November 11, 2020 at 11:18 a.m.
RHS swimmers head to state with chance to win multiple events, overall championship
RHS swimmers head to state with chance to win multiple events, overall championship
Tonight, the Hodags look to cap off a historic season with another feat - the team's first overall state championship.
It could be in the cards for the Hodags, who enter the WIAA Division 2 state meet in Waukesha this evening as the favorite to claim the state title. The Hodags brought home silver trophies as the state runner-up in 1992, 1993 and 1994, but never a gold trophy.
The team knows where it stands as it gets set to put a state-high 15 entries in the water this evening. Nine of those entries are qualified in the top six in their events, and the Hodags have the top seed in four events. Based on qualifying times, Rhinelander is projected to be a 24 1/2-point favorite over Shorewood, and has a projected 65 1/2-point cushion over third-place Greendale.
"We're going large," coach Jenny Heck said. "This is our chance to do the best we can do. We want to win. That would be a great goal. Will it mean it's not successful if we don't? No, but that's our goal and that's what we're all striving for."
A state championship is not just on Heck's mind. The swimmers are very aware of the unique opportunity they have before them tonight - a confluence of the most talented team Rhinelander has had in more than a quarter century and a field that's missing the top three teams from last year's state meet, all of which opted out of the traditional fall sports season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We've been talking about winning this state title since the beginning of the season," said senior captain Makenna Winnicki. "It's always been something that's been in our range. Seeing how we performed this week, it really looks like it could be possible."
Don't put an asterisk on Rhinelander's accomplishments based on who is and is not in the field. It's often said in sports that one's greatest ability is availability. The Hodags have been able to do that better than most during the pandemic. Team captain Lisa Kennedy said she and her teammates had to, because of what was at stake if any of them could not swim.
"We have to be especially careful if we care about this sport and getting to the end of it," Kennedy said. "Especially for swimming, if we miss two weeks in the middle of the season, if we miss two weeks during taper, it's over. We can't recover from missing two weeks out of the season. We've really made an effort this year to be really safe."
This has meant making sacrifices. If any of the team members go to another sporting event, their masks are on and they are away from other students. In a way, the swim team has its own little bubble, which has brought the team members closer together.
"We really have become our own friend group," Kennedy said. "Of course, we were all friends before, but now that this is really the only people we're hanging out with, it's kind of become like a family."
The Hodags will look to ride that family mindset and their strength in numbers to a potential state championship this evening. The team's 15 entries are tied with Shorewood and Whitefish Bay for the most in the D2 field. What's more, the Hodags are the No. 1 seed in four events, no other school is favored to win more than two events.
Not everyone, including some members of Rhinelander's state qualifying squad, showed their entire hand last week. From tinkering with relay lineups, to having their top swimmers fully shaved and rested, the Hodags will likely need to improve upon their qualifying times simply to maintain their qualifying positions, let alone exceed them.
"That's all you can really go for, doing your best and whatever that is and improving upon that. We can't control what everyone else is going to do and their strategy. We can only think about what we're going to do," coach Heck said. "The mindset that we're just going to go out and try to beat as many people as we can."
There are opportunities by the boatload available for the Hodags this evening. Junior Malia Francis looks to defend her state championships in both the 100-yard butterfly and the 100 backstroke, and is the top seed in both events. She is also part of the 200-yard freestyle relay team that's seeded first in the state along with teammates Noelle St. Pierre, Karis Francis and Abi Winnicki.
Meanwhile, Abi Winnicki, is seeded first in the 100 freestyle and fourth in the 200 freestyle in her first state meet appearance. The two, along with Genna Fugle and Makenna Winnicki, are seeded second in the 400 freestyle relay while the team of Kennedy, Makenna Winnicki, St. Pierre and Karis Francis are seeded second in the 200 medley relay.
Kennedy is seeded fourth in the 100 backstroke while Makenna Winnicki is seeded sixth in the 200 IM and ninth in the 500 freestyle. St. Pierre is seeded seventh in the 50 freestyle and ninth in the 100 breaststroke.
Kennedy and Karis Francis also qualified in the 200 individual medley, where they are seeded 13th and 14th, respectively. Karis Francis is the ninth seed in the 100 butterfly.
Here are some of the storylines ahead of tonight's meet.
Record chaser
Not only is Malia Francis looking to defend her titles in the butterfly and the backstroke this evening, she has some history on her mind as well. Last year, her winning time in the butterfly of 56.23 seconds was seventh-fastest in Division 2 state history while her time in the backstroke of 54.72 was only 0.07 seconds off the D2 state record.
