October 24, 2018 at 2:38 p.m.
Hodag swimmers look to hang on to second at GNCs
Hodag swimmers look to hang on to second at GNCs
With that in mind, tomorrow night's GNC meet at Lakeland Union High School in Minocqua will be more about protecting what the Hodags have already accomplished.
A 6-1 mark during the conference dual season has the Hodags in second place in the GNC. Finishing second or better Friday would secure the team's second straight runner-up finish in the conference.
After beating Colby/Abbotsford last Monday, coach Jenny Heck admitted that will be easier said than done.
"It's going to be a fight for second," she said. "Lakeland's very good, Medford, Ladysmith, ourselves. Similar to last year, I think we're going to have a lot of teams fighting for second place."
The Hodags have one thing in their favor they did not have last year when they finished second in the conference meet, a bit of a cushion over the other teams chasing them for the runner-up spot. For the first time this season conference dual meets are factored into the final conference standings, instead of solely the results of the GNC meet. That gives Rhinelander a two-point cushion over Medford for second, four over Ladysmith/Bruce/Flambeau and six of Lakeland. The Hodags defeated all three on dual-meet play by 13 points or fewer.
"We hope to be on the top of those," Heck said, referencing the teams battling for second. "That's why we need to be sharp and be ready to swim fast. Hopefully the times will show when we get there."
Technically, Rhinelander could earn a share of overall GNC title by winning the conference meet. The Hodags would win the title outright if they won and Tomahawk finished third or worst.
That scenario is highly unlikely, however. The Hatchets beat Rhinelander head-to-head in every event Oct. 11 during a dual meet in Tomahawk, and their closest dual all season was a 30-point win over Medford back on Sept. 20.
Tomahawk has won four straight conference titles, and dominated last year's conference meet - winning 10 of the 11 individual events. The Hatchets seem to be set up for similar success this year, with the top time in all 11 events on the conference's honor roll. Tomahawk holds the top two times in the GNC in five events.
Aside from the team aspect, the Hodags will be looking for individual accolades during the meet. The top three finishers in each event earn a spot on the all-conference team, the top six finishers earn a spot on the podium and the top 12 finishers will earn points for the team. Last year, Rhinelander had six all-conference performances and eight other podium finishes at the conference meet.
Sophomore Makenna Winnicki has the best chance to earn all-conference recognition, as she sits in the top three on this year's conference honor roll in five individual races and a pair of relays. Winnicki's time in the 500 freestyle of 5 minutes, 31.06 seconds is second in the GNC to Tomahawk's Kylie Theiler. Theiler and Winnicki finished 1-2 in the event both at conference and WIAA sectionals last fall. Winnicki is also third-fastest in the GNC in the 200 freestyle, 200 individual medley, 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke.
Of course, Winnicki can enter only four events tomorrow night, and two of those will likely be taken with the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays. Rhinelander enters second and third, respectively, in those events with the quartet of Winnicki, senior Grace Heck, sophomore Lisa Kennedy and freshman Noelle St. Pierre.
The trick for the coaches will be determining how to manage their 24 individual entries to produce maximum points.
"We're already working on our lineup for conference and trying to see where everyone can do their best," Jenny Heck said following the Colby/Abbotsford meet.
Other Hodags on the conference honor roll after the dual meet season include St. Pierre, Kennedy and Maria Heck. St. Pierre has the third-best time in the 100 breaststroke, along with top-eight times in three other individual events. Kennedy is fifth-fastest in the 100 backstroke and sixth-fastest in the 200 freestyle. Maria Heck has the fifth-best time in the 500 freestyle.
The conference meet begins at 5 p.m. tomorrow at the Lakeland Union High School pool.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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