Cross country: Hatchets shine on home turf, at conference championships

TOMAHAWK – The Tomahawk High School cross country team hosted its annual invitational and took part in the Great Northern Conference (GNC) Championships.

Hatchet Invitational

The Tomahawk High School cross country team hosted seven teams for their annual Hatchet Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 12.

For the first time in many years, the meet was hosted on school grounds. The new course takes athletes around the baseball field and then into the school forest before hitting the first mile on School Rd. The athletes then exit the school forest and do a loop on school grounds by the softball field before returning to the school forest for the final loop. The two-mile mark is on Hiawatha Trail, as runners are beginning their second loop of the school forest. After exiting the school forest for a second time, the athletes finish just beyond the baseball field’s left field fence.

Conditions were cold and rainy, but this did not deter the Hatchets in the slightest. The girls’ race was first, resulting in the Hatchets winning at both the varsity and junior varsity levels. The boys followed with a second-place varsity finish and first-place junior varsity finish.

“Was it cold and rainy? You wouldn’t have known that it was supposed to be a gloomy day in Tomahawk,” said coach Steph Ahrens. “This was the first time in many years that the high school cross country team hosted a meet on school grounds, a huge advantage for our team that knows every nook and cranny of the course. Our student-athletes exploited enough of the race to run some great times.”

Nearly all the varsity girls were medalists. Leading the pack was senior Alli Palmer in a time of 20:27 for 2nd place overall. Other varsity finishers were Lydia Shaney (5th-21:44), Ellie Micke (6th-21:53), Abbie Rosenmeier (8th-22:28), Norah Mann (10th-22:49), Reese Molitor (13th-23:08) and Faith Derleth (17th-23:45).

Girls’ varsity team scores: Tomahawk-27, Rhinelander-51, Antigo-73, Mosinee-82, Lakeland-DNS, Merrill-DNS.

The junior varsity girls were also nearly all medalists. Leading the junior varsity squad was sophomore Elise Gibeault, making her return from injury with a 2^nd-place finish in 23:12. Other junior varsity finishers were Joa Reilly (3rd-23:30), Reagan Gorell (6th-24:51), Lizzy Arnott (7th-25:26), Jennie Frederickson (9th-25:49) and Aliyah Nelson (11th-26:16).

Girls’ junior varsity team scores: Tomahawk-27, Rhinelander-28, Mosinee-DNS.

The boys managed to get three medalists. The fastest boy was 4^th-place finisher Sam Zastrow in a time of 17:20. The other varsity finishers were Dominic Boos (9th-18:20), Joe Zastrow (12th-18:24), Beau Stromberg (16th-18:42), Jeremiah Johnson (20th-19:04), Drew Voermans (21st-19:11) and Nathan Rosenmeier (24th-19:22).

Boys’ varsity team scores: Rhinelander-29, Tomahawk-51, Crandon-70, Merrill-106, Mosinee-111, Lakeland-DNS, Antigo-DNS.

Having five medalists and no other junior varsity team having five runners guaranteed the junior varsity boys would win. Setting the tone for the junior varsity was freshman Dawson Jones, who took 2nd overall in a time of 19:13. Other junior varsity finishers were Jordyn Carew (3rd-19:30), Bruce Peetz (5th-19:51), Ryan Montag (8th-20:28), Luke Morrison (9th-20:32), Will Boneck (12th-20:56), Elliot O’Connor (14th-21:08), Mason Riebe (15th-21:22), Cayden Shepler (17th-21:59) and Gerard Gorell (18th-22:02).

Boys’ junior varsity team scores: Tomahawk-15, Lakeland-DNS, Rhinelander-DNS, Mosinee-DNS, Crandon-DNS, and Merrill-DNS.

“It was great to see a good portion of Tomahawk at the meet,” said coach Jerett Flynn. “The girls winning the varsity race was great, especially knowing that the majority of the competition is our conference. The junior varsity sweep to defend our home course was excellent. Even though the boys’ varsity fell to Rhinelander, they made an awesome effort, and now they’re armed with what it will take to challenge the Hodags at Northland Pines next weekend.”

“When you have 20 seasonal best times, you know it’s a great meet,” said coach Connor Ahrens. “The fact that many of our student-athletes are popping now before we begin our training taper speaks to our students’ sheer grit and determination. Some of the biggest races came from some of our underclassmen, like Joe Zastrow, Dawson Jones, Abbie Rosenmeier and Reagan Gorell. As a coach, these are the kind of races that get you really excited for the postseason. ”

After the awards ceremony, Hatchet cross country parents and seniors were recognized for their service and commitment to the program.