Francis is seeded comfortably in the No. 1 position in both races. In the butterfly, she's 2.17 seconds ahead of second-seeded Emma Clifford of Wausau East, who she beat head-to-head last Saturday in the Rhinelander subsectional. She's a favorite by 1.61 seconds in the backstroke over Shorewood sophomore Elise Jacobs.
Francis' qualifying times are faster than her qualifying times in both events last year, but the state records firmly within reach.
"I feel like, going into it, I won't have as much pressure on the winning side of things. That's going to be a good goal to aim for. That's definitely something I'll be shooting for," she said.
Fast relays
The Hodags' school-record effort of 1:39.43 in the 200 freestyle relay has the team as the top seed in the event by 1.61 seconds over Wausau East, which finished second to Rhinelander in last week's subsectional. Malia Francis helped cement that record time with a blistering 23.80-second split over the final 50 yards.
Rhinelander enters second in the 200 medley, only 0.74 seconds behind Shorewood for the top qualifying spot. The team has longer to go to catch Greendale, which is 2.63 seconds clear for the No. 1 seed in the 400 freestyle relay.
Having seven state qualifiers and three alternates make the trip to Waukesha gives the Hodags some flexibility in the relays, and there's no guarantee that the relay lineups from last Saturday will be the same tonight.
"You always have to think about where you can improve, what you can do better and how you can switch things around," Heck said. "We're spending a lot of time thinking about that, trying to get the best situation, the best kids in the relays in the fastest way possible. We've been doing a lot of that the last couple days, a few sleepless nights but, in the end run the girls, wherever we put them, are going to be fast. They are out for a win and they're really excited."
Full circle
For Kennedy and Makenna Winnicki, Friday's meet marks the culmination of their decorated careers at RHS.
Winnicki is making her fourth trip to the WIAA state meet while Kennedy is state-bound for a third time. Three years ago, they were both on the team's 200-yard medley relay team, and they are set to both swim that race again.
"I think it's really cool for Lisa and I to end our season in the same exact spots that we spots we started it off - Lisa doing backstroke on the (medley) relay and me doing fly," Makenna Winnicki said. "That's kind of a nice little moment that we'll be able to look back on."
"It's been a joy watching them achieve their goals and grow up in the pool," Heck said.
Kennedy already achieved one of her major goals, breaking the one-minute barrier in the 100 backstroke. She backed up that performance at sectionals and could find her way on the podium for the first time in an individual event, which she said was a goal.
Winnicki, meanwhile, is looking to make it back onto the podium after taking fourth in the 500 freestyle last season. Both seniors were on the podium last year as part of Rhinelander's 200 medley relay team, which placed fifth overall.
Sister act
The Hodags will be represented by two pairs of siblings at the WIAA state meet with Makenna and Abi Winnicki, and Malia and Karis Francis. Naturally, there are some sibling rivalries - like when Makenna Winnicki edged out her younger sister when they raced against each other in the 100 butterfly during a dual meet earlier in the season.
"Even if we don't always get along, when we're racing, it's different," Abi Winnicki said. "We just have a different bond in the pool than we do outside of the pool."
Overall, the sister pairs said it has been a benefit having family ties on the team.
"I've loved having Karis on the team and I think getting to see her on this great team of girls, I think she's improved a whole lot and has just kind of embraced the whole team aspect," Malia Francis said.
"Abi and I have been looking forward to this one year we have together for a long time," Makenna Winnicki said. "It's really exciting to see how well we've done and how well I've seen Abi do this year. It's really fun to see her grow as a person and how much being on the swim team with the rest of us had made her come out of her shell. Her personality is just growing."
Karis Francis said having her Malia on the squad actually eases the pressure, rather than amplifying it.
"I'm not really looking to follow in her footsteps, but it's definitely been nice having her here because she's somebody I can always rely on if I never need anything," she said.
Notes and nuggets
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the WIAA girls' state swim meet is being conducted outside of Madison for the first time since 1977, when it was hosted by Whitewater ... The most events Rhinelander has won in any individual state meet is three back in 1993. That year, Lindsay Byrka won the 50 freestyle and the Hodags won both the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relay. Should Abi Winnicki win the 100 freestyle on Friday, she'd be Rhinelander's first state champion in that event since Byrka in 1992 ... When Rhinelander scored its third consecutive runner-up finish in the WIAA D2 state meet in 1994, Shorewood beat the Hodags by 33 points for the overall title. Shorewood is Rhinelander's closest rival this year and finished seven points ahead of the Hodags for fourth place in last year's D2 state meet ... Spectators will be limited for tonight's meet, with families being allotted only two tickets per qualifying swimmer. The WIAA will livestream the event on its wiaa.tv portal. It costs $10.99 for a one-month subscription to watch the event live. The event will be archived for free viewing 72 hours after the tournament.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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