Lady Hodags pull away from Tomahawk, win 67-31
The Rhinelander High School girls’ basketball team took control late in the first half last Friday night to cruise past Tomahawk 67-31 in a battle of surprising undefeated teams in the GNC in Tomahawk.
Hodag wrestlers finish in middle of pack at home invite
With closer to a full lineup on Friday, the Rhinelander High School wrestling team finished in the middle of the pack in the Hodag Scramble held in the Hodag Dome.
2024 year in review: Top 10 local games
Looking back on the top games of 2024
When looking back at 2024, it was a case of quality versus quality in Rhinelander sports.
First half surge pushes Hodag Hoops past Ashland
It took the Rhinelander High School boys’ basketball team a few minutes to find its groove Tuesday night. Once that happened, there was no stopping the Hodags.
Hodags use early run to ground Eagles
Devon Feck scored 16 and led four Hodags in double figures as Rhinelander took care of Northland Pines 65-48 in a Great Northern Conference contest in Eagle River. The Hodags opened the game on a 21-2 run, building a margin they played with the rest of the game.
Hodag gymnasts place fourth at Snowflake Invite
The Hodags posted a score of 116.025 and finished fourth in the Snowflake Invitational, held at the YMCA of the Northwoods. That was less than a point off the total the Hodags had in their debut five days prior at Ashland, and still greater than any overall score the team posted last season.
Hodag swimmers pushed in home relays
RHS 3-0 in GNC after Tomahawk win
Bay Port won nine of 10 events and cruised to the team championship in the Hodag Relays at the Heck Family Community Pool. The Hodags came home second, fending off two other Division 1 programs — Superior and Marshfield — for the runner-up spot.
Hodag wrestlers take 15th in Crandon
The Rhinelander High School wrestling team was short-handed Saturday as it traveled to Crandon for the Rebel Invite, hosted by the Laona/Wabeno/Three Lakes co-op. The Hodags had only nine wrestlers compete and took 15th overall in the 16-team meet.
Memorable milestone
Nofftz scores go-ahead layup vs. Chargers as Lemmens nabs 200th career win
Seth Nofftz scored the go-ahead layup with 7 seconds remaining as the Hodags rallied to defeat the Wittenberg-Birnamwood Chargers 63-59 at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium. It marked the 200th career victory for Lemmens, who is in his 15th season coaching at his alma mater.
Hodag gymnasts improve in opening loss to Ashland
The Rhinelander High School gymnastics team dropped its 2024-25 season opener to defending GNC Small champion Ashland on Tuesday night but, in doing so, posted its highest score in coach Kristina Aschenbrenner’s three seasons at the helm.
Hodag Nordic eager for ‘normal’ season
The Hodag Nordic club ski team was on the trails last Saturday gearing up for the 2024-25 racing season.
Hodag Hoops races past Antigo
The Rhinelander High School boys’ basketball team picked up the pace Friday night and ran past a young Antigo squad in the Great Northern Conference opener. Truman Lamers scored 20 points, Devon Feck added 16 and the Hodags rolled to a 69-40 victory over the Red Robins at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.
Lady Hodags roll to fourth straight win
The Rhinelander High School girls basketball team pulled away from Antigo Friday night as it continued a successful home stand. Aubryn Clark scored 24 points and Vivian Lamers added a career-high 17 as the Hodags raced past the Red Robins 75-35 at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.
Hodag hockey drops pair of close contests
A young Rhinelander High School boys’ hockey team struggled to close out a pair of close games to end last week.
Team preview: RHS Gymnastics
Hodags eager to take step forward in GNC
Following a few lean years, the 2024-25 season promises to be a step forward for the Rhinelander High School Gymnastics team. That progression can already be seen in the team’s roster, which has nearly tripled in size from a year ago.
Hodag wrestlers place 10th in opening tournament
The Rhinelander High School wrestling team got its first taste of competition for the year — and the first time ever in some individual cases — on Saturday in Antigo.
Comeback for the ages
Clark scores school-record 43 as Lady Hodags down Medford in OT 63-58
Aubryn Clark knocked down a top-of-the-key 3 with 6 seconds remaining to force overtime and finished with a school-record 43 points as the Hodags rallied from down as many as 21 to defeat the Medford Raiders 63-58 at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.
