Hodag Highlights: Track and Field team shows early promise

The Rhinelander High School track and field team has hit the ground running this spring, competing in two early-season meets and showing flashes of the talent that could make for an exciting year of Hodag athletics.
Ripon College Invite — March 20
Despite bringing a skeleton crew of fewer than 20 athletes to Ripon College, the Hodags turned in a competitive performance against a large field. The boys placed fifth out of 15 teams while the girls finished 11th.
Leading the way for the boys was Matthew Haselton, who proved to be one of the most versatile performers of the day. Haselton finished third in the 200 meters, eighth in the 60 meter with a time of 7.61 seconds in a race won at 7.30, and seventh in the triple jump. He also contributed to a sixth-place finish in the 4x200 relay.
The top finish of the day for the boys came from the 4x800 relay team of Dean Gillingham, Jonathan Campbell, Michael Brunette and Paul Denis, who combined for a second-place finish. Individually, Gillingham added a third-place finish in the 1600 meters, while Denis cleared a personal-best 10 feet, 6 inches to place fourth in the pole vault.

On the girls’ side, freshman Marsaides Williams made an immediate impression in her first high school meet, scoring in all four events she entered. Williams placed third in the long jump, sixth in the 200 meters, and sixth in the pole vault after clearing eight feet in her first-ever competition in the event. She narrowly missed a sixth-place finish in the 60 meter, coming in seventh by just .04 seconds. Kara Monk delivered the top individual girls’ finish of the meet, taking second place in the 1600 meter run, while Libbey Buchmann added a third-place finish in the shot put.
Northland Pines Indoor Meet — March 26
Six days later, a fuller Rhinelander squad traveled to Eagle River for the Northland Pines Indoor Meet and came home with a strong showing, with both the boys and girls teams placing second.
The boys got an event win from Myles Eagleson, who claimed first place in the triple jump in his first meet of the season. Ryley Hull won the 55 meter hurdles, and the team accumulated enough points across several second-place finishes to secure the runner-up spot in the team standings.
The girls were equally impressive, sweeping the top two spots in three separate events. Aila Bergman won the 55 meter hurdles, followed by Alexis Smith in second and Emeline Hintz in third. Hintz and Smith then went one-two in the 200 meter hurdles. In the pole vault, Macy Myers took first with Hintz earning second. Lily Treder had a remarkable day, placing second in the high jump, triple jump and long jump. Kara Monk continued her strong early season with a second-place finish in the 800 meter, and Lucy Eddy added a second-place performance in the 400 meters.