July 13, 2020 at 9:30 a.m.
Hodag boys' swim team holds pandemic-delayed banquet
Hodag boys' swim team holds pandemic-delayed banquet
The banquet, originally been scheduled for mid-March, was postponed due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
Only swimmers, their parents, coaches and select media members were allowed to attend, due to social distancing recommendations.
Coach Jenny Heck said the banquet was well worth the wait, given what the Hodags accomplished this past season as they went undefeated Great Northern Conference duals, won the GNC meet with a record-setting margin of victory, repeated as sectional champions and sent nine entries to the WIAA Division 2 state meet.
"The kids had such an awesome season and the banquet is a great time to just kind of review," she said. "You know you finish (the season), it's over, you don't have time to reflect at all on the great things. It was a great time for me to sit down, after all these months and just think, 'Wow, this was really great.'
"I think the guys were excited once again to be together, to see each other, to hang out together and it was a good amount of time to even think more, and reflect more upon the season than if we had had it right away. I think they were all thrilled and really appreciative of what they accomplished, and I think they were happy to celebrate."
All 14 swimmers on the roster were on hand for the event and all 14 earned varsity letters by virtue of meeting lettering times in certain events or contributing points to the team's GNC and/or sectional championship efforts.
Two of the team's three seniors - Devon Gaber and Thaddeus Heck -won awards decided by the coaching staff. Gaber was named the team's most valuable swimmer while Thaddeus Heck received the Hodag Award for his leadership in and out of the pool. Sophomore Ashton Cole was named the team's most improved swimmer and freshman Jack Antonuk took home Rookie of the Year honors.
"It's hard to choose these awards, when you have such a great team and so many great guys who are deserving of special awards," coach Jenny Heck said.
Gaber had a standout season for the Hodags, swimming a full four-event program at the D2 state meet. He qualified in both the 50- and 100-yard freestyle races as well as part of the team's 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays. Additionally, he was a GNC champion in the 100 freestyle, 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay.
"We needed Devon. He was a part of any relay when we needed to be as fast as we could," coach Heck said. "I think he really stepped into the senior role as a leader and what he brought to the team has just been incredible."
Thaddeus Heck won GNC titles for the Hodags in the 200 medley relay and the 100 breaststroke and also qualified for state in both of those events.
Heck added a second straight sectional title in the 100 breaststroke and was the team's vocal leader throughout the season.
"Thaddeus is a great kid, like all of these guys, outside of the water, too," said Jenny Heck, Thaddeus' aunt. "I saw him really do a nice job with the freshmen. His motivational talks were amazing. They were entertaining. It got me motivated. I felt like I wanted to jump in the pool and swim after listening."
Antonuk led a strong freshman class of seven swimmers, which coach Heck called the team's "secret weapon" this past season. The depth the freshmen added allowed the Hodags to consistently rack up more points than conference rivals which had only a handful of high-caliber swimmers.
Coach Heck noted it was difficult to hand out the Rookie of the Year award due to the class' depth, but Antonuk was the only of the freshmen to qualify for the state meet in an individual race, making in the 200 individual medley. He and fellow freshmen Daniel Gillingham and Charlie Heck were on the state-qualifying 400 freestyle relay team, along with senior David King.
Coach Heck also noted Antonuk was more accustomed to long-distance events in the Rhinelander Swim Club and had to make the transition to the shorter, sprint-style races that are included in the high school program.
"It was really impressive of how well he handled that because it really was a different style of swimming for Jack," she said. "I think he's just going to get faster and faster and really do well. We could put him in any event we needed - back, breast, fly, free - anything we needed, any time of the year and he did it."
Cole also specialized in distance events for Rhinelander, earning a fourth-place finish at conference for the Hodags in the 500 freestyle. His time dropped drastically this season in the longest event of the program -going from 6:36.17 at the start of the season to 5:47.50 at sectionals.
"Ashton just kept getting faster and faster, dropping more time and more time in that 500," Heck said. "It was like, 'How much more time can he continue to drop?' He just keeps getting better and better."
All three seniors - Devon Gaber, Thaddeus Heck and David King - were honored for their roles as team captains. All three also received academic All-State awards from the Wisconsin Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association for carrying grade point averages of 3.5 or high. Only seniors are eligible for the WISCA award.
"These guys were great leaders, great captains. Thank you for doing such a stellar job, in and out of the pool, all these years," coach Heck said. "Whether you were swimming or cheering someone on, you set the example for the younger swimmers. What your motivation and your experience brought to them was something the coaches couldn't do. It needed to be done by you and you really stepped into the role and took it to a new level."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.