November 5, 2018 at 12:18 p.m.
Winnicki swims on
Sophomore qualifies for state in two events amid several other near misses for Hodag swimmers
Winnicki swims on
Sophomore Makenna Winnicki punched her ticket to state with top-four finishes in the 100-yard butterfly and the 500 freestyle Saturday as the Hodags placed eighth in a Division 2 sectional at UW-Stevens Point.
Winnicki nearly had a four-event program at state, but the two relay teams she was on narrowly missed the qualifying mark. Sophomore teammate Lisa Kennedy, who was on both of those relays, also experienced a near miss in the 100 backstroke.
Overall, the Hodags struggled to hold the taper in their training which led to fast times and a runner-up finish a week earlier in the Great Northern Conference meet. Less than 58 percent of the Hodags' entries - 12 of 21 - bettered their seed times on Saturday while other teams in the sectional, and across the state, dropped significant time.
"Some of it's just not knowing how kids react to tapers, some of these freshmen how they're going to react differently or how much (to taper) because they haven't trained this way before. That's a little bit of an experiment in itself," coach Jenny Heck said. "I was hoping that they would all be a little better swimming overall, but it's a learning experience for a lot of us. I think a lot of good swims as well and a lot of good things came out of it, too."
Winnicki will swim in two events at state for the second year in a row, after qualifying in the 200 medley relay and the 500 freestyle as a freshman. She bettered her seed time in both of her individual races Saturday to advance to this Friday's state meet in Madison.
Winnicki finished third in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1 minute, 0.54 seconds, which was the 13th-fastest time in the state overall. She came in seeded second in the sectional in the 500 and though she finished fourth, she set a new personal-best time of 5:20.83 and still posted the eighth-best time in the event statewide.
"It was a fast race," Heck said of a 500 that featured the state's top two qualifiers and four of the top eight. "Everything was good about it. She came down in time last week. Sometimes you have weeks where you come down in time and some weeks you don't. I thought it was a good swim. Both her 100 fly and her 500 freestyle were great races."
The Hodags had to wait for the results of the other three D2 sectionals, held across the state on Saturday, to come in to learn their fate in several other events. Rhinelander was hopeful it would make it to state in the medley relay for the fourth straight year as the team of Winnicki, Kennedy, freshman Noelle St. Pierre and senior Grace Heck placed fourth in the sectional with a time of 1:55.54. However, when the final results came in, the Hodags were 0.38 seconds slower than the cutline and the first team out of the state field.
"That news was just heartbreaking," Jenny Heck said Sunday. "We really were hopeful that the medley relay would make it to state - making it the three years prior, that we had a lot of talent and that the kids swam fast. The kids swam a second faster than they swam it at conference. I really thought they did all they could do, swam as hard as they could swim. There has to be a 17th team and, unfortunately, it was us."
The same Hodag quartet finished eighth in the 200 freestyle relay. Their time of 1:44.33 was 1.68 seconds off the state cutline. Kennedy finished seventh in the 100 backstroke and missed qualifying for state in that event by 1.33 seconds.
Kennedy added an eighth-place finish for Rhinelander in the 200 freestyle. The Hodags recorded only two other top-10 finishes on the day. Maria Heck was ninth in the 500 freestyle and the Hodags were ninth in the 400 freestyle relay with the team of Marisa McGuire, Sierra Woodford, Allie Fugle and Maria Heck.
"Overall, I think they did well, learned a lot from the experience and we'll do better moving forward," coach Heck said.
Merrill edged Tomahawk by 2 1/2 points for the sectional title. The Hodags were the fourth-highest placing GNC school in the sectional behind Tomahawk, Medford (fifth) and Ladysmith/Bruce/Flambeau (seventh).
Grace Heck, Jenny's daughter, narrowly missed out on qualifying for state in the 200 medley relay for the fourth straight year. It was the final meet for her and four other RHS seniors.
"Those seniors really meant a lot," coach Heck said. "We have five of them and they're all here today. They all did something special in their own way and it was special in a way that means more than maybe your place or your time. They all hold a special place in my heart for many reasons we don't even see with the results. I think sometimes that high school sports means more than the final results."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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