WIAA state cross country meet
Rhinelander's Avrom Barr and Dean Gillingham are in it together as they prepare for the D2 state boys’ race Saturday afternoon at the Ridges in Wisconsin Rapids.
All-GNC roundup: 43 Hodags earn all-conference honors
The Great Northern Conference unveiled its 2026 all-conference teams for the fall sports season on Monday, with 43 Rhinelander High School student-athletes making the list.
Wiczek wins Hodag football’s Mathisson Award
Senior Rowan Wiczek took home the Rhinelander High School football team’s top honor Sunday, being named this year’s Maurice “Moose” Mathisson Award winner as the team’s most outstanding player.
Hodag volleyball team hands out awards
The Rhinelander High School volleyball team handed out awards from the 2026 season during a banquet Sunday evening in the RHS commons.
Fox Valley Lutheran racks up 590 yards of offense in 54-14 playoff win over RHS
The Rhinelander High School football team could not slow down Braden Heiges and the high-flying Fox Valley Lutheran offense Friday night in the first round of the WIAA playoffs.
Cross country: Gillingham, Barr advance to state
Hodag boys finish third; girls team, without Myers, takes fifth
Home-course advantage didn’t play out as the Rhinelander High School cross country team would have hoped Friday as it hosted a WIAA Division 2 sectional meet at Northwood Golf Club.
Merrill holds off Hodags in soccer tourney opener
The Rhinelander High School boys’ soccer team had plenty of chances in its WIAA playoff opener, but needed to convert on one or two more of them to extend its season.
Hodag football energized for playoff opener against explosive Foxes
It’s no stretch to say the final 9 1/2 minutes of football last Friday night changed a lot regarding the narrative of the 2026 season for the Rhinelander High School football team.
Hodag harriers second in GNC, eye state berths at sectionals
The Rhinelander High School cross country team ran strong in the Great Northern Conference meet, but not strong enough to come away with a conference title.
RHS swimmers eye GNC eight-peat tonight
The Rhinelander High School girls’ swim team will look to add another bullet point to its impressive résumé over the last decade tonight as it seeks to claim its eighth straight Great Northern Conference title at the conference meet in Minocqua.
Hapka earns girls’ golf MVP honors
Following a season in which junior Ashlyn Hapka wrote her name into the opening pages of the RHS girls’ golf team record book, she walked away with the team’s top honor.
Playoff berths possibly at stake as Hodags, T-Birds battle for Axe
For the Hodags to sleep well tonight and not worry about if they make the playoff field, they’re going to have to do something they haven’t done since 2021 — beat Lakeland for the Axe.
Hodag harriers take second in GNC tune-up
Rhinelander fared well in a test run on the conference course Saturday, Oct. 10, finishing runner-up to Lakeland in both the boys’ and girls’ divisions of the Hatchet Invite in Tomahawk.
Homecoming collapse
Blown 21-point lead vs. Wausau East puts Hodags’ playoff hopes in peril
Up 21-0 late in the first half, the Hodags mustered only nine yards of offense after halftime and surrendered 25 unanswered points in a 25-21 loss to Wausau East at Mike Webster Stadium.
Seniors shine for Hodag swim team in final home meet
Rhinelander won all 11 events, sweeping the top two spots in 10 of them, as it defeated Mosinee 136-29 in a Great Northern Conference dual meet at the Heck Family Community Pool.
Hodag soccer drops close one with Merrill
The Rhinelander High School boys’ soccer team found itself in a one-goal game against Merrill for the second time this season on Thursday, Oct. 8 but, this time, couldn’t conjure up with the late magic to steal a victory. Nathaniel Clutter’s 18th-minute strike proved to be the difference as Merrill edged Rhinelander 1-0 at Mike Webster Stadium.
Singles sweep into sectional for Hodag tennis
The Rhinelander High School girls’ tennis team started WIAA postseason play on a strong note at home on Monday, going 8-3 in its matches and tying for second in a Division 1 subsectional tournament conducted at the RHS tennis courts and the Hodag Dome.
Merrill blows out Hodag football 37-0
Nothing seemed to go right for Rhinelander Saturday, Oct. 3 in the Bluejays’ homecoming contest. Merrill led wire-to-wire, stymied the Hodags’ offense and parlayed short fields into easy scores in a 37-0 decision over the Hodags at Jay Stadium.
Hodag harriers sweep titles at Pines Invite
The Rhinelander High School cross country team stayed close to home Tuesday and returned with some hardware, sweeping the boys and girls’ titles at the Northland Pines Invite in Eagle River.
Golf: Hapka takes 40th at sectionals
Rhinelander High School junior Ashlyn Hapka shot 111 on Tuesday and placed 40th in a field of 47 girls during her maiden trip to WIAA sectionals at Thornberry Creek.
Hodag swimmers finish 5th in Fondy
The Rhinelander High School girls’ swim team completed one of its longest weeks of the season with a fifth-place finish in the 12-team Fond du Lac Invite Saturday, Oct. 3.
Back on top: Hodag girls win GNC tennis tourney, clinch first title since 2022
After a few down years by its standards, the Great Northern Conference girls’ tennis trophy has returned to Rhinelander. The Hodags claimed their first conference title since 2022, clinching it with a first-place finish at the GNC tournament Thursday, Oct. 1 in Wausau.
