February 6, 2017 at 3:35 p.m.
Hodag swimmers finish 5th at GNCs
Francis, 200 free relay win individual titles
Hodag swimmers finish 5th at GNCs
The Hodags had three championship performances and sophomore Nolan Francis had a hand in all three. Additionally, the Hodags received all-conference recognition in three other events and had 11 podium finishes overall.
"We did well for, again, our young team and everything we've been kind of hit with this year with missing the practices and having half of our team leave for one reason or another," RHS boys' swim coach Lindsay Byrka said. "It was good to see these guys come together these last couple of weeks and really put a charge on it."
The highlight of the night for the Hodags was the 200-meter freestyle relay as the team of Russell Benoy, Francis, Devon Gaber and Martin Hoger (1:47.37) won a tight three-way race to the wall. Rhinelander had more than a two-second lead halfway through the race following Francis' leg. The gap closed to 1.3 seconds after Gaber's leg and Hoger's 26.53 split over the final 50 meters was just enough to hold off a hard-charging Jacob Hamerla of Lakeland by 0.26 seconds. Antigo - which swam second most of the way - finished third, 0.76 seconds back.
"We knew coming into that our 200 freestyle relay was going to be seeded well," Byrka said. "That was kind of the one where I think the other teams in the conference kind of laid off that one a little. We went all-in on that one and came away (with the win). It was right down to the wire, but Martin was able to hold off (Lakeland's) big senior (Hamerla) coming down the road."
Francis won his individual events in different fashions. He rallied from behind over the final 50 meters to win the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:01.02 seconds, 1.65 seconds better than Hamerla. He followed with romp in the 100 backstroke (1:03.04), taking the conference title in that event by 5.3 seconds over Antigo's Brett Farmer.
The top three finishers in each even earned all-conference recognition. Benoy earned second-team honors for his runner-up finish in the 100 freestyle (55.82). David King was third, and received honorable mention, in the 200 individual medley (2:39.67). Ditto the 200 medley relay team of Hoger, Thaddeus Heck, Francis and Benoy (2:00.15).
"I think a lot of guys got their best times today," Byrka noted. "Nolan got the other two wins for the team and he was right at his personal best. Russell Benoy got second in the 100 with a best time. David King dropped about three seconds to place third and get all-conference honorable mention in the IM. Thaddeus got his best by about two-tenths to take third in the breaststroke."
The top six finishers in each event were called to the podium following each race. The Hodags had five additional podium finishes. Benoy was fourth in the 50 freestyle (26.03), Hoger took fourth in the 100 backstroke (1:11.08), Heck was sixth in the 200 IM (2:43.09), King placed sixth in the 100 butterfly (1:08.51) and the 400 freestyle relay team of King, Gaber, Conor Natrop and Hoger also finished sixth (4:27.55).
"Thaddeus had a really good swim in his 200 IM," Byrka said. "He dropped a lot of time there and I think Martin Hoger did really well on the freestyle relay, and the backstroke, again, he got his best time.
"Some of these guys did well. We're just not quite at a full taper and I expect them to drop even more time."
Lakeland wrapped up a perfect season in the GNC, winning the conference meet with 335 points, 46 better than runner-up Shawano. Antigo edged Tomahawk for third on the night, and in the final conference standings, 224-220. The Hodags finished with 190 points.
The Hodags, and the rest of the GNC, will head to Stevens Point this coming Saturday for a WIAA Division 2 sectional, but first the team has to figure out which swimmers its going to put in which events. Byrka said Friday's conference meet helped to bring that picture into focus.
"We're just kind of playing it by ear and going off what we know," she said. "We're just going to kind of take a look at what we can do with the boys on Monday because entries are due right away on Tuesday. We've got some decisions to make tonight and then we'll run it in practice on Monday and then we'll see where we're at."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.