Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Genoa head coach Luke Hodulik is looking forward to seeing what this year’s roster can produce.
“Quite honestly, this is the most pumped team that I've had yet since I've been the head coach,” Hodulik said. “They come to practice every day and are just ready to get after it. So far, they've done everything we've asked. The attitude, the atmosphere has been fantastic.
“There's a bunch of kids that are fun to be around, and they just give 100 percent effort every day. It's really just a joy. This season is going to be a ton of fun, and the kids are the main reason for that.”
One year ago, the Genoa boys team finished fifth in the NBC as the 4x400 relay team captured a league title and qualified for the state meet. However, only Sam Buehler is back from that relay team, while Nate Kesler is now competing for the University of Findlay after finishing eighth in the 200m and 400m at the state meet.
“I thought we had a lot of success last year,” Hodulik said. “Nate broke two school records in the 200 and the 400, and he was on the 4x4 that broke the school record. Our 4x1 relay team broke the school record. Colby Ralston had a huge year in long jump and high jump. Those are probably the biggest things.”
Some of the top returners on the boys side includes Buehler and Isaac Schimmoeller, who will each run the 200m and 400m, while the distance trio of Braden Lesher, Nate Wise, and Chase Cooper are also back.
Hodulik believes Zayden Dunn is going to have a big year in the pole vault, and Colby Ralston will excel in the high jump and long jump after making the state meet in the high jump. Junior sprinters Carter Miller and Alex Herman should also be improved this year.
“We have a lot to offer across the board, really,” Hodulik said. “We’ve got good distance runners. Sprint relays should be pretty good again. Zayden in pole vault and Colby in the jumps, too. It's that group that really stands out.”
Meanwhile, the girls finished fourth at the NBC Championship last year. Stella Rethman was second in the 3200m and third in the 1600m. Lindsey Brown came in second in the 300m, Kyra Frasure was third in the long jump, and the 4x800 relay team of Rethman, Brown, Tatum Szych, and Mariah Sprague finished third.
“I would say more than anything, we just had a ton of improvement across the board,” Hodulik said of the 2025 season for the girls. “We were pretty young. We have a lot of juniors. We don't have a lot of seniors.”
Rethman and Brown are two key returners, and both are juniors.
“Stella is great. She's going to do a great job in distance,” Hodulik said. “Lindsey's moving full-time to sprints now, sprints and hurdles, so we'll see where we put her. There's a lot of places we could put her, so we’re going to figure that out as the season goes.”
Another junior, Keira Frazier, is another versatile part of the roster.
“She's really fast. She's learning pole vault. She can also jump. She can do hurdles potentially,” Hodulik said. “She's one that will move around and figure out where the best spot is for her, too, because she's really athletic.”
Senior Kylee Snyder will be a hurdler while filling in on some relays.
“She’s put a lot of work in on hurdles, and she's going to do a good job,” Hodulik said.
Hodulik also expects Lynde Hartman to have a “really big year” in throwing.
Hodulik is really looking forward to the atmosphere around his whole team this year.
“The strength of our team is everyone’s there to work hard and have a good time,” Hodulik said. “The atmosphere is the strength. It’s been great, and it's been the best it's been since I've been a head coach. We have the most team members that we've ever had. And it's just been fun. That’s the biggest thing because the atmosphere is going to carry through. It’s going to get them working hard. They’re going to support each other at meets, and it's going to lead to good things.”
