The Northwoods River News

Track: Hodag girls rally to win Merrill Indoor

It came down to the final event on Thursday as the Rhinelander High School girls’ track team picked up its first meet victory of the 2024 season. The Hodags scored a runner-up finish in the 10-lap relay, which was just enough to vault them into first place in a hotly-contested Bluejay Indoor Invitational at Merrill High School.

Hodag soccer picks up tempo late in scrimmage

It took some time for the old and new pieces of the Rhinelander High School girls’ soccer team’s attack to gel Thursday night in its preseason scrimmage against Merrill. Once that happened, the Hodags were virtually unstoppable.

Team review: RHS gymnastics

Hodags gymnastics building toward brighter future

Following a couple of lean years for the Rhinelander High School gymnastics program, the 2023-24 season marked what could be the start of a turnaround for the Hodags.

Team review: RHS boys’ hockey

Hodags played best hockey toward end of season

The Hodags won three of their final four games to close out the regular season. Entering the playoffs as a No. 8 seed, Rhinelander gave eventual state qualifier Tomahawk a scare before falling 5-3.

Spring practice notebook

Teams adapting to Nature’s curveball

The final group of spring sports to begin practice for the upcoming season did so on Monday, though one wouldn’t have been able to tell by looking outside.

Hodag softball goes winless in opening tourney

It was a trial by fire this past weekend for the Rhinelander High School softball team. A squad rebuilding after losing a number of key pieces from last season ran into some tough competition from the start, dropping all three games it played in the Danny Mac Classic at the Hodag Dome.

Team review: RHS boys’ basketball

Hodag Hoops returns to top of GNC

Thanks to a couple of key upsets and a gritty finish to the year, the RHS boys' basketball team ended up cutting down the nets at the end of the regular season. Rhinelander knocked off Medford in a game that decided who was going to share the conference crown with Mosinee.

Belanger, Denis share hockey’s Al Baker, MVP awards

Joey Belanger and Gavin Denis shared both the RHS boys' hockey team’s Most Valuable Player award and the Alfred O. Baker award given to the team’s most outstanding senior during the team’s banquet last Tuesday in the RHS commons.

Team preview: RHS girls’ soccer

Though Rhinelander graduated the GNC’s top scorer from last year, with five all-conference players returning and a talented incoming freshman class, coach Nathan Bates and the Hodags believe this can be the year they finally get past Lakeland and back to the top of the GNC.

Team preview: RHS softball

Hodags to be work in progress with new coaches

The Rhinelander High School softball team opens its 2024 season today and tomorrow with three games inside the Hodag Dome during the Danny Mac Softball Classic. The hope for first-year coaches Ali Bender and Sadie Adamski is how the squad looks on the final day of the season is different than it was on opening day.

RHS track finishes mid-pack in Ashland

Lamers, Bergman claim multiple events for Hodags

Junior Truman Lamers won the triple jump and high jump as the Hodag boys scored a fourth-place finish, while sophomore Aila Bergman swept the 60- and 200-meter hurdles to help the Hodag girls nab fifth in the eight-team Oredocker Large School Indoor Invite in Ashland.

Team review: RHS wrestling

Hodags get back into win column

The Rhinelander High School wrestling team is still looking to recapture the success it had back in the mid 2010s. It’s been a slow process for third-year head coach Scottie Arneson, but the Hodags found ways to be more competitive this season.

Team review: RHS/NPHS Alpine Ski & Snowboard

Hodags competitive despite crazy year on snow

During this month’s season-ending banquet, coach Rod Olson was quick to note that this year’s members of the Rhinelander/Northland Pines Alpine ski team may have been “the best group of humans that I’ve ever coached,” he also admitted the best part of the season may be that it’s over.

Bowling: Hodags’ Dellenbach helps D9 girls win all-star title

District 9 swept the boys and girls’ championships in an event that brought together the best bowlers in each district in a team-style competition Saturday at Riviera Lanes in Green Bay. The Rhinelander area club bowling program got to enjoy part of that success as Rhinelander junior Johanna Dellenbach was on the winning D9 girls’ squad.

