March 25, 2021 at 8:24 a.m.
Team review: RHS boys' swimming
Hodags continue dominance over GNC, sectional competition
Team review: RHS boys' swimming
The Hodags continued to flex their muscle this season. On the heels of the Rhinelander girls winning the WIAA D2 state title this past fall, the Hodag boys had another strong campaign this winter. All Rhinelander did was dominate the Great Northern Conference again, win its third consecutive WIAA D2 sectional championship and place ninth at the WIAA Division 2 state meet.
Along the way, the Hodags were a perfect 11-0 in dual meets and won the only non-conference invitational they were able to participate in during a COVID-condensed season.
"When you look at the big picture, you look at how successful this year has been, we couldn't be happier or more proud of the way the season ended," Hodag coach Jenny Heck said.
Here are five key storylines from the season.
GNC dominance
Rhinelander steamrolled through the GNC for the third year in a row, going undefeated in conference duals and winning the conference tournament handily.
The Hodags were a perfect 8-0 this year in GNC duals, the closet margin was a 45-point win over Lakeland Jan. 12.
Rhinelander defeated Lakeland by 185 points at the GNC meet, breaking the conference record for largest margin of victory set by Rhinelander last year when they defeated Tomahawk by 132 points.
The Hodags won five events in the meet, had 12 other top three-finishes and had at least one entry earn all-conference honors in all 11 events.
Sectional success
Rhinelander's dominance continued when it hosted D2 sectionals at the Heck Family Community Pool Jan. 30.
Rhinelander won five events and qualified 11 entries for the WIAA D2 state meet in the process. Projected to score 395 points and beat Menomonie by 50 points, once diving scores were factored into the equation, Rhinelander scored 403 points to knock off the Mustangs by 90 points for the title.
"We have the depth. Every guy was in the top six today in at least one event," coach Heck said afterward. "I just knew that we had our individual goals with each race and we were accomplishing them, so I figured the points would go along with."
Rhinelander flexed its depth by winning all three relays, setting new Heck Pool records in all three.
The quartet of Carter Gaber, Jack Antonuk, Gavin Ostermann and Charlie Heck opened the day with a blistering time of 1 minute, 41.81 seconds in the 200 medley relay, beating the old pool mark by 0.66 seconds. In the 200 freestyle relay Daniel Gillingham, Antonuk, Charlie Heck and Joseph Heck went 1:29.39 to shatter the old record by 1.34 seconds. Both Heck brothers swam sub-22 seconds splits in the event. The Hodags capped it off with Gillingham, Marcus O'Malley, Charlie Heck and Joseph Heck in the 400 freestyle relay. Their time of 3:20.57 beat the old pool record by 0.83 seconds.
Solid at state
Rhinelander's performance at sectionals had the team projected to finish fifth at the D2 state meet in Waukesha. Though the Hodags wound up ninth, they matched or bettered their seed time with virtually off of their entries.
"They swam really great. I think we were just really pleased with it. On paper it might not have looked as successful as I think it was," she said. "The guys are really happy. They are proud of themselves. We were ninth overall. I know we had that fifth-place seed, but last year we were 14th and we were kind of the underdogs this year losing three great seniors. But we stepped up in way that I think were unexpected. These guys really pushed themselves to have a better year than I think was anticipated."
Joseph Heck went out with a pair of podium finishes, as part of a third-place swim in the 200 freestyle relay and individual with a sixth in the 50 freestyle.
Antonuk barely missed the podium in both of his individual races, taking seventh in both the 200 individual medley and the 100 breaststroke. Gillingham finished ninth for the Hodags in both of his individual events - the 200 freestyle (1:50.16) and the 100 butterfly (55.47).
Barely perfect
In addition to a perfect GNC record, the Hodags had a double-dual win over Lakeland and Ashwaubenon to their credit on the season. The team added a non-conference dual against D.C. Everest Jan. 14, which proved to be the team's biggest threat to an undefeated season.
It came down to the final race of the night between the GNC-champion Hodags and the Wisconsin Valley Conference-champion Evergreens, and a disqualification of D.C. Everest's A relay in the 400 freestyle relay was enough to give Rhinelander an 87-80 victory.
"Our depth and our B relays really carried us through. We were really excited. We knew it was going to be a close meet and they had a couple more guys than we thought they had," coach Jenny Heck said. Overall, I think it was a great meet. I think (Everest) enjoyed it too. They were really impressed with us and it was great experience.
"We were pretty proud to beat a D1 team who was unbeaten."
What's next
Don't expect much of a drop off from the Hodags next year. Though they do graduate four-event state qualifier Joseph Heck, the team loses only one other senior from this year's squad.
Five of this year's state qualifiers - Antonuk, Gaber, Gillingham, Charlie Heck and O'Malley - were only sophomores, while Ostermann was a junior.
With all of that talent returning, the Hodags will likely be the favorites once again next winter in the GNC.
"This experience alone just puts them in a great spot for next year and the year after," coach Heck said. "To think that they're only sophomores and that they're doing what they're doing now, it's really promising."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.