2024 THS fall sports summary

TOMAHAWK – It is hard to believe that the fall sports season has already come to a close.

Activity Director, 2008 Tomahawk High School (THS) grad Ryan Flynn, the coaches and athletes are to be congratulated on their desire to be competitive each and every time that they represented Tomahawk High School. Tomahawk graduates continue to be a staple in coaching our various athletic teams, and you will note that I mentioned the graduation years of THS grads who have found a way to give of their time and talent in helping Tomahawk athletes to become successful.

Thanks to them and all non-THS grads who work with our youth.

Cross country

Let’s start our fall summary with the boys’ and girls’ cross-country programs.

Coaches for both programs were 2012 THS grad Connor Ahrens in his third year as head coach, and he was assisted by 2012 THS grad Stephanie Ahrens, 2019 THS grad Jerett Flynn, 2008 THS grad Kurt Cordova, Kurt Reinke, 2003 THS grad Carmen Pietela-Cleary and 1986 THS grad Bill Turgeon.

Coach Ahrens and staff did an excellent job of keeping up the fine tradition of a strong cross-country program established over the years.

Members of the boys’ program were Elias Albrent, William Boneck, Dominic Boos, Gerard Gorell, Karson Hanse, Jeremiah Johnson, Dawson Jones, Jaxon Kaiser, Zach Larson, Julian Lasee, Trae Mattson, Ryan Montag, Luke Morrison, Elliot O’Connor, Bruce Peetz, Mason Riebe, Cayden Shepler, Beau Stromberg, Andrew Voermans, Joseph Zastrow and Samuel Zastrow.

The season started with an eighth place of 14 teams at the Rhinelander Invitational. Next came the Marathon Invite, where THS was fifth of 15 teams. The Menominee Invite followed and saw Tomahawk place 12th of 15 teams. At the famous Wausau “Smiley” Invite, Tomahawk was 14th of 24 teams in Divisions 2/3. The Three Lakes Invite saw THS place third of nine teams. THS was then fifth of 16 teams at the Athens Invitational. At their last competition before conference, Tomahawk was second at their own invitational with 51 points, with Rhinelander winning with 29 points.

Results from conference were Lakeland 36, Rhinelander 55, Tomahawk 63, Medford 102, Mosinee 111, Eagle River 137 and Antigo did not have a complete team.

Making All-Conference were Sam Zastrow and Dominic Boos first team; and honorable mention honors went to Joe Zastrow, Jeremiah Johnson and Beau Stromberg.

Sectionals at Colby saw Tomahawk place 7th of 14 teams with 136 points. New London was first with 76, while Rhinelander qualified for state with 86 points. Dominic Boos missed qualifying for state as an individual by one position when he finished 9th overall.

Members of the girls’ program were Elizabeth Arnott, Faith Derleth, Liam Dickrell, Jennie Frederickson, Summer Gaedtke, Elise Gibeault, Reagan Gorell, Leni Lange, Norah Mann, Abigail Micke, Ellie Micke, Reese Molitor, Aliyah Nelson, Alli Palmer, Joa Reilly, Abbie Rosenmeier and Lydia Shaney

Their season started at the Rhinelander Invite, where they placed third of 13 teams. The Marathon Invite was next with THS placing third of 14 teams. The Menominee Invite saw Tomahawk place ninth of 14 teams. At the “Smiley” Invite in Wausau, Tomahawk was 10th of 21 teams in Divisions 2/3. Tomahawk would then win the Three Lakes Invite, defeating eight other teams (led by Alli Palmer, who was the meet medalist). The Athens Invite saw Tomahawk place fourth of 16 teams, and in their last competition before conference, Tomahawk would win their own invitational with 27 points, compared to 51 for second-place Rhinelander.

Conference saw Tomahawk repeat as conference champions and earn their 22nd conference title in school history. Team results were Tomahawk 44, Medford 63, Rhinelander 63, Lakeland 64, Eagle River 143, Mosinee 145 and Antigo did not have a complete team.

Because of their success Coach Ahrens, and his staff were recognized as GNC Coaches of the Year.

Earning All-Conference honors was Alli Palmer, first team, while Lydia Shaney, Ellie Micke, Elise Gibeault and Abbie Rosenmeier were all second team.