“Without their help, the Tomahawk cross country program would not be what it is today,” the Hatchet coaches said. “Once again, the coaching staff thanks all past and present cross country parents and alumni who have made their mark on Hatchet cross country. We also would like to thank the School District of Tomahawk maintenance staff for helping get our home middle and high school cross country courses ready for their races.”

GNC Championships

On Saturday, Oct. 29, Tomahawk traveled north to Eagle River for the Great Northern Conference (GNC) Cross Country Championships.

Kicking off the day’s races in a big way was the girls’ varsity team with a decisive, second-year-in-a-row victory. This was achieved by once again having all five of the girls’ scoring runners attain All-Conference honors.

Due to the girls’ team first-place finish, Coach Ahrens again earned the GNC Coach of Year award.

The next race was the boys’ varsity. Like last year, the boys once again placed third, but this time five boys earned All-Conference honors.

The last race of the day was the combined junior varsity races. The junior varsity boys dominated with a total score of 19 points to win the boys’ race, and the junior varsity girls took second, behind Rhinelander. The junior varsity squads had ten runners finish in the top ten of the boys’ and girls’ races, respectively.

“These kids truly don’t know their own potential yet,” coach Flynn stated. “We got a little preview of what they’re capable of today, and we’re extremely proud of them.”

Senior Alli Palmer earned All-Conference 1st Team for the second time in her career, placing 3rd overall with a time of 20:30. Earning All-Conference 2nd Team were junior Lydia Shaney (9th-21:30), freshman Ellie Micke (11th-21:44), sophomore Abbie Rosenmeier (12th-21:44) and sophomore Elise Gibeault (14th-22:11).

The rest of the girls’ varsity was made up of senior Reese Molitor (25th-23:07) and sophomore Norah Mann (29th-24:27).

Girls varsity results: Tomahawk-44, Medford-63, Rhinelander-63, Lakeland-64, Northland Pines-143, Mosinee-145, Antigo-DNS.

Seniors Sam Zastrow and Dominic Boos earned All-Conference 1st Team, placing 4th (17:44) and 6th (17:55), respectively. Earning All-Conference Honorable Mention were freshman Joe Zastrow (16th-18:52), junior Jeremiah Johnson (18th-18:59) and junior Beau Stromberg (19th-19:08).

The rest of the boys’ varsity was made up of senior Nathan Rosenmeier (25th-19:40) and freshman Dawson Jones (37th-20:40).

Boys’ varsity results: Lakeland-36, Rhinelander-55, Tomahawk-63, Medford-102, Mosinee-111, Northland Pines-137, Antigo-DNS.

Winning the junior varsity races, respectively, were freshman Jordyn Carew with a time of 19:06 and junior Faith Derleth with a time of 23:04.

The rest of the junior varsity Hatchets included Karson Hanse (3rd-20:37), Mason Riebe (4th-20:56), Bruce Peetz (5th-21:07), Ryan Montag (9th-21:10), Will Boneck (10th-21:44), Elliot O’Connor (11th-21:51), Cayden Shepler (16th-22:18), Gerard Gorell (18th-23:00), Reagan Gorell (6th-24:55), Lizzy Arnott (9th-26:21), Kailynn Hanse (10th-26:27), Jennie Frederickson (14th-28:26), Aliyah Nelson (15th-28:30) and Abi Micke (16th-28:34).

Boys’ JV results: Tomahawk-19, Lakeland-44, Rhinelander-DNS, Medford-DNS, Mosinee-DNS.

Girls’ JV results: Rhinelander-28, Tomahawk-39, Medford-59, Northland Pines-DNS, Mosinee-DNS.

“Our kids got out to great starts for both the boys and girls races,” said coach Carmi Pietila Cleary. “Many looked very strong at the two-mile, which is essential this late in the season. It was a very exciting day with our boys getting third and our girls winning conference back to back years.”

“Our junior varsity boys dominated and the junior varsity girls also had a good race,” said coach Connor Ahrens. “This displayed Tomahawk’s depth and the promise of great teams to come, assuming we keep our current roster and our athletes stay hungry. Lots of fast times, and the biggest difference in this race compared to others is that our kids showed their competitiveness. The team had a plan to execute during the second and final miles of the course. Most succeeded, and it resulted in desirable team results.”

This week’s action

The next race for the Hatchets is Friday, Oct. 25, as Tomahawk heads to Colby High School to compete in the WIAA Division II Sectional meet. The top two teams and the top five non-qualifying team members advance to the State meet the following weekend in Wisconsin Rapids.