August 16, 2021 at 9:28 a.m.
Team Preview: RHS girls' swimming
Hodag swimmers set to begin state title defense
Team Preview: RHS girls' swimming
The question entering the 2021 season is what will the Hodags do for an encore after capturing their first WIAA Division 2 state championship last fall.
Expectations are still high for this year's squad as it returns five of the seven swimmers who were in the pool at last November's state meet. That includes senior Malia Francis, who enters 2021 with an opportunity be become the most decorated state champion in RHS history.
"I think that we have still a lot of fast, talented swimmers returning and we're going to be a force to contend with," coach Jenny Heck said.
Francis headlines the list of returning swimmers after she repeated as D2 state champ in the 100-yard butterfly and the 100 backstroke last November. She also helped the Hodags to titles in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays putting her on six individuals state titles - tied with swimmer John Thuerer (1966-68) for the most in school history.
Following an offseason in which she qualified for the US Olympic Trials in the backstroke, the Liberty University recruit, is back for one last run in the high school pool.
"She is training so hard and she's so dedicated. She's just getting faster," coach Heck said. "I expect great things from her, and I think that's a great goal for her. She has great potential to do things at the end of season this year. I'm looking forward to seeing what she can do."
Francis will be joined by all three of her teammates in the championship-winning 200 freestyle relay. That includes her younger sister, Karis, senior Noelle St. Pierre and sophomore Abi Winnicki. Junior Genna Fugle, who swam the leadoff leg in the Hodags' state-winning 400 freestyle relay, also returns.
Abi Winnicki is the most decorated of the group, setting the school records in the 100 and 200 freestyle last November en route to third- and second-place finishes, respectively, in those events at state. Winnicki was also part of the championship-winning 200 and 400 freestyle relays.
"Abi had just an amazing year last year. To have three years left, I think she's got a fire in her to do even better and improve. Those two, along with the rest, are going to be noticed," coach Heck said.
St. Pierre took seventh in the 50 freestyle and eighth in the 100 breaststroke at state last year. She and Karis Francis were both on the team's third-place finishing 200 medley relay squad. Karis Francis also qualified for state in the 200 individual medley and the 100 butterfly.
The two most significant losses from last year's squad are Makenna Winnicki and Lisa Kennedy, who both swam four-event programs at state last year. But Heck said the Hodags still have plenty of depth to compete at a high level.
In addition to the five returning state qualifiers, the team welcomes back all-conference seniors Maria Heck and Sierra Woodford along with sophomore Sam Sundby, who took eighth at sectionals last year in the breaststroke.
"All those girls who were down at the state meet are going to be core swimmers this year, but there's also a bunch of kids who are right on that edge who were on the sectional team and can contribute very well," coach Heck said. "We have a great team. If they were on another team, a lot of these kids were be their top sectional swimmers. Here, they're fighting for a position to be on the sectional team.
"I think we still have incredible depth. We have 20 or 21 on our roster right now and a lot of experience too. It's not just kids that are new to swimming. These kids have put in a lot of time throughout the years either at the club level or in high school and offseason. I think we can field all of our events and be right there and pretty strong in every event."
The Hodags dominated the Great Northern Conference last year en route to their second consecutive conference title. Rhinelander swept all 11 races in all seven dual meets a season ago, and were winners in nine of the 11 events in the virtual conference meet.
Lakeland figures to be strong again, especially considering it returns three-fourths of the group that placed second at state to the Hodags in the 200 freestyle relay, but Rhinelander is still the team to beat for the conference title, which will be settled at the Heck Family Community Pool in late October.
"Overall, there's some really good competition, but we're going to continue to be very strong throughout the conference and have a lot of success," coach Heck said.
Rhinelander's season begins Thursday with the Merrill Outdoor Relays as the team gets back into the swing of having non-conference meets this fall. The Hodags were able to have only one non-conference meet - a dual against Black River Falls - last fall due to restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Hodags will have four non-conference meets this year, including three in which they will see sectional rival Rice Lake. The team will also travel to Waukesha South - which is scheduled to host the state meet again this November - for a 17-team invite Sept. 18.
"You really want to see some other competition beside (what's here) in the Northwoods," coach Heck said. "That's important for all sports, not just swimming. If you want to swim down south with these kids when it comes to state, you don't want it to be your first time you're seeing them. You want to have a taste of that before."
Repeating a state title will be difficult. Edgewood, which had won six straight D2 state title before opting out of last year's traditional fall season, is back and the Crusaders were the alternate fall state champs this past spring.
Still, Heck said the goal is to improve at each practice and for the team to be swimming its fastest come mid-November.
"It starts with looking to see what we can do to make ourselves a little bit better each day and what we can improve on from last year. There's always a lot of things we can definitely to better," she said.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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