January 31, 2020 at 1:54 p.m.
A perfect 10
RHS swimmers down Lakeland, finish 10-0 in GNC duals
A perfect 10
The Hodags put a bow on a perfect 10-0 GNC dual season Thursday night, winning seven of 11 events in a 110-58 win over Lakeland at the Heck Family Community Pool. It marked the second straight year Rhinelander finished undefeated in conference duals.
"That's a great feeling, last year and this year," Hodag coach Jenny Heck said. "These guys, it took a lot of work and they did it. They're really excited and looking forward to this. They're really happy about that 10-0 record."
Rhinelander took nothing for chance in the second meeting with the Thunderbirds, winning each of the first four races, highlighted by a 1-2-3 sweep in the 200-yard freestyle to take a 44-17 lead at intermission. The Hodags clinched the dual with three races remaining after taking first place in the 200 freestyle relay.
Lakeland (6-4) lacked the depth to compete with Rhinelander in a dual meet format, but has a quartet of swimmers who are at least equal to Rhinelander's best. The Hodags set the tone early, defeating Lakeland's power foursome of Avery Tucker, Tyler Teichmiller, Brandon Boh and Liam Hogan in the 200-yard medley relay.
Rhinelander went with a slightly different lineup in that race, putting freshman Charlie Heck in the freestyle leg along with Joseph Heck, Thaddeus Heck and David King. The first three did their job, opening up a 2.24-second gap and Charlie Heck held off Hogan, the defending Division 2 50 freestyle state runner-up, with a 23.20-second final leg.
"That medley relay was exactly what we wanted to do," Jenny Heck said as the Hodags won the event with a time of 1 minute, 46.32 seconds. "We didn't have Devon on it. We were hoping that Charlie could finish the job, and he did with Liam chasing him down. That was a great way to start the meet."
Lakeland altered its lineup from the first time it swam the Hodags, putting some of its best swimmers in different events. The end result was seven event wins for the Hodags, compared to four when the teams first met Dec. 19, a 103-67 win for Rhinelander in Minocqua.
"They changed up their lineup a little bit, but so did we and I couldn't be more pleased with the way our guys went after it," coach Heck said. "I know they like to shake it up a little bit before conference and sectionals. I'm not surprised. I think it was good for them and it turned out good for us as well. It gave us some races in some events guys don't normally swim. Plus, it gave us an opportunity to see where we're at on the leaderboard."
Gaber and Joseph Heck were both three-event winners for Rhinelander. Heck took the 50 freestyle (23.63), Gaber led 1-2-3 finishes for the Hodags in both the 200 and 100 freestyle, beating freshman teammate Daniel Gillingham to the wall both times. Gaber took the 200 in 1:58.34 and the 100 in 50.77. Both Gaber and Joseph Heck were on the meet-clinching 200 free relay with Gillingham and Charlie Heck (1:35.72).
Thaddeus Heck (1:05.71) beat Hogan for the win in the 100 breaststroke and freshman Jack Antonuk led a 1-2 finish in the 200 IM (2:13.24) with David King in second.
Lakeland did not score its first win until after intermission as Hogan (57.65) edged Antonuk for the win in the 100 butterfly by 0.19 seconds. Teichmiller (5:21.41) beat David King in the 500 freestyle and Tucker (59.69) edged Joseph Heck in the 100 backstroke. The squad of Boh, Tucker, Teichmiller and Hogan took the 400 freestyle relay (3:29.92). Rhinelander finished five seconds behind in the race with Gillingham, Antonuk, David King and Devon Gaber.
"I thought David King had a solid meet, great times and did really well," coach Heck said. "I thought it was a great race in the backstroke with Joseph (against Tucker). That was a great time on him. I think that the 50 free, the 100 free, I think they were all good race. The 400 free (relay) was our best of the season. We're getting there."
While a 10-0 record in conference duals is a notable accomplishment, it has no bearing on the conference championship - which is determined solely on the outcome of next Friday's GNC meet at the Heck Pool. Coach Heck said she feels her team is positioned well for a repeat.
"I feel a little more happy after tonight. I saw some things I wanted to see and I was looking for. I think we're in good position and there are good things to come," she said. "Next week is the big one on Friday and we're going to be ready. That's what we're going after the best we can and try to get as many top 12 finishes as we can get."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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