STAR JOURNAL REPORT

The Rhinelander High School track and field teams found themselves competing among more than 10 teams Friday at the Otto Bacher Invitational at Merrill.

The Hodag boys, who came in eighth in the 11-team field with 32 points, recorded three top-five individual finishes led by freshman Daniel Ritchie placing third in the 400-meter dash (58.35 seconds). Ritchie was 4.46 seconds off the winning pace of Merrill’s Isaiah Heyel.

RHS got fifth-place finishes from junior Alex Monk in the 110 hurdles (19.09) and A.J. Kopplin in the high jump (5 feet, 6 inches). Sophomore Brock Lieder cleared the same height in the high jump as Kopplin, but ended up in seventh place based on tiebreaker criteria that take into account the number of missed attempts.

Other Hodag boys scoring points included sophomore Josh Francisco and freshman Nickolas Kriesel finishing sixth and seventh, respectively, in the 100 dash in times of 11.98 and 12.14, and freshman Peyton Erickson ending up sixth in the triple jump (35-9).

RHS’s boys picked up nine team points in the relay events by placing fourth in the 4×100 (47.66), sixth in the 4×200 (1:43.04) and eighth in the 4×400 (4:08.28).

Lakeland Union High School won the boys team title with 145 points, followed by Medford (128.5), Merrill (120.5), Wausau East (75.5) and Antigo (67) rounding out the top five.

RHS GIRLS 10TH

In the girls competition, the Hodag girls could only muster 10 points when they finished 10th in the 12-team field. Marshfield came in first at 147, followed by Wausau East (106.5), Lakeland (99.5), Medford (71) and Mosinee (61) in the top five.

RHS’s only individual points came from junior Ellen Padgett placing sixth in the 200 dash (28.62) and freshman Ellen White ending up eighth in the 800 run (2:48.21).

The Hodags also finished in the top eight to score points in three relays by placing sixth in the 4×800 (11:22.93), seventh in the 4×100 (59.05) and eighth in the 4×200 (2:03.8).

RHS is back in action Tuesday at an invitational in Tomahawk.