Hodag hockey strikes early, downs SEaLs 6-2
Drake Nelson scored twice and had a pair of assists, while Dylan Shefveland had a goal and two helpers, as the Hodags raced past Chequamegon/Phillips 6-2 in non-conference play at the Rhinelander Ice Arena.
Hodag swimmers sweep Medford in GNC opener
The Rhinelander High School boys’ swim team cruised in its first Great Northern Conference dual meet of the season. Rhinelander won all 11 events, finishing 1-2 in 10 of those races, to defeat Medford 134-31 in the Hodags’ home opener at the Heck Family Community Pool.
Team Preview: RHS Wrestling
Hodag grapplers looking to get back to top half of GNC
The Rhinelander High School wrestling team is trying to get back to the form it displayed in its heyday, the mid-to-late 2010s, when it was vying for Great Northern Conference titles on a yearly basis.
RHS girls’ swim team hands out year-end awards
All 14 members of the Rhinelander High School girls’ swim team walked away with one of the seven awards presented by the squad during the team’s season-ending banquet Monday at the Cedric A. Vig Outdoor Classroom.
Lady Hodags win both games of home tourney
The Rhinelander High School girls’ basketball team never trailed last weekend as it knocked off a pair of Wisconsin Valley Conference foes at home in the Tom Kislow Memorial Tournament.
Hodag Hoops blasts Crandon in opener
Devon Feck scored 14 points, leading four Hodags in double figures, in a 74-22 non-conference rout of the Crandon Cardinals.
Hodag swimmers place 5 in top 8 at Everest Pent
The Rhinelander High School boys’ swim team flashed its speed and versatility last Tuesday in its season opening meet. The Hodags placed five swimmers in the top eight, and seven in the top 13 overall, of the seven-team D.C. Everest Pentathlon.
Hodag hockey drops opener to Shawano
The Rhinelander High School boys’ hockey team faded late in the third period last Tuesday and lost to Shawano/Bonduel 5-1 in the season opener in Shawano.
Team review: RHS girls’ swimming
Trophy or not, Hodag swimmers still among state’s best
While the 2024 Rhinelander High School girls’ swim team was not quite the tour de force that the 2023 version was, the Hodags were still dominant in the northern half of the state and of Wisconsin’s best D2 programs overall this season.
Team review: RHS boys’ soccer
Inexperienced Hodags went through growing pains in 2024
With only a couple of seniors back from that squad, the Hodags went through a transitional year in 2024, experiencing growing pains along the way. The end result was a 4-10-2 record, a fourth-place finish in the Great Northern Conference and a first-round exit in the WIAA tournament.
Lady Hodags rally past Crandon 57-40 in opener
Sophomore Aubryn Clark scored 25 points and the Hodags outscored Crandon 25-7 over the final 12 1/2 minutes to defeat the Cardinals 57-40 on the road.
Team preview: RHS boys’ basketball
Hodags have big goals in GNC title defense
The Rhinelander High School boys’ basketball team emerged from the pack last season to claim a share of the Great Northern Conference title for the first time in six years. With a large amount of the rotation back from that squad, the Hodags have even bigger aspirations this season.
Team preview: RHS boys’ swimming
Hodags poised for another strong season
The Rhinelander High School boys’ swim team has had plenty of success over the past several seasons. The squad has captured six straight Great Northern Conference and WIAA sectional titles to go along with top-three finishes at the WIAA D2 state meet each of the last three years.
Team preview: RHS boys’ hockey
Hodag hockey looks to improve during season
Coach M.J. Laggis knows, on paper, the Rhinelander High School boys’ hockey team has its work cut out for itself during the 2024-25 season. After graduating the majority of its scoring production from last year and with a thin roster of only 15 players, progress may need to be found in areas other than the win-loss column.
Winter Practice Notebook
Experience helps Hodag Hoops start fast
With only eight days between the first practice of the season and the first game, the Rhinelander High School boys’ basketball team started this past Monday knowing it had little time to waste as it begins its Great Northern Conference title defense.
Massey, Hokens named Hodag soccer MVPs
Seniors Karter Massey and Hart Hokens took home the Rhinelander High School boys’ soccer team’s top honors on Saturday, selected as the squad’s defensive and offensive most valuable players. The awards were presented during the team’s year-end banquet in the RHS commons.
