November 15, 2021 at 7:59 a.m.
BEST IN CLASS
Hodags take 2nd at D2 state swim meet, Malia Francis wins two state titles
BEST IN CLASS
Malia Francis won two more individual state titles and the Hodags had six podium finishes overall as the team finished second in this year's state championship.
Rhinelander was never in contention to defend its 2020 state title. Powerhouse program Edgewood, a Madison private school which opted out of last year's traditional fall season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more than doubled the Hodags runner-up total. The Crusaders, who won the alternate fall title last spring, won a state championship for the seventh consecutive year.
The Hodags reigned supreme once again in the battle amongst the mortals in Division 2. Rhinelander fended off Baraboo by 32 points for the runner-up spot.
"It's very sweet," coach Jenny Heck said. "People are like, 'Well, that's a once in a lifetime thing. That won't happen again.' We didn't have Edgewood last year, so we were able to have the win. Edgewood was here and strong this year, but it's just as sweet."
Friday marked Rhinelander's fourth runner-up finish in the state meet after winning three straight silver trophies between 1992 and 1994.
"The silver trophy looks really cool too and I think the fact that this is a normal year, doesn't have all the COVID separation stuff, I think it's just awesome that we're able to do that," sophomore Karis Francis said. "Even if we didn't get first, second is amazing, and it's so cool."
Malia Francis, Karis' older sister, put a bow on her spectacular high school career with two more individual state championships. That gave her eight total gold medals in the 12 races she swam in three years at state. She now stands alone as the most decorated state champion in RHS history, surpassing John Thuerer's mark of six state titles won in boys' swimming in the 1960s.
Malia did it in style, winning her third straight title in the 100-yard backstroke in state-record fashion, plus the championship in the 200 individual medley. In a word, Francis said she left feeling "accomplished."
"I think we were able to get done what we needed to do today and a lot of us accomplished the goals we wanted to reach," she said. "I feel really satisfied and accomplished with how the night went."
Francis' No. 1 objective going into the meet was to claim the D2 state record in the 100 backstroke set by Grafton's Autumn Haebig at 54.65 seconds back in 2016. Francis was within 0.07 of the mark when she won in 2019. Her time was a bit slower last year (55.13) as she sacrificed a quest for records with a back-loaded program in an effort to help the team secure its state title. Francis went 54.49 in the event at the Great Northern Conference meet last month, but the WIAA only recognizes performances at the state meet for its record books.
Francis took it out hard and back harder in the backstroke, like she always does, leading the entire way. When she shot got to the wall, the clock read 54.39.
"I was so relieved," she said. "I've gone through this same scenario so many times and had to look up and see that I just missed it or the race didn't go how I wanted it to. To see that time and know that I had done it and don't have to worry about it anymore, was just a huge relief and made me feel really good."
Francis posted the fifth-fastest time in D2 state history at 2:09.91 as she won the 200 IM. That was 0.91 seconds off the D2 state record and 0.61 seconds off her sister, Kiah's, school-record and state-championship performance in the event in 2016.
"My back half struggled a little bit, which is OK, but I was happy with my time and that I was able to win it. It helped us with points and all of that. I'm pretty happy with it," she said.
In all, four school records fell on Friday night as Rhinelander parlayed its 12 state meet entries into 188 points. Edgewood won with 394 points, followed by Rhinelander, Baraboo, 2020 D2 state runner-up Shorewood and Whitnall.
Rhinelander nearly started the night with a major bang, leading through three legs of the 200 medley relay. The team of Malia Francis, Noelle St. Pierre and Karis Francis gave anchor leg Abi Winnicki a 0.61-second advantage and Winnicki had a lifetime-best 23.70-second split over the final 50 yards, but she was tracked down by Edgewood's Abby Reid. The individual state champ in the 50 and the 100, Reid laid down a blistering 22.57-second final 50 to beat Winnicki to the wall by 0.52 seconds.
"I was shaking so bad," Winnicki said of the trembles she felt standing on the blocks knowing she'd enter the water first. "It was so terrible, but I got in the water and I felt good finally. I was so excited to race. I saw Edgewood coming on me, but I was like, 'OK, I don't care.' Second to them, is fine. My split was a second faster than I've went this whole season. I'm just like beyond shocked with how everyone else swam to put us in that position."
