MINOCQUA - For the second straight season, the Rhinelander High School girls soccer team crowned themselves atop the Great Northern Conference.
The Hodags downed Lakeland 2-0 in sloppy conditions Tuesday night to clinch at least a share of the conference title.
“When we look at a 2-0 win, at least a share of the conference championship, it’s a great night for us,” said Hodags coach Dan Millot.
Pounding rains left the field in a messy condition for kickoff. Standing water, in some cases several inches deep on the field, made for a night of creative play.
“On a night like tonight, the ball is slippery, you’re playing under the lights, they even had one bank of lights out – we were playing out of the shadows. Backyard soccer,” Millot laughed.
Rhinelander scored both of its goals in the first half, and was never seriously at risk of giving up a tally to the Thunderbirds.
Gabbe Millot found a seam in the seventh minute and put a shot past charging Lakeland goalie Natalie Jonas for the first score.
“We were fortunate for Gabbe to get that goal in early and pressure them. I think they were a little bit surprised, going down 1-0 early in the game after playing so many opponents extremely tough,” Millot said.
The Thunderbirds had not allowed a goal in GNC play since a May 7 loss at Northland Pines.
In the 32nd minute, Claire Tracy arched a free kick from about 30 yards to the perfect spot to put the Hodags up two goals.
“It was (placed perfectly). She’s got the leg to get it there. We’ve got a few girls on this team, if you give them the green light to shoot from distance, to put the ball on net, (good things happen),” Millot said.
A stingy Rhinelander defense kept up their solid play Tuesday night.
In five GNC games, they have yet to allow a goal.
Morgan Voigt had eight saves in goal for the Hodags, none of which required extraordinary play. Credit for that goes to the Rhinelander defense in front of her.
“We’ve done a fantastic job all season of keeping people off of her,” Millot said. “To have zero goals allowed in conference, that’s awesome. That’s awesome. Hopefully we can continue that this Thursday against Medford.”
That game against the Raiders could secure an outright conference championship for Rhinelander with a win or tie.
“Medford brings a lot of tenacity to the game. They only have one loss for the conference season. That was against Lakeland. We had a nice showing against them early in the season, but you have to throw everything out the window,” said Millot, referring to a 4-0 Hodag win over the Raiders in what was counted as a non-conference game.
Medford certainly still has something to play for. A Raider win would secure a tie with Rhinelander for the GNC title. But Millot reminded his players they’re going for two in a row.
“We are the defending conference champions. We are conference champions until someone knocks us off. (Our team) is really going to have to earn that.”
Rhinelander at Lakeland Tuesday, May 21 Rhinelander 2 0 – 2 Lakeland 0 0 – 0 First Half: 1, R, Gabbe Millot, 6:58. 2, R, Claire Tracy, 31:15. Team Stats R L Shots 10 12 Shots on Goal 8 8 Corner Kicks 4 3
WAUSAU - Playoff season has arrived for area softball teams. Regional semifinals were held around the state Monday.
Rhinelander finished second in the GNC. The Hodags took on the Lumberjacks at Wausau East.
Bottom of the 1st - Wausau East's Paige Heinrich sends one to deep left. 2 runs score to tie things up at 2.
Top of the 2nd - now 3-2 Rhinelander. Bases juiced for Sophie Schmidt, who gets it through to left. One run is in, another Hodag tries to score. But she's thrown out at the plate. Hodags up 4-2.
RHINELANDER - Monday night, former Northland Pines boys basketball coach Ryan Clark was officially hired by Rhinelander High School.
Clark takes over as the Hodags girls basketball coach.
Clark was also hired for a teaching position. He will be a special education teacher.
Clark coached 8 years at Northland Pines. Back in February, Clark was reinstated for one more season. That reinstatement came after alot of community support for the coach. However he was forced to make several changes to his coaching methods. After looking at the school district's expectations, he decided to resign in March.
RHINELANDER - Monday night could prove to be a big night for the Rhinelander Girls Basketball team. No they were not playing. The Hodags have a new head coach.
Rhinelander Athletic Director Charlie LeHam was searching for a new coach. Last month, Mark Jacobson stepped down after one season.
LeHam recommended former Northland Pines boys coach Ryan Clark. The recommendation was given to the school board. The board met in a closed door session. That is standard with the district. Clark was also recommended for a teaching position in the district. After the closed door session, the votes were made. The board unanimously approved Clark for both positions.
RHINELANDER - The exciting sport of Roller Derby has finally made it's way to the Northwoods. We've been following these ladies since they started practicing a year ago and Saturday night, they made things official.
The Northwoods Derby Knockouts hosted their very first bout in front of a packed house at the Rhinelander Ice Arena. They went up against the Keweenaw Roller Girls from Houghton, Michigan. The Knockouts wearing green.
If you've never seen it in person, you're missing out! The bout lasts an hour, divided into 2 halves... and the team earns points when the jammer, who you see with the star on her helmet, passes opposing skaters.
The ladies were thrilled to show off their skills.
The Knockouts won in convincing fashion taking their debut bout 277-115. They have 5 more scheduled this year and you can catch them back in Rhinelander this August.
ANTIGO - This weekend motor sports fans were cheering on their favorites at a Demolition Derby in Antigo. It's basically bumper cars, on steroids.
Over 50 drivers from across the country competed at the Langlade County Fairgrounds.
The goal, is to deliberately ram their cars into all the others. The drivers go both forward and in reverse trying to make contact.
After all the smashing and crashing the last car that still can operate, is the winner.