Team review: RHS cross country
Hodag harriers overcome adversity in return trip to state
The Hodags’ returned to the WIAA state meet as a team for the first time since 2021. The three-year trek to get back to Wisconsin Rapids felt more like an odyssey at times — filled with highs and lows that eventually culminated with a 14th-place finish for the boys’ squad at the D2 state meet earlier this month.
Hodag swimmers take 3rd at state
Francis repeats as D2 champion in 200 IM
The Rhinelander High School girls’ swim team relinquished the WIAA Division 2 state crown Friday night, but the Hodags made sure they went down with a fight.
Team preview: RHS girls’ basketball
RHS looks to reload in top-heavy GNC
The Rhinelander High School girls’ basketball team will look to keep pace against a strong top half of the Great Northern Conference this winter, but coach Ryan Clark concedes that it will be a challenge as up to half of his rotation will be seeing its first appreciable varsity minutes.
Paulson named WADA District 2 AD of the year
Rhinelander High School activities director Brian Paulson was recently named the district athletic director of the year by the Wisconsin Athletic Directors Association. The award was presented to Paulson during WADA’s annual conference Nov. 10-12 in Wisconsin Dells.
Team review: RHS volleyball
The Rhinelander High School volleyball team continued to make small, incremental gains in 2024 under first-year head coach Jayme Wyss that the team hopes will eventually lead it back to being a contender in the Great Northern Conference.
Hodags swimmers to face strong challengers in state title defense
The battle for the WIAA Division 2 girls’ swimming state championship appears to be a three-horse race going into tonight’s state meet in Waukesha — and the defending champion Rhinelander Hodags may need to go to the whip entering the final furlong.
Winter Practice Notebook
Lady Hodags hit the ground running in morning practice
The Rhinelander High School girls’ basketball team was up before the sun Monday morning as it rang in the first day of practice for the new winter sports season.
Hodag volleyball hands out awards
The Rhinelander High School volleyball team presented its year-end awards Sunday during a banquet in the RHS commons. The awards were a mix of coach-selected and statistics-based honors.
Sectional six-peat
Hodags swimmers win sectionals again, send 18 entries to state
The Hodags won seven events Saturday and advanced 18 of their 21 entries through to the WIAA Division 2 state meet as they rolled to their sixth consecutive D2 sectional title in Menomonie.
Shoutouts & Callouts
Thank you, Dan Bauer
Be it a father, a son, a husband, a respected co-worker, a faithful volunteer or a coach, we’ve lost a truly special human being in the passing of Dan Bauer.
Gremban, Teter named Hodag XC’s fastest harriers
One day after its final race at the WIAA Division 2 state meet, the Rhinelander High School cross country team officially put a bow on its 2024 season with a banquet in the RHS commons.
The roar ends in Wisconsin Rapids
Hodag harriers close season with 14th-place run at state
As seniors Greyson Gremban and Brody Kowieski approached the finish line at the WIAA Division 2 state meet Saturday, realization sunk in that their careers on the Rhinelander High School cross country team were coming to an end. With each stride, there was time to reflect on the highs and lows throughout the last four years and time to grasp what hitting that finish line one final time would mean.
31 Hodags earn all-GNC honors
Massey, Francis tabbed co-players of the year in their sports
Rhinelander High School had a total of 31 athletes garner All-Great Northern Conference honors during the 2024 sports season, including two who earned co-player of the year honors in their respective sports.
One more roar in ’24
Hodag harriers look to end year on high note at state meet
In a way, the hard work is already done for the Rhinelander High School boys’ cross country team. The Hodags have already achieved their stated goal for the 2024 season — qualifying for the WIAA Division 2 state meet. Yet, when the gun goes off one final time on Saturday afternoon, the Hodags want to put their best effort out on the course in Wisconsin Rapids and end the season strong.
Hodag bowling club enters year with fourth team
District 9 schedule kicks off Sunday in Weston
There will be even more bowling for the coaches of the Rhinelander area club bowling team to keep track of this fall.
SWEET REDEMPTION
RHS boys’ runners bounce back, claim state berth with runner-up finish at sectionals
Rhinelander placed four runners in the top 25 and came home second to claim a spot in the WIAA state meet during a WIAA Division 2 sectional in Colby.
Hodag swimmers cruise to 6th straight GNC title
The Rhinelander High School girls’ swim team showed once again on Friday that it is head and shoulders above the rest of the Great Northern Conference.