February 13, 2019 at 11:31 a.m.
Hodag swimmers seek to break 25-year championship drought at state
Hodag swimmers seek to break 25-year championship drought at state
The Hodags will be gunning for their first individual state titles since 1994, and will have several chances to accomplish that goal, tomorrow night at the UW-Natatorium in Madison.
Rhinelander will enter as the top seed in three events, and the second qualifier in two others. It's part of a 10-entry program for the Hodags at the Division 2 state meet.
"This is very exciting for us," Rhinelander coach Jenny Heck said. "It's something that hasn't happened for Rhinelander swimming in a long time. We're going to have a solid meet of Hodag swimmers. I'm really excited. It's going to be fun. They're ready for it. They're excited and ready to swim fast."
Rhinelander High School has 20 individual state champions - 14th best on the WIAA's all-time list -but none since 1994 when Alan Kroll took the 100-yard butterfly and the Hodags won two relays.
Fast forward 25 years and the Hodags have the No. 1 seed in the 100 butterfly as well as two relays.
The common thread for this year's top seeds for the Hodags is senior Nolan Francis. The UW-Green Bay recruit has the top qualifying spot in the 100 butterfly (52.31 seconds) by 0.44 seconds over Elkhorn's Hunter Johnson. Grafton's Nick Starr qualified third at 52.98 seconds.
Francis is also a part of the team's 200 medley and 200 freestyle relay teams, which each hold the top seed by more than a second over second-seeded Madison Edgewood.
"We're going to head down to Madison and drop even more time," Francis said Monday at practice. "I know the southern teams have done this plenty of times. They've been in this position. It's going to take a little bit extra from Rhinelander in order to pull this off. They're all going to be resting correctly, doing their thing right. It's routine for them. We've just got to be doing our thing a lot better."
Francis is also seeded second in the 100 backstroke, 0.55 seconds off the pace set by top seed Aidan Lohr of Baraboo (50.72).
Senior Russell Benoy who, like Francis, is on both the medley and freestyle relays, also enters the meet with a great shot at the podium. He's the second-fastest qualifier in the 50 freestyle (21.87), 0.44 seconds behind top seed Jeremiah Mansavage of Fort Atkinson. Benoy's also seeded sixth in the 100 freestyle (49.56).
Benoy said he will put his previous experience at state to good use on Friday night.
"I went in last year in Lane 8 in the 50 and didn't know what to expect. That was my first time individually qualifying for state in the first place and I was in Lane 8 in the fast heat," he said. "The wakes and stuff were pushing against me. Now I'll be in a middle lane. I think I've mentally prepared myself. I know the guys I'm going against, on both sides of me. I think I'm a lot more mentally prepared for this Friday."
The Hodags appear to be sticking with the same quartets who got them to Madison in the relays. Francis is scheduled to swim backstroke, Thaddeus Heck breaststroke, David King butterfly and Benoy freestyle in the medley relay. The Hodags went with Joseph Heck, Francis, Devon Gaber and Benoy in the 200 freestyle relay last Saturday at sectionals.
Francis said the key to winning Friday is to get ahead and stay ahead. That's a lot easier said than done against some of the fastest swimmers in the state, but Francis said he's confident that's exactly what the Hodags are capable of doing.
"The way our relays are composed, we're going to be able to do that," he said. "We've got Joseph and myself leading off and then Russell and Devon finishing for the freestyle relay. In the medley, we're going to be out ahead in the backstroke and I think we're going to be able to close just as well as any of them."
"We need to be going faster than we were going last week, and we told the guys that," coach Heck said. "Every event, every split needs to be faster if we want to even maintain our seed. We need to be faster in everything we do. We hope, and we think we are, ready for our best times on Friday."
So does coach Heck think Rhinelander can end its 25-year championship drought tomorrow night?
"I think the chances are really good and I can't want to watch it," she said.
The WIAA D2 state begins at 6:30 p.m. in Madison. The meet will be streamed live on the WIAA.TV portal of the NFHS Network on a consumer subscription basis. An archived stream of the meet will be available on demand on the NFHSâNetwork 72 hours after the tournament without requirement of a subscription.
Some other storylines heading into tomorrow's meet:
Sisterly advice
Francis has a unique perspective to lean on as he prepares for the expectations of being a No. 1 seed in three of his four events tomorrow night and the No. 2 seed in the other.
His older sister, Kiah, was in those shoes in 2015 and 2016. She ended up the state runner-up in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke in 2015, before returning to Madison and winning both events as a senior in 2016.
As for Kiah's advice to her younger brother, Nolan said there's no holding back.
"For Kiah, she was never afraid of racing, getting out there and doing her best," he said. "She's always took her races out as fast as she could, never had any hesitation. She was very confident. Talking with her and being really close with her, being confident is the best thing we can do for state this weekend and controlling our emotions well."
A broken record
The Hodags took down school records in the 200 medley relay, the 200 freestyle relay and the 100 backstroke last Saturday at sectionals and are hoping for better tomorrow night.
Though qualified eighth in the 100 breaststroke, Thaddeus Heck enters the state meet roughly eight-tenths of a second off the varsity record.
"It's a big goal," he said. "I wasn't very close to it going into sectionals, so it was an idea back then but, as soon as I had that time drop, I realized how close I was and immediately that became my goal for this next meet. It's well within reach. If I can get that goal this year, it'd mean a lot."
Other qualifiers
Rhinelander will have three other entries at state Friday night. Two of those are taken up by Gaber, who qualified in both the 50 and 100 freestyle. Gaber is seeded tied for 15th in the 50 freestyle (22.88) and 10th in the 100 (50.10). He said he's simply happy to be down in Madison competing both on his own and in a relay.
"I was really excited to finally make it individually to state," he said. "I've made it in relays my freshman and sophomore years but junior year I finally made it (individually) and I was really excited."
King also earned an at-large bid for the Hodags in the 100 butterfly. He's the 12th-fastest qualifier in the field (54.98).
In the mix for second
Rhinelander is projected to finish third in the state, and be right in the hunt for the runner-up spot and the silver trophy on Friday night.
Either way, Rhinelander is in a position to crack the top 10 at state for the first time since tying for sixth in 2007.
With only 10 entries, coach Heck said she is more worried about individual results.
"I think we're just focusing individually and focusing on the relays and not really looking for overall state place," she said. "That could go different ways, but if we just worry about each race when we get to it, the overall standings will come out the best they can be."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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