November 28, 2018 at 1:31 p.m.
Francis breaks backstroke record, Hodags sweep Hatchets 107-58 in swim opener
Francis breaks backstroke record, Hodags sweep Hatchets 107-58 in swim opener
Francis set a new pool and school record in the 100-yard backstroke and the Hodags won all 11 events as they took the season opener from Tomahawk 107-58 Tuesday night at the Heck Family Community Pool.
A Rhinelander squad that has aspirations of winning the GNC title this year, and faring well in the WIAA tournament series, made a resounding opening statement. All seven of the Hodags' returning state qualifiers scored a win in at least two events, and the Hodags finished 1-2 in all eight individual races.
"It was a great way to start off the season. I was pleased with how the boys swam and how they went after it," coach Jenny Heck said.
Francis has now set school records in his last two high school competitions, though they came 21 months apart. He set a school record in the 200 individual medley (1:59.08) as a sophomore as a WIAA state meet before opting to swim the club circuit last year. He was back with a vengeance Tuesday night, posting a time of 53.56 seconds in the backstroke, shattering both the pool and school records in the event. Alan Kroll held the previous Heck Pool mark with a time of 55.80 posted back in 1992. Adam Carlson had the school record of 54.97, set at the 2001 WIAA state meet.
Francis nearly took down another one of Kroll's records. His winning time of 48.72 in the 100 freestyle was 0.41 seconds off Kroll's Heck Pool mark (48.31) set back in 1994.
"He had some great times," Heck said of Francis. "Both he and I were pleased with his results. It was fun to watch him swim and be back swimming as a Hodag.
"That's about what I expected out of Nolan. I know how he's been training and what his goals are. I'm not surprised with how fast that he swam."
Francis and Joseph Heck were both four-event winners for the Hodags on the night. Joseph Heck, a sophomore, claimed victory in the 200 IM (2:21.27) and the 500 freestyle (5:58.21), to go along with wins in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays.
David King won the 200 freestyle (2:06.03) and the 100 butterfly (58.14), Russell Benoy won the 50 freestyle (23.52) and Thaddeus Heck won the 100 breaststroke (1:09.21).
Francis, Thaddeus Heck, King and Benoy made up the winning foursome in the 200 medley relay (1:44.73). It was Martin Hoger, Devon Gaber, Joseph Heck and Benoy winning the 200 freestyle relay (1:43.46). Joseph Heck, Francis, Hoger and Gaber took the 400 freestyle relay (3:44.69).
"Some were a little bit faster, some weren't quite as fast as I thought they might (be) but, overall, I think we're in a better position than we were last year at this time," coach Heck said.
Benoy was the runner-up in the 500 freestyle. Thaddeus Heck was second in the 200 freestyle. Hoger, Gaber and freshman Jacob Schoppe each scored a pair of runner-up finishes on the evening.
"It was great to see that second place in most events. All individual events we were 1-2, which was great," Jenny Heck said. "It was nice to see those new swimmers come in and do well. Jacob Schoppe had two second-place finishes. That really helped us and we're able to move some guys around in different events this year. Hopefully that will be a benefit for us."
The one thing that could slow the Hodags slightly this year is a lack of depth. The team had only 11 swimmers Tuesday night, one short of the number required to fill all the entries available to the team in a dual meet. Rhinelander has 12 swimmers on the roster, but Heck said one swimmer was unable to swim Tuesday night.
Rhinelander (1-0 Great Northern) is back in the Heck Pool tonight to take on Medford.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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