Sectionals at Colby saw Tomahawk earn their 18th sectional title in school history and their 25th trip to state. Tomahawk was first of 14 teams with 67 points, while Shawano was second with 68 points. Placing for Tomahawk was Alli Palmer third, Lydia Shaney 11th, Abbie Rosenmeier 15th, Ellie Micke 16th and Elise Gibeault 22nd.

State at Wisconsin Rapids saw Tomahawk place 15th of 16 teams with 317 points. University School of Milwaukee was Division 2 champions with 60 points. Placing for Tomahawk was Alli Palmer 36, Elise Gibeault 64, Abbie Rosenmeier 69, Ellie Micke 72, Lydia Shaney 76, Norah Mann 98 and Faith Derleth 107.

Football

Our next sport is football.

Head coach was 1996 THS grad Dewey Reilly in his second year as head coach. He was assisted by 1996 THS grad Jason Olsen, Cooper Kelley, 1994 THS grad Tony Derleth, Aaron Evans, 1990 THS grad Jeremy Zimmerman, Dewey Reilly Sr. and 1992 THS grad Erik Halverson.

Team members were Ty Eckstein, Walter Horabek, Jack Derleth, Rex Reilly, Cash Olsen, Jett Reilly, Landyn Seymour, Zach Germano, Tiegan Sarazin, Brayden Larson Braxton Stromberg, Hudson Evans, Colin Black, Max Larson, Miles Mcgowan, Jason Watkins, Lucas Haring, Marman Hoffman, Colton McMeekin, Ted Frederickson, Nathan Reimer, Jax Westlund, Mason Hensel, Logan Norman, Corbin Brennan, Tyler Sundquist, Camerson Dahm, Kaiden Kapellusch, Matt Walbeck, Ethan Gibeault, Hudson Seymour, Connor Germano, Noah Williamson, Zak Halverson, Fletcher Baumann, Nathan Norman, Michael Samundsen, Tanner Wanna, Kenny Turner, Mathis Vojcik, Nathan Kurth, Stephan Beczka, Dane Islo, Ed Meador and Jack Amelse.

Tomahawk was back in the Great Northern Conference (GNC). Tomahawk was like several other teams in the GNC and battled injuries all season long and often found themselves moving players around to put the best team possible on the field. It was the first time that Tomahawk had played Antigo and Merrill since 2009 and the first time they had played Mosinee and Medford since 2010. It also was the first time that Tomahawk had played a Wausau school since 1990.

Tomahawk was 3-6 overall and 2-5 in the conference. Non-conference games saw THS defeat Crandon 28-6 (Brayden Larson rushed for 146 yards on 14 carries, while Rex Reilly lead the team with 16 tackles) and lose to Wittenberg-Birnamwood 26-14. In conference games, Tomahawk defeated Rhinelander 27-21 (Tomahawk faked a 48-yard field goal attempt and threw a touchdown pass from Brayden Larson to Landyn Seymour with seconds left in the game for the victory) and Merrill 17-11. Conference losses were 27-11 to Wausau East (Tomahawk had seven turnovers while Rex Reilly rushed for 228 yards), 28-14 to Mosinee (Brayden Larson had 176 yards rushing on 27 carries and two touchdowns while Sarazin had 147 yards on 16 carries), 38-7 to Medford, 27-21 to Antigo in overtime and to Lakeland 7-6 (a blocked extra point attempt was the difference).

Final conference standings were Medford 7-0, Mosinee 5-2, Wausau East 5-2, Lakeland 3-4, Merrill 3-4, Antigo 2-5, Tomahawk 2-5 and Rhinelander 1-6.

All-Conference first team honors went to Brayden Larson (offense), Walter Horabek (offense) and Brayden Larson (defense). Second team honors went to Ethan Gibeault (offense),  Rex Reilly (defense) and Ethan Gibeault (defense). Honorable mention All-Conference honors went to Nathan Norman (offense) and Jack Amelse (defense).

Girls’ swimming

Our next fall sport is girls’ swimming.

The Hatchets were coached by Megan Backes in her first year as head coach.

Team members were Abigail Roberts, Kaylee Roberts, Aubrey Tollefson, Dorian Stefan, Elizabeth Long, Emma Hoff, Kailynn Hansen, Kami Gabrich, Kylie Peissig, Lily Krueger and Morgan Kretzschmar.

