September 15, 2017 at 2:07 p.m.
Topping the Tridents
Hodags swimmers beat Ladysmith co-op for the first time
Topping the Tridents
The move paid off as the Hodags finished first, second and fourth in the first two events following the break and cruised to a 103-67 win over the Tridents at the Heck Family Community Pool. It was Rhinelander's first win against the Ladysmith co-op since joining the GNC back in 2010.
While it went down as a relatively easy win for Rhinelander against a team that is perennially at or near the top of the conference, it was anything but through the first four races. The Hodags won three of those events, but lost several close battles for lower finishing positions and only led 34-28 at the break.
Rhinelander responded to the intermission message as Makenna Winnicki won the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1 minute, 4.35 seconds; Taylor Macak held off Ladysmith's Megan Lechlietner for second and Carly Seidl added a fourth-place finish for a 12-4 points swing in Rhinelander's favor.
"I told those 100 flyers that coming out of the break they needed to light this team up and Carly Seidl came out with a huge number," Byrka said. "That was the momentum swing we needed and, from right there, things started to fall in place."
Rhinelander followed with a similar performance in the 100 freestyle as Grace Heck (59.98) barely edged out teammate Marisa McGuire in a 1-2 finish. Marissa Martin added a fourth-place finish and, suddenly, the Hodags had a 22-point cushion.
"Momentum is huge in a sport like this," Byrka said. "You get the sidelines going, the crowd going. The adrenaline starts pumping. The girls, I know what they're capable of so it's good to see that they are able to do that. That really translates well for when we get to the GNC meet and sectionals, where we need those energy spikes at the right time."
Winnicki added a win for Rhinelander in the 200 individual medley (2:09.08) and Heck took the 50 freestyle (27.01). Lisa Kennedy added Rhinelander's other victory, winning the 100 backstroke (1:05.69) swimming out of the first of two heats.
The Hodags used depth to their advantage Thursday, taking first and third in all three relays races. Kennedy, Jenna Hawley, Winnicki and Heck took the 200 medley relay (1:58.36); Seidl, Hawley, McGuire and Heck won the 200 freestyle relay (1:49.18) and Winnicki, Macak, Kennedy and McGuire won the 400 freestyle relay (4:01.42).
"We play off our depth," Byrka said. "I've got so many girls that can swim that 50 free. I know we've got solid strokes and our 100s are really starting to catch up, too. I can do just about any combination (with the relays) ... I knew we were going to take it if we did everything right and I wanted to see what kind of numbers we could put up."
McGuire finished second in the 200 freestyle, Macak was the runner-up in the 500 freestyle and Hawley took second in the 100 breaststroke as Rhinelander improved to 3-0 in the GNC. Rhinelander and Tomahawk are the only unbeaten teams in conference dual meet play, however the final conference standings are based solely on the Great Northern Conference meet, which will be held Oct. 27 in Ladysmith.
"It wasn't a perfect meet by any means but, overall, they just really stepped up when they needed to," Byrka said.
The Hodags travel to Chippewa Falls Saturday for an invitational. Bykra said the meet will have a new format this year with an emphasis on sprint races, which she said should play into her team's hands.
"I know my girls can sprint so I'm really looking forward to Saturday," she said.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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