October 30, 2017 at 1:09 p.m.
Hodags runners-up at GNC swim meet
Hodags runners-up at GNC swim meet
The Hodags couldn't catch Tomahawk, which won 10 of the 11 events and took the meet with 480.5 points. Rhinelander managed seven all-conference finishes - five second-place finishes, and a pair of thirds - as it held off Lakeland by nine points for the runner-up spot.
"It was a whole team effort," interim co-coach Jenny Heck said. "Everyone did their part and that's the reason why we were able to get second place."
A big part of Rhinelander's success Friday night was due to its relay teams. The Hodags scored a pair of seconds, a third, and a fourth in the double-points events.
Lisa Kennedy, Jenna Hawley, Makenna Winnicki and Grace Heck kicked it off with a runner-up finish in the 200 medley relay. Their time of 1 minute, 57.44 seconds was a mere 1.10 seconds behind first-place Tomahawk. Maddie Quinn, Marissa Martin, Taylor Macak and Carly Seidl - swimming as Rhinelander's second entry in the race - took fourth (2:01.64). Seidl, Hawley, Marisa McGuire and Heck touched out Lakeland to finish second in the 200 freestyle relay (1:45.91). Winnicki, Kennedy, Macak and McGuire finished third in the 400 freestyle relay (3:58.36).
"The relays were fantastic," Jenny Heck said. "The kids all did great, they swam great times, they looked fantastic, they were cheering everybody on and it was a lot of fun. They surpassed what I thought they would do."
Winnicki added a pair of runner-up finishes in the distance events. She posted a time of 2:06.01 in the 200 freestyle and 5:32.32 in the 500 freestyle as she was beaten out by Tomahawk's Kylee Theiler in both races.
"She's not tapered, so her times were solid - obviously not what she wanted - but a good finish and we hope that next week when she tapers a little more that she'll have a good time drop," said co-coach and Makenna Winnicki's mother, Marna Winnicki.
Martin also claimed a runner-up finish for the Hodags with her best swim of the season in the 100 breaststroke (1:14.17). She dropped a second from her seed time in the event as she continues a strong return after a brief hiatus from the sport.
"That was a really was the confidence boost that Marty needed," Marna Winnicki said. "She had taken a break from swimming from club, so this is the first time she's been back in a couple of years and she did a great job."
Kennedy earned a third-place finish in the 100 backstroke, for Rhinelander's final all-conference finish, and added a seventh-place showing in the 200 freestyle.
Though she did not make all-conference individually, senior Taylor Macak came up with a big swim in the 500 freestyle. Swimming out of the second-fastest of the three heats, Macak put up a personal-best time of 5:55.66 to win the heat and finish fourth overall. Her performance was roughly 15 seconds faster than her seed time in the event.
"She didn't know if she was going to be able to go after the 500 the way she did," Jenny Heck said. "I don't think her confidence was there a couple of weeks ago. To see her swim the way she did, especially being a senior, it was fantastic."
The top eight finishers in each event were called to the podium at UW-Stevens Point's eight-lane pool. Hawley was fifth in the breaststroke and sixth in the 50 freestyle; Grace Heck was fifth in the 50 freestyle and sixth in the 100 freestyle; McGuire was fifth in the 200 freestyle and seventh in the 100 freestyle and the Hodags' second entry in the 200 freestyle relay - Jaylen Janssen, Ella Schiek, Emily McFarland and Martin - took eighth.
The top three at the conference meet mirrored the teams' records during the dual season. Ladysmith/Bruce/Flambeau (2-4) beat out Medford (3-3) for fourth on Friday while Antigo (0-6) edged Colby/Abbotsford (1-5) for sixth.
Rhinelander moved up one spot in the standings after finishing third in the GNC a year ago and scored its best conference finish since finishing second in the Wisconsin Valley Conference back in 2007.
The Hodags - and the rest of the GNC - will be back at the UWSP Aquatic Center this Saturday for a WIAA Division 2 sectional meet.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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