January 31, 2018 at 1:29 p.m.
Individual performances the focus for Hodags swimmers at GNCs
Individual performances the focus for Hodags swimmers at GNCs
The Hodags posted the fifth-best record during the dual portion of the GNC schedule at 3-6-1. That tie came against Tomahawk (6-2-1) and the Hodags have had four duals against Antigo (5-4) and Shawano (5-5) that have come down to the final race.
Lakeland (10-0) is the overwhelming favorite to win its second straight conference title, but the battle for second may be a four-way crapshoot.
"The fight for second is going to be there, but we can only do what we can do with the swimmers we have," Rhinelander co-coach Jenny Heck said.
The good news for Rhinelander is those dual meet records are meaningless. In a rule change this year, the final conference standings will be determined only by the outcome of Friday night's meet.
The numbers are still stacked against Rhinelander's small squad of 10 swimmers, but perhaps not as much as in a dual meet. With only the top 12 finishers in each event receiving points, the conference championship puts more emphasis on a team's best swimmers rather than its depth.
"Our goal is to go for best times, top-six finishes - hopefully top-three finishes - and that's the best we can do with what we have," Heck said. "We have 10 swimmers, only five of them have been to the conference meet before, so we're going to take those guys, hopefully they'll take the lead and get those other guys to swim fast."
Top-three and top-six finishes carry extra importance at the conference meet. The top six in each event get called to the podium for awards following each race and the top three finishers receive all-conference recognition.
As it stands, the Hodags have a chance to crack the top three or six in numerous events. It will just be a matter of how they, and the rest of the conference teams, elect to build their lineups - which had to be turned into the GNC by noon Tuesday.
Just like other standard meets, each individual swimmer is allowed to swim in up to four events. Teams will typically split into two relays and two individual races. That will force coaches to pick and chose for swimmers who have excelled in numerous events.
Rhinelander's Russell Benoy, for instance, has the fourth-best time in the conference in the 100-yard backstroke, is fifth-fastest in both the 50 and 100 freestyle and was a part of relay teams that posted top-three times this season in the 200 medley, 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle.
"We'd like to get guys to place as high as we can," Jenny Heck said, adding it can be a chess match between coaches to try to build the best possible lineup. "Some of the events have been easier to put guys in. Some have been hard. We're still deciding on a couple of them."
Other Hodag performers of note on the conference's honor roll include:
• Thaddeus Heck, second, 100 breaststroke;
• Devon Gaber, second, 100 butterfly;
• Joseph Heck, fifth, 100 breaststroke;
• David King, sixth, 200 individual medley and sixth, 100 butterfly and
• Martin Hoger, sixth, 100 backstroke.
"Those are ones we would like to see definitely in the top three. Hopefully they swim fast and are ready to be there," Jenny Heck said.
Practice this week has been relatively light as the team begins tapering its training for the end of the season. Heck said starts, turns and finishes have been the primary focus.
"I think they're really looking good," she said. "They've worked so hard this season and now, with the rest, I think their hard work is going to pay off. I couldn't have asked them to work any harder than they did. With proper rest and everything going our way, I think they can do really well."
The conference meet gets underway at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow at the Lakeland Union High School pool in Minocqua.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.