Another group that benefited from the event was the Elcho Fire Department. Money raised from concession sales will go toward buying new equipment for the firefighters.
After the dust settled, the derby was a huge success.
Antigo Horse Trainer D. Wayne Lukas Wins at Preakness
Submitted: 05/18/2013
BALTIMORE - Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas made history at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday when he saddled Oxbow for a front-running upset victory in the 138th Preakness Stakes (G1). The 15-1 long shot gave his 77-year-old trainer his sixth Preakness victory, as well as his 14th triumph in a Triple Crown event.
Lukas, who had been tied with legendary “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons since saddling Commendable for a Belmont Stakes victory in 2000, became the winningest trainer in Triple Crown history.
Overlooked by the bettors, who made Kentucky Derby winner Orb their 3-5 favorite in the field of nine 3-year-olds, Oxbow was in control throughout the 1 3/16-mile Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown on his way to victory by 1 ¾ lengths under Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens.
WISCONSIN RAPIDS - Ever wanted to be up close and personal with the Packers? Today fans had that chance in Wisconsin Rapids. It was the team's final stop on their Tailgate Tour. Every visit is a fundraiser for an area charity.
This one was for Opportunity Development Centers. They help people with disabilities work and succeed.
Over 1,000 Packer fans were at Witter Field.
Packers President Mark Murphy was on hand. So were current players Randall Cobb, Alex Green, and Jarret Bush. Former Packer greats Santana Dotson, Frank Winters and Aaron Taylor were there too.
The team answered questions from fans and also signed autographs. The Packers were happy to meet fans and make a difference.
RHINELANDER - Only a few more weeks till school is out for summer and seniors are busy finalizing their plans for college. A Hodag volleyball star is heading to Minnesota.
Taylor Wissbroecker made it official today. She'll be playing women's volleyball for the University of Minnesota at Duluth.
Wissbroecker signed her National Letter of Intent this morning at Rhinelander High School.
She was the 2012 Great Northern Conference player of the year and led the conference in both kills and blocks. Wissbroecker visited the campus in Duluth in March and made a verbal commitment and she's confident she made the right choice.
Joe joined the Newswatch 12 sports team in July 2011 as the Sports Director.
Before coming to the Northwoods, Joe was the Weekend Sports Anchor at KBJR in Duluth, MN. Joe's resume includes working at WFRV in Green Bay, WDIO in Duluth, and WTCH radio in Shawano.
Joe has always had a passion for sports, especially football, hockey, and golf. Joe is a 2005 graduate from UW-Oshkosh with a B.S. degree in Radio/TV/Film. During his college days, he was the Sports Director for the university's radio station twice.
A native of Frog Station, WI (near Green Bay), Joe grew up watching the Packers, Brewers, and Bucks. In fact he also lists listening to old Packer radio braodcasts among his hobbies. Recently, Joe married his fiancee Amy.
When he is not watching or playing sports, he's likely reading or watching something on the American Civil War, or World War II.
Joe says,"In just a short time, I have really been made to feel right at home, thanks to the great folks in the Northwoods."
If you see Joe out on a shoot, please feel free to say hi and email any story ideas you may have.
Marisa Silvas joined the Newswatch 12 sports team in October 2011 as the Weekend Sports Anchor/Reporter.
Prior to coming to WJFW, she was an editor/associate producer for Comcast SportsNet Bay Area in San Francisco, CA. She also was a freelance field producer for NBC's Football Night in America and spent 6 years as a sports producer and editor for KNTV, the Bay Area’s NBC affiliate where she co-hosted a weekly Sports Sunday web show with Jerry Rice.
She graduated with a degree in Communications from Santa Clara University.
Marisa is new to the Northwoods and the cold weather but has lived in several different locations on her journey to Rhinelander. Coming from a family with military ties, she was born in Austin, TX, but also grew up in Mississippi, Lancaster, CA, San Antonio, TX before settling down in Campbell, CA for the past several years.
Marisa has always had a passion for sports and people and has followed her dreams to WJFW after pursuing a full time on-air job for several years.
Marisa likes all sports but is most passionate about the NFL, NBA and major league baseball. Since she has lived in many different locations her favorite teams are all over the country as well. You will see her following her favorites: the San Antonio Spurs, Oakland Athletics and yes, Packers fans, sorry, the Chicago Bears.
She is also an avid fantasy sports fan and has participated in fantasy football and hockey leagues the past 5 seasons. Feel free to ask her for the hot waiver wire pickup!
She and her husband of 4 years, Lyndon, have taken several vacations over the past few summers to visit all the MLB parks...she has now been to 14 and is excited to add Target Field to the list this summer! Her favorites so far are Wrigley, PNC and Miller Park. She and her husband also make an annual trek to Soldier Field to watch their beloved Bears and hang out in their favorite city, where they got engaged at the top of the Hancock Tower in 2007.
In her free time, she loves hanging out with her husband Lyndon and adorable puggle Walter. She also never misses her favorite TV show, Dancing With The Stars and with an extensive dancing background, someday dreams of being a future celebrity contestant and winner!
Marisa is very excited to be making the big move from sunny California to the winter wonderland of Rhinelander! If you see Marisa out in the field or around the town, feel free to say hi and buy her a hot chocolate, she's probably cold!
Disclaimer: All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed and should be independently verified. Neither Rockfleet Broadcasting / Northland Television, Inc. nor By Request Web Designs shall be responsible for any typographical errors, misinformation, or misprints.
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