Hodags finish 6^th

STAR JOURNAL REPORT

Rhinelander High School junior Alayna Franson finished near the front once again when she placed third out of 84 girls varsity cross country runners at Thursday’s Waupaca Invitational.

“I was very happy with her run,” said RHS head coach M.J. Laggis.

Franson’s time on the 5,000-meter course of 20 minutes, 40.28 seconds, was 43 seconds off the winning pace of Marinette sophomore Kim Carviou in 19:57.27. Iola-Scandinavia junior Erika Kisting placed second in 20:12.72.

The Hodags’ four other runners whose finishes scored in the standings included junior Anna Sturzl (13^th in 21:49.4), senior Gracie Quinn (32^nd in 23:34.78), senior Payton Hartman (46^th in 24:48.66) and senior Carmen Incha (51^st in 24:55.21).

The Hodags’ Gracie Quinn finished 32nd in Thursday’s Waupaca Invitational.

“Franson, Sturzl and Quinn push hard in practice, and it shows in their competitive spirit on race day,” Laggis said. “Hartman and Incha both had nice runs.”

RHS’s other two girls varsity runners in the meet were sophomores Claire Bowman (56^th in 25:03.04) and Abby Krueger (61^st in 25:14.4).

“We need to get our No. 4-7 runners a lot faster before the end of the season, but it’s nice to see the improvement,” Laggis said.

The Hodags placed sixth out of the 12 teams with at least five finishers with a score of 137. Peshtigo had the top score of 93, followed by Fox Valley Lutheran (105), Winneconne (111), Tomahawk (134) and Marinette (134) in the top five.

BRIDGER FLORY 9TH

From left, the Hodags’ Bridger Flory leads Seymour’s Riley Volkman in Thursday’s Waupaca Invitational. Flory finished ninth overall in the boys varsity race in 18 minutes, 35.72 seconds.

The RHS boys also placed sixth with a score of 137 among 13 teams with at least five finishers. Tomahawk had the top score of 95, followed by Seymour (99) Fax Valley Lutheran (107), Peshtigo (119) and Amherst (133) in the top five.

The top-four boys runners all finished in under 18 minutes with Seymour senior Dylan Deschler finishing first in 17:37.6 and Peshtigo sophomore Cole Trimberger ending up runner-up in 17:48.25.

The Hodag boys had one runner finish in the top 10 with sophomore Bridger Flory placing ninth in 18:35.72. Joining Flory as RHS’s top-four finishers were senior Robert Ritchie (17^th in 18:59.86), Tyler Kolasa (26^th in 19:14.65) and junior Markus Johnson (36^th in 19:40.67).

“These four boys continue to get stronger because of their work ethic,” Laggis said. “They put a lot of effort into practices and I have total respect for their ability to push each other and compete. You watch those four work and grind day in and day out, and it makes me wish my own kid was with them. They are really a fun group.”

The Hodags’ fifth finisher to score in the standings was sophomore Anthony Gaudioso (56^th in 20:52.33), while their only other varsity finisher was freshman Konnor Kennedy (70^th in 22:02.51).

Next up for RHS is Tuesday’s invitational hosted by Northland Pines High School.

WAUPACA INVITATIONAL

GIRLS

Team scores: PESHTIGO 93, FOX VALLEY LUTHERAN 105, WINNECONNE 111, TOMAHAWK 134, MARINETTE 134, RHINELANDER 137, IOLA-SCANDINAVIA 145, WRIGHTSTOWN 188, WEYAUWEGA-FREMONT 211, SEYMOUR 217, AMHERST 225, WAUPACA 308.

Top finisher: Kim Carviou, MARINETTE, 19:57.27.

BOYS

Team scores: TOMAHAWK 95, SEYMOUR 99, FOX VALLEY LUTHERAN 107, PESHTIGO 119, AMHERST 133, RHINELANDER 137, WINNECONNE 161, ST. MARY CATHOLIC 175, WAUPACA 221, MARINETTE 227, WRIGHTSTOWN 244, WEYAUWEGA-FREMONT 293, SHIOCTON 329.

Top finisher: Dylan Deschler, SEYMOUR, 17:37.6.