February 4, 2021 at 8:30 a.m.
Magnificent seven
Rhinelander swimmers seek redemption, fast times at WIAA state meet
Magnificent seven
Two years ago, the Hodags won two events, had a number of podium finishes and placed third overall in the meet. Last year, the Hodags were shut out from the podium, finished 14th overall and were not even the highest-placing Great Northern Conference school in the team standings. That honor went to Lakeland in 10th place.
Rhinelander is back and loaded for bear tonight, with 11 entries in 10 events set to take to the water at the Waukesha South High School natatorium. The Hodags hope to make tonight's performance more closely resemble 2019 than 2020.
"Anything can happen. We could totally get thrown off and have a horrible meet, or you can go our there and just have the best meet of your live, like two years ago," senior captain Joseph Heck said after the Hodags won their third straight sectional title on Saturday. "We don't want to think too much about it and just go in like this meet. We had no really expectations, just go out and try to do our best."
It's a sentiment echoed by sophomore teammate Jack Antonuk who, along with Joseph Heck and Daniel Gillingham, will be swimming a four-event program tonight.
"I just want to get better, improve and swim the best that I can," he said. "I know my teammates have been doing that all season and (state) is the time we all need to step up and do exactly what we've been training for and swim our best."
Swimming their best is the goal for the meet. Coach Jenny Heck said if the Hodags beat their qualifying times from sectionals, "everything else will just kind of fall into place the way it's supposed to be."
Based on last Saturday's qualifying times in sectionals, the Hodags are projected to score podium finishes with six of their 11 entries and take fifth overall among the 26 teams that qualified.
There is not much room for error, however. Only 22 points separate the teams projected to finish third through seventh in the team standings.
"If we could come out in the top five, I think we would be really, really happy," coach Heck said. "It's going to be close, between that third through seventh place. We're all going to be fighting for those spots. It's going to be the same thing as it was at sectionals. We're going to have to swim faster just to maintain our position, which makes it hard because these guys had such an awesome meet on Saturday."
Here are some storylines to follow at tonight's meet.
Podium hopes
Rhinelander's best shot at a podium finish, and perhaps even a state championship, comes in the 200 freestyle relay, where the team of Gillingham, Antonuk, Charlie Heck and Joseph Heck come in seeded second overall (1 minute, 29.39 seconds), roughly 0.9 seconds off top-seeded Whitefish Bay.
"It's a great seed, but look at the difference between first and sixth," coach Heck said. "There's, what, a second difference, second and a half. Everyone has to be on. Everyone wants that first place and it's anyone's game. Everything has to be right - the starts, the turns, transitions. Everything has to be right on. These guys have it in them to go faster, but everyone's going for the same goal."
Rhinelander is seeded fifth overall in the 400 freestyle relay (3:20.57). Individually, Antonuk is seeded fifth in the breaststroke (1:02.04) and sixth in the 200 IM (2:03.79). Joseph Heck is seeded sixth in both the 50 (22.23) and 100 freestyle.
Brotherly love
If the relay orders remain the same as last week, Charlie Heck will be turning things over to his older brother Joseph for the anchor leg in both the 200 and 400 relays. In those races they'll be racing against each other. However, in the 50 freestyle, they'll be racing against each other.
Charlie Heck's seed time of 22.56 has him seeded eighth in the event. He'll be going off from Lane 8 in the final heat of the 50, while Joseph Heck starts right alongside in Lane 7.
"I can't lose to my younger brother," Joseph Heck said, playfully. "We both want to do well and it's going to be fun to swim right next to him of course. Hopefully we can both drop time and podium. That would be really cool."
Charlie Heck, while hoping he gets the better of the brother battle in the 50 said, "I think we'll both agree that, no matter how we finish up, we both want to take off some of the guys on top, and we'll both move up spots."
Coach and mother said she's not rooting for one son more than the other.
"There's nothing more motivating than trying to beat your brother. That should, hopefully, work in the benefit of both of them," Jenny Heck said.
The brother-versus-brother battle is not the only set of family bragging rights Joseph Heck said he's going after in the 50. He has a goal time of 21.30 seconds. That's the time his uncle, Dave, swam to win the WIAA state title in the 50 freestyle for the Hodags back in 1988.
Record hopes
In addition to swimming to beat their competition, the Hodags potentially have a couple of records in their sights tonight in Waukesha.
Antonuk is within striking distance of the school record in the breaststroke, only 0.78 seconds off the mark set back in 1995. The Hodags' 200 freestyle relay is only 1.63 seconds off the school record set by Joseph Heck, Nolan Francis, Devon Gaber and Russell Benoy when the team won the state title in the event two years ago.
New to state
Three members of the Hodags' qualifying contingent will be making their first state meet appearances - junior Gavin Ostermann, sophomore Carter Gaber and sophomore Marcus O'Malley.
All three, along with Antonuk, are on the 200 medley relay team to start off the night's proceedings. Gaber also qualified individually in the 100 backstroke while O'Malley is also a part of the Hodags' 400 freestyle relay team.
"I'm hoping it will be loud," O'Malley said of his first trip to state. "I feel like I swim really well when there's more motivation, extra pressure. When I'm swimming and hear the crowd get louder, it always pushes me to go harder. I'm really excited for that environment of a more tense meet."
Gaber is the third member of his family to make it to the state meet, joining other brothers Alex and Devon.
"I'm so proud of those guys because they've come such a long way," coach Heck said. "Marcus started swimming in seventh or eighth grade. He's just made such significant gains. Carter didn't know if he was going to swim last year, high school, and has just been phenomenal. He's done everything he can to improve himself and has done amazing."
The path for Ostermann has been a bit different. He grew up a wrestler and made it to WIAA sectionals as a freshman in wrestling before making the switch over to swimming as a sophomore.
"It's not easy to go wrestling to swimming," coach Heck said. "It's such a different sport and I'm so proud of Gavin because he had come from not really knowing even how to swim to become a state swimmer. This doesn't come easy. He's had to learn technique, training. He's a great athlete, but it takes a lot of physical and mental toughness to switch over at this level."
"It's taken a lot of offseason training and a lot of extra work that needed to be put in to advance and be where you want to be and be good. It's been a lot of work, and a lot of time," he said.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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