September 18, 2017 at 4:19 p.m.
Hodag swimmers win Chi-Hi Sprints
Hodag swimmers win Chi-Hi Sprints
It was a standard 11-event meet with a few twists. First, the distances in the individual medley and each of the specialty strokes were cut in half. Second, the freestyle relays had eight swimmers instead of four, essentially halving the distance of each leg.
The result was two first-place finishes, three runner-up performances and five other trips to the podium for a Hodag team that has a number of solid sprinters.
"This format really plays into our favor, being a team that doesn't train year-round but focuses on the sprints," coach Lindsay Byrka said. "We had every single girl out there swimming and contributing on either an A or a B relay. That was great to see."
"To have a win over teams like Chippewa Falls and Wisconsin Rapids, it's kind of a big deal for us."
The Hodags opened the meet with a win as Lisa Kennedy, Marissa Martin, Makenna Winnicki and Grace Heck took the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1 minute, 59.33 seconds after Rice Lake's relay was disqualified. Winnicki later added a win in the 500 freestyle (5:35.07) and a runner-up finish in the 200 freestyle (2:06.55).
Rhinelander loaded up for the double-point relay races and performed well. The Hodags finished second in the 200 freestyle relay with the octet of Carly Seidl, Martin, Ella Schiek, Jaylen Janssen, Marisa McGuire, Taylor Macak, Jenna Hawley and Maddie Quinn (1:45.87). Winnicki, McGuire, Kennedy, Macak, Heck, Hawley, Schiek and Seidl finished second in the 400 freestyle relay (3:39.38).
"We were deep enough to have girls swim in the A relays of all three," Byrka said. "That just shows for a small team that's only got 18 girls, to be that deep and that consistent, that was the turning point."
Kennedy added a fourth-place finish for the Hodags in the 50 backstroke. McGuire was fifth in the 100 freestyle and sixth in the 200 freestyle.
Hawley finished fourth in the 50 breaststroke while Martin placed sixth. Schiek finished 13th as the Hodags had three girls score points in the breaststroke. Macak finished eighth and Quinn was ninth to support Winnicki's victory in the 500. Heck, Seidl and Hawley went 7-11-13 in the 50 freestyle.
"I was really pleased that the girls were able to step up and get some points against these big Division 1 schools and some of the girls' were going to be seeing at sectionals," Byrka said. "The girls didn't swim phenomenally today, but we did enough to be deep enough to beat those other teams. We had a nice, solid swim. It wasn't our best. Nobody got their best times, but they were swimming pretty solid."
Rhinelander finished the day with 293 points and edged host Chippewa Falls for the title by 32 points. The disqualification in the 200 medley relay likely prevented Rice Lake from winning the title. The Warriors finished third, 39 points behind Rhinelander, and would have received 40 additional points for winning the medley relay.
Byrka said the unique format allowed her to tinker with the lineup slightly and further analyze her team's strengths and weaknesses as it progresses deeper in the season.
"A meet like this really showcases your starts and your turns," She said. "Our starts are on point, but our turns leave something to be worked on. That's really going to be a focus."
The Hodags return to Great Northern Conference play Thursday night at Antigo.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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