The Hodags were seeded fourth in the medley but Heck rolled the dice, stacking her team there it in an effort for a few more points as it jockeyed for the runner-up position in the team standings. The gamble worked. Without its two strongest swimmers, Malia Francis and Winnicki, the team still managed a fourth-place swim in the 200 freestyle relay as Genna Fugle, Karis Francis, Ellyse Younker and St. Pierre went 1:39.34 in the event.
"Those girls, without our top two, Abi and Malia, they made it happen, got the job done," Heck said. "That's probably one of the most exciting moments, and it was a fourth place."
Rhinelander topped its state-winning and school-record time from 2020 in the 400 free relay as Fugle, Winnicki, Younker and Malia Francis went 3:34.37. That was one of two school records in relays on Friday night, along with the 200 medley relay (1:45.74) - which was the fourth-best time in D2 state history.
"That's not just one or two girls. That takes a whole team of really fast, strong, dedicated girls to make that happen," Heck said.
Swimming the anchor leg in the 200 medley relay cost Winnicki moments later in terms of freshness for the 200 freestyle, as she dropped back to ninth in that race (1:57.72). But the Hodag sophomore rebounded in the 100, taking sixth with a school-record time of 52.68.
"My 200 was a little bit heartbreaking for me but, at the same time, everyone swam so great so I couldn't not be down about it," Winnicki said. "I did what I had to do. I couldn't have done anything else. Coming back, having a positive attitude for my 100 was just vital. I was beyond happy to go a best time there."
St. Pierre, who a month and a half ago feared her season was over due to a knee injury, ended her high school career with the meet of her life. She finished 11th in a blisteringly-fast 50 freestyle with a personal-best time of 24.57 seconds -Â a time that was only 0.24 seconds off Malia Francis' school record in the event. She followed that up with a 24.05-second split in the 200 freestyle relay and then a time of 1:07.99 and a 10th-place finish in the 100 breaststroke.
"I was really happy with myself," St. Pierre said. "I wasn't even expecting that for myself. My taper ended at sectionals, so I really just had to maintain that. To just crush even what I went at sectionals and all of my times before I injured my knee, that was just insane for me. I wasn't expecting that for myself."
Karis Francis took ninth in the breaststroke (1:07.68) and was 11th in the 100 butterfly (59.00). Both times were faster than her performances six days prior at sectionals.
"I think a time drop is always the best thing that can happen, especially at a meet like this where the expectation is just to go out and have fun, especially for me," Karis Francis said. "To go 1:07s with Noelle in the breaststroke, that just made my meet. That was awesome."
Fugle finished 15th in the 100 freestyle while Younker, a freshman, made the podium twice on relays in her first state meet appearance.
"This is state," Fugle said. "It's just so huge to make it up there. I've cried multiple times today because it's just so unbelievable that we're here and we're really good. It's mind-blowing. I get to swim with these people every day."
The meet put a capper on what has been an incredible ride over the last three years for the Hodag girls' swim program. In that span, the team has won three Great Northern Conference championships, three sectional championships and has placed fifth, first and second at the WIAA state meet. Along the way Rhinelander set new school records in eight events, seven home records at the Heck Family Community Pool, 10 GNC records and even a state record.
Many of those records have Malia Francis' name attached. Simply put, her resume makes Francis the greatest Rhinelander swimmer of all-time.
"She's brought so much to this team," coach Heck said. "She's taught us all a lot her work ethic, her times have been amazing. She's elevated the entire team, not just her times, but her hard work, her dedication and her love for swimming. It's just been a blessing for all of us."
"They've been amazing. I'm so grateful to have such an amazing, supportive team," said Malia Francis, who last week officially signed her National Letter of Intent to attend NCAA Division I Liberty University for women's swimming. "They've been with me through it all. It's such a great group of girls. It's been awesome."
All of that gave Rhinelander plenty of reason to celebrate, even if its trophy sported a different precious metal than last year's.
"Everyone has a role on the team and I'm really proud of this team," Heck said. "Everyone has found their role and has stepped up - whether it's winning, whether it's a state record - they've stepped up and have been there for each other. That's what a team is. I couldn't be more proud."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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