Peewee Bs take 3rd, As 6th at state

The Hodags walked away with the third-place trophy as the host team in the Peewee 3B state tournament while the Peewee As ended up falling short in the consolation championship game, taking sixth in an eight-team tournament in Somerset.

Gretzinger named Hodag Hoops MVP

Quinn tabbed as Mr. Defense

Will Gretzinger was voted the team’s most valuable player while Will Quinn received the Mr. Defense award during the team’s season-ending banquet Wednesday in the RHS commons.

Merrill’s return to GNC lauded as good fit

Bluejays to return in fall of 2025 following WIAA OK

The Great Northern Conference will have a new chartered member in 2025 and, from multiple perspectives, the addition appears to be a welcome and natural fit.

Warm and wacky Nordic ski season hits finish line

Teter leads Hodags with 27th-place finish at state

The Wisconsin Nordic Ski League distance state championship at the American Birkebeiner Trailhead. The Hodag girls were missing three skiers as they took 10th out of 12 complete teams in the field. Due to absences, the Hodag boys didn’t have enough skiers to field a qualifying roster.

Hodag Alpine team caps season with banquet

The Rhinelander/Northland Pines Alpine ski and snowboard team signed off on the 2023-24 season Sunday night. Coach Rod Olson used one word to sum it up, “crazy.”

Big numbers, warm weather have Hodag track eager for season

Excitement is high for the Hodag track team, which has seen its numbers continue to boom over the last few years. Coach Aaron Kraemer said more than 110 athletes have registered for the team and more than 90 of them were on hand for Monday’s opening practice.

RIA Peewee teams gearing up for state tourneys

A squad travels to Somerset, B team to host

The Rhinelander Ice Association will see both of its Peewee hockey teams in action this weekend at Wisconsin Amateur Hockey Association state tournaments.

Team review: RHS boys’ swimming

Hodags prove themselves with state runner-up finish

After securing its third consecutive top-three finish in the WIAA Division 2 state championships, no one should be doubting the Rhinelander Hodags’ place as one of the top small school boys’ swim programs in the state.

RHS swimmers reflect on season, King earns High Point Award

The Rhinelander High School boys’ swim team celebrated Monday following another season that saw it achieve some lofty goals.

Hodag Hoops handles Hayward in WIAA tourney opener

Fourth-seeded Rice Lake awaits tonight in regional semis

Devon Feck scored 16 points, Will Gretzinger added 15 and the Hodags blitzed Hayward in the first half on their way to a comfortable 65-40 win in a Division 2 regional final game Tuesday at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.

All-GNC: RHS basketball teams each earn 5 honorees

Lemmens named co-coach of the year

Following successful regular seasons, both the Rhinelander High School boys’ and girls’ basketball teams were well-represented on the All-Great Northern Conference squads.

A return to the summit

Hodag Hoops slays Medford 50-45, earns share of first GNC title since 2018

Will Gretzinger scored 17 points in the second half and the Hodags held the Raiders to 33% shooting in a 50-45 victory at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.

RHS gymnasts look for momentum at sectionals

The Hodags will take part in a WIAA Division 2 sectional in Antigo this evening and, while qualifying as a team for next weekend’s state meet in Wisconsin Rapids is a deep long shot, sending an individual or two to state for the first time since 2021 is not out of the realm of possibility.

Hodag boys’ skiers take 4th in D2 at state

The Hodag boys placed fourth in Division 2 and 14th overall in the WIARA Ski and Snowboard Championships at Mt. La Crosse. The Hodags girls were last in both the D2 field and overall.

Hodag Hoops upsets Mosinee, sets up GNC title game vs. Medford

Gretzinger nets 1,000th point on late 3

On Friday night in Mosinee, the Rhinelander High School boys’ basketball team finally got the signature win it has been looking for. That win has set up the Hodags, potentially, for an even bigger triumph on Thursday.

Kurtz denied again, RHS wrestlers stopped at sectionals

Rhinelander High School senior Owen Kurtz was pinned by Hayward’s Bradey Gottwald in the third period for the third and final state qualifying spot in the 215-pound weight class in the Division 2 sectional meet, marking the end of Kurtz’s Hodag career.

Lady Hodags drop regular season finale

Treder sets single-season 3-point mark in Mosinee defeat

A nearly 10-minute scoring drought to start the second half was the difference as the Hodags fell to Mosinee 53-47 in at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.

