Hatchet harriers host GNC meet

TOMAHAWK – On Saturday, Oct. 17, the Tomahawk High School cross country team hosted the Great Northern Conference (GNC) Championships.

Kicking off the day’s races were the Tomahawk girls, who took 3rd place and had three All-Conference runners.

The boys’ race resulted in a 3rd place finish, with three boys earning All-Conference honors.

The last race of the day was the combined junior varsity races. The junior varsity boys won their respective race with a score of 23 points. The junior varsity girls only had three runners so they did not score. The junior varsity squads had five runners finish in the top ten of the boys and girls races.

Lady Hatchet runners earning 1st Team All-Conference honors were sophomore Charlee Lund (5th-19:34) and senior Elise Gibeault (6th-19:43).

Earning All-Conference Honorable Mention was junior Ellie Micke (14th-21:51).

The rest of the girls’ varsity was made up of junior Aliyah Nelson (31st-23:11), sophomore Victoria Towle (33rd-23:21) and junior Joa Reilly (35th-23:39).

Girls’ varsity results: Lakeland-33, Rhinelander-55, Tomahawk-82, Merrill-120, Mosinee-125, Antigo-127, Medford-133, Northland Pines-DNS.

Junior Jordyn Carew earned All-Conference 2nd Team, placing 12th overall with a time of 17:39.

Earning All-Conference Honorable Mention were sophomore Connor Zorn (16th-17:58) and junior Dawson Jones (17th-18:11).

The rest of the boys’ varsity was made up of senior Ryan Montag (31st-19:14), junior Luke Morrison (34th-19:24), senior Will Boneck (42nd-19:57) and senior Drew Voermans (44th-20:07).

Boys’ varsity results: Lakeland-25, Rhinelander-52, Tomahawk-105, Mosinee-116, Northland Pines-130, Medford-136, Antigo-152, Merrill-DNS.

Winning the boys junior varsity race was junior Joe Zastrow with a time of 18:46.

Leading the girls’ junior varsity was freshman Lucy Nelson, who took 2nd with a time of 24:04. T

The rest of the junior varsity Hatchets included Sam Ford (2nd-19:55), Karson Hanse (5th-20:14), Max Childers (9th-20:40), Bodie Olsen (11th-21:10), Orin Erickson (12th-21:18), Hector Luna-Perez (17th-22:17), Isaac Urmann (18th-22:34), Chastin Dziura (19th-22:45), Michael Lucas (20th-22:46), Tripp Tabbert (21st-22:56), Liam Fossum (23rd-23:18), Eli Scott (26th-23:47) and Vallyn Ott (28th-24:57).

Boys’ JV results: Tomahawk-23, Mosinee-53, Rhinelander-56, Lakeland-DNS, Medford-DNS Girls JV results: Rhinelander-23, Mosinee-34, Merrill-DNS, Tomahawk-DNS.

“Our student-athletes were finally rewarded for all their hard work this season,” said coach Steph Ahrens. “It was awesome to see so many personal records being set. A bonus was having two girls go sub 20 minutes and two boys go sub 18 minutes in the 5k which is what it takes to compete in the postseason.”

“Both squads achieved their goal of finishing third in the conference,” said coach Connor Ahrens. “This was a big achievement as it confirms to our student-athletes that they can compete and attain specific goals to result in collective achievement. This is essential as we look now to the Sectional Meet.”

This week’s action

The next race for the Hatchet harriers is slated for Friday, Oct. 23, when they will head to the Rhinelander Northwood Golf Club to compete in the WIAA Division II Sectional meet. The top two teams and the top five non-qualifying team members will advance to the State meet the following weekend in Wisconsin Rapids.

Athletes of the Week

Ellie Micke – “Junior Ellie Micke has been a consistent competitor for the Lady Hatchets all season long, making her a vital piece for the girls’ varsity team. She has run in every race this season and has done a good job executing race game plans. This week, in fact, at the Great Northern Conference Meet, she started in 16th and pressed hard until she was 14th for All-Conference Honorable Mention. Ellie is a quiet fighter, not boastful, but always ready in every workout and race to lay it all out there. Her season-best 5k finish of 21:51 was a big reason why the Hatchets were able to handily take 3rd place at conference. If the girls are to continue their season this year, Ellie will have a big role to play at Sectionals. The coaching staff sincerely believes she is now ready to run at this year’s Sectional head on, as well as next year’s 2027 season.”

Jordyn Carew – “A major piston driving the motor of the boys’ team is junior Jordyn Carew. When he gets the guys going, there’s no telling what they’re capable of. To prove this point, Jordyn came ready to do battle, as the boys were expected to take 4th in the conference. Jordyn went out at a good but controlled pace to be 22nd at the mile. The next two miles, he proceeded to pass body after body in his pursuit for a sub-18-minute 5k. He would eventually finish in 12th place, earning 2nd Team All-Conference Honors, with a new 5k personal record of 17:39. Mission accomplished, despite dealing with a nagging injury. Jordyn will again get the boys fired up for the Sectional Meet, as they are in pursuit of validating their conference finish. The coaching staff knows that if the boys are to truly attain what they’re capable of next season, it will need to be Jordyn taking part in steering the ship, both physically and mentally.”