March 4, 2021 at 8:07 a.m.
Five RSC swimmers compete at 12U state
Five RSC swimmers compete at 12U state
Dean Gillingham, Ella Heck, Emma Houg, Vivian Lamers and Judson O'Malley represented the group while swimming under the Northern Lakes Aquatic Club banner. All five posted qualifying times during a meet held Feb. 13 and 14 in Ashwaubenon.
"This state meet looked a little different this year with no spectators," RSC coach Megan Cihla said. "I was concerned the hype and energy of the crowd would cause our athletes to lose excitement. However this was not the case. All of our athletes were so excited to be there and fed off that energy. There were some great time drops from all of the RSC swimmers but most importantly they fought for their races. No swimmer gave up when they got tired."
Gillingham, 10, scored the best individual finish of the group, taking seventh in the 10 and under 50-yard backstroke with a time of 41.82 seconds. Gillingham was 11th in the 200 freestyle (2:35.98), 12th in the 50 butterfly (35.51), 15th in the 50 backstroke (38.35) and 17th in the 50 freestyle (32.73).
"Dean Gillingham had so many outstanding swims, placing in the top 20 in every event, including a podium finish in the 50 breast," Cihla said. "The smile on his face when he has a great swim is so infectious."
O'Malley, 12, had a 13th-place finish in the 11-12 100 backstroke (1:06.83), to highlight his six-event program. He was also 14th 100 individual medley (1:09.23), 16th in the 50 butterfly (29.80), 21st in the 50 freestyle (27.56), 22nd in the 100 backstroke (31.88) and 25th in the 100 freestyle (1:01.11).
"Judson O'Malley made his first state appearance this weekend and didn't disappoint," Cihla said. "He knew he was going to swim fast because he was ready. But I definitely think he surprised himself multiple times at just how fast he was going."
Vivian Lamers, 12, had five individual events on her docket, led by a 21st-place finish in the 50 breaststroke (36.10). She was 22nd in the 100 breaststroke (1:19.5), 27th in the 50 butterfly (30.84), 37th in the 50 freestyle (28.11) and 65th in the 50 backstroke (33.77).
"Vivian Lamers had the most races this weekend and no matter how tired she got, she always had a smile on her face and the drive to beat the person next to her," Cihla said.
Heck, 12, was 12th in the 50 breaststroke (35.20), 20th in the 100 breaststroke (1:18.90) and 44th in the 50 freestyle (28.43), while Houg, 12, was 14th in the 500 freestyle (5:49.00), 22nd in the 200 freestyle (2:13.63) and 62nd in the 50 backstroke (33.56).
"Ella Heck really showed her competitive side this weekend," Cihla said. "This is something we've been working on a lot with Ella and she really shined with this. She used that competitive fire to help her win her heat in multiple events. Emma Houg was our only distance swimmer. She swam her 500 perfectly, having the most consistent splits I've seen from her."
Additionally, Heck, Houg and Lamers teamed up with fellow NLAC member Olivia Mickle to compete in four relay races at the state meet. The group finished eighth in the 400 freestyle relay (4:30.92), 10th in the 200 freestyle relay (1:49.97), 12th in the 200 medley relay (2:04.60) and 13th in the 400 medley relay (4:39.71).
"All 5 of these RSC swimmers have been working extremely hard the past 4 months for the possibility of state meet," Cihla said. "I'm extremely proud of them and all that they have accomplished this season. I look forward to what these swimmers and the rest of RSC can accomplish next season."
Ashwaubenon meet
Rhinelander Swim Club had its USA meet of the season Feb. 13 in Ashwaubenon.
The club had 15 swimmers compete in the meet - Gillingham, Millie Gruett, Heck, Luci Henke, Houg, Collin Jorata, Lamers, Kaleb Lehmann, Rylee Michevicius, Dolan O'Malley, Judson O'Malley, Kellen O'Malley, Marcus O'Malley, Kiley Pooch and Lily Thorsen.
"Due to COVID, this season has been one for the books," the club stated in a press release. "Even though this is the first official meet of the season, we had fantastic swims, huge time drops and lots of state cuts.
"2020-2021 season was definitely a new experience for all of us, our 'normal' conference meets were cancelled so we were all very excited to get to swim any competitive meets this season. It was great to see all the kids back in their elements. It's fun to train but it is so rewarding to see them swim in a meet and achieve their goals."
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