Hodags prep for rare Saturday matinee in Merrill’s homecoming
The Rhinelander High School football team had an extra day to reflect this week after letting last Friday’s home contest against Tomahawk slip away in a mistake-filled effort. The Hodags are hoping the additional time to refocus is just what the doctor ordered as they prepare to travel to Merrill tomorrow for the Bluejays’ homecoming game.
Hodag soccer plays GNC spoiler, forces Lakeland to PKs
The upstart Hodags got a third-minute goal from Jaime Nieto Bergo and held on from there as it played Lakeland to a 1-1 draw at Mike Webster Stadium.
Hodag soccer falls to Three Lakes 2-1 in non-conference play
The Rhinelander High School boys’ soccer team came within a couple of inches of stealing its second consecutive tie Thursday, Sept. 24 at Mike Webster Stadium.
RHS girls’ netters down Marshfield Columbus 7-0
The Rhinelander High School girls’ tennis team did what it needed to do Tuesday to maintain control of the Great Northern Conference standings heading into Thursday’s pivotal showdown at Lakeland.
Hodag swimmers win in home invite, 11th in Waukesha
The Hodags won seven of 11 events, and was the runner-up in four, as it won a six-team non-conference invite at the Heck Family Community Pool.
Answering the Bell
Late TD propels Hodags to 26-20 win over rival Antigo in 92nd Bell Game
In what felt like a 12-round heavyweight fight this past Friday night, the Rhinelander High School football team was able withstand a steady diet of Antigo body blows and land one final haymaker when it mattered the most.
Hodag soccer falls to undefeated Northland Pines
The Rhinelander High School boys’ soccer team hung with unbeaten Northland Pines for a while Thursday, Sept. 17, but eventually ran out of steam in the second half. Simon Adamovich scored twice, Ryan Rydeski added a goal and an assist and the Eagles defeated the Hodags 3-0 at Mike Webster Stadium.
RHS soccer rallies past Merrill 3-2
Win followed a draw and a loss at home invite
The Hodags scored twice in the final 6 minutes, 58 seconds of regulation — including Roan Childs’ game winner in the 77th minute — as they rallied past the Bluejays 3-2 at Jay Stadium.
Hodag harriers finish mid-pack in Stevens Point Invite
The Rhinelander High School cross country team embarked on the first of three key mid-season tests Saturday, Sept. 12 as it took part in the SPASH Panther Invitational at Standing Rocks Park in Stevens Point.
Hodag swimmers win two races, take 5th in Brookfield East Invite
The Rhinelander High School girls’ swim team traveled south Saturday, Sept. 12 to take part in the Brookfield East Invitational. The Hodags held their own in a field of predominantly Division 1 schools, winning a pair of events and placing fifth overall in the 13-team meet.
Victory at the Vet
Hodags bounce back, get first win in Mosinee as member of GNC
Rowan Wiczek had a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown, Brayden Dervetski added two scores on the ground, and the Hodags held off Mosinee 28-22.
Hodag tennis sweeps Medford, vaults to second in GNC
The Hodags claimed all seven flights in straight sets in a resounding 7-0 sweep of the Medford Raiders in Medford. The Raiders (9-4, 2-1 Great Northern) pushed the Hodags (10-8, 3-0) in some matches, but took no more than seven games in any flight as the Hodags won every set by at least one break point.
Hodag swimmers win all 11 events in GNC double dual
The Rhinelander High School girls’ swim team remained unbeaten in Great Northern Conference play Thursday, Sept. 10, cruising past Tomahawk 136-25 and hosting Colby/Abbotsford 134-34 in a conference double dual in Colby.
RHS golfers shoot season-best round in Marshfield
The Rhinelander High School girls’ golf team shot its lowest round of the season Friday, carding a 208 as it finished fifth in the fourth round of the Wisconsin Valley Conference golf tournament at Marshfield Country Club.
Hodags hitting reset button ahead of Mosinee game
Following a 42-point loss at home last Friday, coach Aaron Kraemer said the Rhinelander High School football team is hitting the reset button ahead of tonight’s Great Northern Conference contest at Mosinee.
Raiders run wild over RHS in GNC opener
Hodags allow 451 rushing yards in 62-20 loss
Medford’s Will Wojcik rushed for 250 yards and five touchdowns, and the Raiders added another 201 yards on the ground, in a 62-20 victory over the Hodags in the Great Northern Conference opener.
Hodag soccer ties Mosinee, falls in PK shootout
Rhinelander played Mosinee to a scoreless draw at Mike Webster Stadium, but it was Mosinee that prevailed in PKs 4-3 after two of Rhinelander’s six attempts failed to find the target.
Hodag tennis makes quick work of Phillips in sweep
The Rhinelander High School girls’ tennis team remained unbeaten in Great Northern Conference play on Tuesday, taking care of Phillips 7-0 at the RHS tennis courts.
Hodag golfers finish sixth in Wisconsin Rapids
The Rhinelander High School girls’ golf team shot 229 on Tuesday as it came home sixth in the third leg of the Wisconsin Valley Conference golf tournament at Bullseye Golf Club in Wisconsin Rapids.
Northwoods Gold
Hodag BMX readies to welcome hundreds of riders this weekend for Gold Cup district finals
Standing at the top of the hill, by the starting gate, Hodag BMX track operator and coach Robbie Deede feels young at heart. “When I’m out here, I’m 12 again,” he said. That was 27 years ago for Deede, now 39. He was around for the infancy of the track, located within Rhinelander’s West Side Park.
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