November 27, 2017 at 1:58 p.m.
Team preview: RHS boys' swimming
Hodags enter season with new set of circumstances to overcome
Team preview: RHS boys' swimming
Three years ago, the Hodags broke a seven-year state meet drought despite a shoestring roster. Two years ago, Rhinelander used 11 swimmers - one shy of a full lineup - to edge Lakeland for the conference title. Last season, the Hodags overcame an involuntary 2 1/2 week pause in their training midway through the season due to a pertussis outbreak within the district and still qualified for state in four events.
This year, the Hodags may face their biggest obstacles yet with a new coaching staff and a small roster that doesn't have its best swimmer from a year ago.
What's unchanged is the team's optimistic attitude.
"I think we can do a lot with what we have," coach Jenny Heck said. "They have goals to make it to state, both individually and in relays. I think they have a great chance to do so."
Heck and Marna Winnicki are the team's first-year co-head coaches and lead a five person coaching-staff that includes assistant Brent Olson and former RHS head coaches Dan Jesse and Jon Koch, who will volunteer on a part-time basis.
Olson and Jesse spent some time last season on deck, but its virtually a brand new coaching staff. According to activities director Brian Paulson, the school did not extend a contract offer to former head coach Lindsay Byrka after she and the district parted ways during the middle of the girls' swim season. Byrka's assistant last year, Megan Cihla, has taken an expanded role with the youth program as the Rhinelander Swim Club's head coach.
That has left Heck, Winnicki, et al to piece together a roster that has only nine swimmers. That will make competing for a GNC title next to impossible. The Hodags will be at a distinct disadvantage in the conference duals because of the number of points they will leave in the pool due to an incomplete lineup. Unlike the girls' swim season, dual meets count toward the final conference standings.
"The dual meets will be difficult with just nine because we don't have as many swimmers as we'd like to have. If we had a few more, we could have some more options," Heck said. "With nine swimmers, there's good with the bad. The good is that we can focus on the nine that are here, give them a lot of attention and, hopefully, work them harder, work on more technique. We will have to focus on sectionals at the end of the season."
The Hodags are hopeful they will make it back to state, but they will have to do it without the lone common thread in all four of the team's qualifying entries from a year ago. Nolan Francis, a junior who is primarily homeschooled, opted not to swim with the team this season. He set a school record in the 200-yard individual medley last year en route to a sixth-place finish in the event at state. He also placed sixth at state in the 100 butterfly and was on the team's state-qualifying 200 medley and 200 freestyle relay teams.
Heck said the coaching uncertainty in the weeks leading up to the season factored in Francis' decision.
"We definitely wish Nolan was still swimming with us and we hope he'll swim again next year," she said. "With the change in coaching, he already had his schedule made. We understand that and, hopefully, we'll see him again next year."
The good news for Rhinelander is the five returning swimmers all competed in Madison last season.
Junior Russell Benoy swam on the team's 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays. Sophomores Thaddeus Heck and David King were both on the medley relay while junior Martin Hoger and sophomore Devon Gaber were on the freestyle relay.
Benoy is the returning conference runner-up in the 100 freestyle. He placed third in that event and fourth in the 50 freestyle at sectionals. Thaddeus Heck was third in the 100 breaststroke both at conference and sectionals while King was third in the 200 IM at conference.
Those five will be supplemented by incoming freshman Joseph Heck - Thaddeus' cousin - who has state meet experience at the club level.
"I think those six are confident in what they can do and have some solid goals," Jenny Heck said, noting that the team should be strong in the butterfly, breaststroke and sprint freestyle events. "I think that will influence the three new swimmers and help them develop some goals. I think they'll take the lead from the returning swimmers."
The two seniors on the squad - Matt Herman and Jack Kovac - are first-year competitive swimmers, as is freshman Hugh Wiese.
As the Hodags did last season, when they finished fifth in the GNC, the team will likely put less credence to its standing in the conference and turn its attention to WIAA tournament series in mid-February. But that doesn't necessarily mean the team will field the same lineup from meet to meet.
"We're probably going to push them out of their conference zones just to broaden their horizons," Winnicki said.
The Hodags open the season with conference dual meets at Tomahawk and Medford tonight and Thursday. The first home meet for Rhinelander is Dec. 7 against Antigo, two days prior to the annual Hodag Relays at the Heck Family Community Pool.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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