Tomahawk was 14^th of 14 teams at the Merrill in the Sun Relays and 1-6 in conference duals. THS defeated Mosinee 96-44 and lost to Lakeland 106-45, Antigo 80-65, Medford 135-31, Rhinelander 135-31, Colby/Abby 108-50 and Ladysmith 86-73.

Final conference dual meet standings were Rhinelander 7-0, Medford 6-1, Colby/Abby 5-2, Antigo 4-3, Lakeland 3-4, Ladysmith 2-5, Tomahawk 1-6 and Mosinee 0-7.

Conference tournament results were Rhinelander 415, Medford 267.5, Colby/Abby 173, Lakeland 151, Antigo 128.5, Ladysmith 96, Tomahawk 56 and Mosinee 13. For the first time since 2005, Tomahawk did not have any All-Conference honors.

Tomahawk’s season would come to an end at sectionals, when they placed 13th of 14 teams. Sectional results were Rhinelander 413.5, Wittenberg-Birnamwood 232, Medford 216.5, Rice Lake 202, Merrill 196, Lakeland 174, Colby/Abby 144.5, Antigo/Wabeno 140.5, Black River Falls 134, Wausau East 122, Ladysmith Co-op 96, Menominee 49, Tomahawk 33 and Mosinee 18.

Volleyball

Our last sport to look at is volleyball.

Head coach was 1991 THS grad Keith Hanse in his second year as varsity coach. Keith was assisted by 1997 THS grad Emily Pierce, 2021 THS grad Aubrey Fryar, 2020 THS grad Mady Hanse and Lauren Shauer.

Team members were Sara Gebauer, Kaylynn Sandry, Ella Peissig, Sophia Kiser, Alicia Voermans, Siennah Calkins, Claire Albert, Sophie Olsen, Averi Petta, Shelby Borowski, Freya Alberg and Adalai Gedde.

Tomahawk’s overall record was 14-19 with their season coming to a close in the regional finals. The season started out with THS in third place in the silver bracket at UW-Whitewater coming away with a 3-5 record by defeating Waterloo twice and Kenosha Bradford while losing to Monona Grove, Kenosha St. Josephs, East Troy, Shoreland Luther and Oregon. Next, Tomahawk defeated Rhinelander 3-1. At the DCE Invite, THS was 1-3 by defeating Wausau East and losing to SPASH, Merrill and DCE. Tomahawk then defeated Crandon and Ashland 3-0 before losing to Antigo 3-1. At the first GNC Meet at Medford, Tomahawk was 1-2 by defeating Eagle River and losing to Medford and Mosinee. Lakeland then defeated Tomahawk 3-0 in a conference dual. At the Tomahawk Triangular, THS was 1-2 by defeating Prentice and losing to Newman Catholic and Marathon. The next conference matches saw Tomahawk go 1-2 by defeating Eagle River and losing to Mosinee and Medford. Wittenberg-Birnamwood was Tomahawk’s next opponent, and in this non-conference competition, THS would come away with a hard-fought 3-2 win by scores of 23-25, 17-25, 25-21, 25-19 and 15-9. The last three conference matches saw Tomahawk lose to Antigo and Lakeland while once again defeating Rhinelander.

Final conference standings were Mosinee 11-1, Medford 11-1, Antigo 8-4, Lakeland 6-6, Tomahawk 4-8, Rhinelander 2-10 and Eagle River 0-12.

All-Conference honors went to Siennah Calkins (first team), Claire Albert (second team) and Shelby Borowski (honorable mention).

Moving down to Division 3 because of declining school population, Coach Hanse prepared his team well for a deep dive in the playoffs. In tournament action, Tomahawk would defeat Sturgeon Bay 3-0 (25-10, 25-20, 25-19) and Wrightstown 3-0 (the number 3 seed 25-22, 25-20, 25-21) before losing to number two seed Oconto in the regional finals 2-3 (25-21, 21-25, 15-25, 25-21, 12-15).

THS athletic grads who have passed

Last but not least, I would like to pay respects to the THS athletic grads who recently passed away.

They are Neal Leggett, a 1957 THS grad who played football, basketball and baseball; Gordy Derleth, a 1957 THS grad who played baseball; Bernie Haring, a 1960 THS grad who played baseball; and John Stelling, a 1964 THS grad who played football, basketball, track and baseball.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to their families.