RHS gymnasts post season high at GNC meet

Balance beam set the tone for a strong performance Saturday for the Rhinelander High School gymnastics team. The Hodags posted a season high in that event, and parlayed the performance into a season-high overall score, as they totaled 113.3 points in a third-place finish in the Great Northern Conference Small Division meet at the YMCA of the Northwoods.

Hodags push Tomahawk in playoff loss

The Rhinelander High School boys’ hockey team could not pull off a Cinderella upset Thursday night in Tomahawk, but it certainly gave the top-seeded Hatchets much more of a game than it did in the regular season.

‘A win of our own’

Hodag swimmers break three school records, finish second at D2 state meet

The Hodags scored four runner-up finishes and placed second at the state championships in Waukesha. Rhinelander broke three school records in the process and wound up with eight podium finishes out of their 16 entries.

Swimming: A look at the field for tonight’s state meet

Rhinelander has tough road ahead of it as it tries to become the first repeat WIAA Division 2 boys’ swim state champion since Madison Edgewood in 2019-20. Here’s a quick look at what to expect from each event.

Hodag Hoops rolls Shawano 72-55

First-place battle at Mosinee on deck tonight

Seth Nofftz scored 20 points, leading four Hodags in double figures, and Rhinelander led nearly wire-to-wire in a 72-55 victory in a non-conference contest at Shawano.

Still something to prove

Hodags swimmers back in Waukesha, aiming for another state trophy

The Rhinelander High School boys’ swim team does not have much to prove as it heads back to Waukesha tonight as the defending WIAA Division 2 state champions — at least not to itself or the rest of Hodag nation.

Hodag Hoops fends of Lakeland, stays alive in GNC title race

Will Gretzinger led all scorers with 25 points and the Hodags fended off Lakeland down the stretch in a 65-55 win at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.

Lady Hodags drop GNC title fight to Lakeland

The Rhinelander High School girls’ basketball team needed a win Friday night to keep its Great Northern Conference title hopes alive. The defending conference champion Lakeland T-Birds had a different idea.

Hodag wrestlers advance three to sectionals

Three members of the Rhinelander High School wrestling team are moving on to sectionals as the Hodags took eighth place in a 13-team WIAA Division 2 regional Saturday in Medford.

Hodag hockey falls to Antigo, finishes 6th in GNC

The Robins raced out to four goals in the opening period and defeated the Hodags 9-4 in the fifth-place game of the Great Northern Conference tournament Saturday in Mosinee.

Hodag gymnasts take 8th in Ashland

The Rhinelander High School gymnastics team posted another solid score as it took eighth on Saturday in the Ashland Valentines Invite. The Hodags earned their third-best score of the year, totaling 109.9 points.

Sectional six-peat

Hodag swimmers hold off Ashwaubenon, advance 16 entries to state

The Rhinelander Hodags had a strong day Saturday, winning seven events and advancing 16 of their 21 entries into the WIAA state meet, as they won a sixth-straight sectional title in Ashwaubenon.

Boys' hoops: RHS can’t keep up with No. 4 SPASH

A big first half run proved too much for the Rhinelander High School boys’ basketball team to overcome against one of the best teams in the state Tuesday night.

RHS/Pines skiers battle slippery slopes at Snow River

The Rhinelander/Northland Pines Alpine ski and snowboard team did not have its strongest day on the snow Tuesday in the Northern Conference finale but did enough throughout the course of the season to take home some team and individual hardware.

Hodag Hoops falls in OT to Medford

RHS drops two in three-game stretch

The Rhinelander High School boys’ basketball team came into Raider Hall Thursday night looking to kick off a daunting three-game stretch and keep itself in the driver’s seat in the Great Northern Conference title race. The Hodags left disappointed, as a team searching for a signature victory let another close game slip away.

Three Hodags wrestlers win GNC titles

Kurtz named co-wrestler of the year

Logan Schwinger, Owen Kurtz and Reid Schultz claimed titles at 190, 215 and. 285 pounds for Rhinelander, which finished sixth in the tournament. The Hodags finished tied for fifth in the final conference standings with Antigo, which they beat head-to-head during dual meet competition.