December 6, 2022 at 7:02 a.m.
Hodag swimmers down Tomahawk, win Rapids Invite
Hodag swimmers down Tomahawk, win Rapids Invite
Rhinelander swept all 11 events on Thursday to defeat Tomahawk 108-40 in Great Northern Conference dual meet and then returned to the pool Saturday to defeat Tomahawk and three other teams in the Wisconsin Rapids Invite.
The Hodags won five events in Saturday's invite, scored 17 top-three finishes overall and won the five-team invite by 56 points over Madison East/LaFollette.
"We let the guys choose the events they wanted to go after for one of their first meets and that's what's kind of nice about this opportunity," Hodag coach Jenny Heck said after Saturday's win. "We can do that, move around the lineup a little bit and try some different things out and see where we're successful and what options we have for further down the road."
Senior Jack Antonuk swam to victory in all four of his events on Saturday. Individually, he bested Tomahawk's Zach Hanse to win both the 200-yard individual medley (2 minutes, 9.01 seconds) and the 100 breaststroke (1:04.89).
Antonuk was also on Rhinelander's winning 200 medley and 200 freestyle relay teams.
Fellow senior Daniel Gillingham scored Rhinelander's other individual win, taking the 100 butterfly (56.66).
"His times were pretty good and he looked solid. It was really successful for him. Daniel had a pretty good meet in the 100 fly and the 200 free," coach Heck said.
Rhinelander edged Madison LaFollette in the 200 medley relay with the team of Carter Gaber, Antonuk, Zacha King and Charlie Heck (1:41.82). That became a 1-2 finish for the Hodags after LaFollette was disqualified. Dolan O'Malley, Shawn Denis, Marcus O'Malley and Eli Lundt inherited the runner-up spot (1:52.12).
Denis, Antonuk, Fugle and Gillingham took the 200 freestyle relay (1:33.64) as Rhinelander's only entry in the event. The Hodags finished second and third in the 400 freestyle relay with Gillingham, King, Fugle and Charlie Heck (3:25.58) followed by Lundt, Dolan O'Malley, Marcus O'Malley and Gaber (3:45.17).
"I thought our relays did well," coach Heck noted. "We were comparing how we did last year at this time and feel like we're on a good path of improvement."
Gaber added runner-up finishes for Rhinelander in both the 100 freestyle and the 100 backstroke, Gillingham was second in the 200 freestyle and Charlie Heck was second in the 50 freestyle. The Hodags scored third-place finishes with Fugle in both the 200 individual medley and 100 freestyle, Dolan O'Malley in the 500, King in the 100 backstroke and Denis in the 100 breaststroke.
"Every one of the 10 guys had some success," coach Heck said. "They guys felt pleased what they went after. They're really trying to swim smart this year and thinking about how they can better their swims in certain areas. We made a lot of gains in that."
Rhinelander 108, Tomahawk 40
The Hodags cruised to victory in their first GNC dual meet of the season on Thursday, taking all 11 events in a 108-40 win at Tomahawk.
Charlie Heck missed the meet due to illness, but eight of the nine swimmers Rhinelander had on deck played a role in at least one victory.
"It was a very good meet overall, just a large amount of personal-best times from some of these guys," Jenny Heck said.
Individually, King and Antonuk both scored a pair of victories. King took the 200 freestyle (1:57.79) and the 100 butterfly (57.87) while Antonuk captured the 500 (5:18.25) and the 100 breaststroke (1:04.27).
"Zacha King really had a phenomenal meet, all best times," coach Heck noted. "Jack was strong in both of his events and his times were really solid, where he needs to be."
Gillingham took the 200 IM (2:09.80), Fugle won the 50 (23.73), Marcus O'Malley won the 100 freestyle (56.74) and Dolan O'Malley took the 100 backstroke (1:00.09).
Marcus O'Malley was also on all three winning relays for Rhinelander. He teamed with Gaber, Denis and Dolan O'Malley in the 200 medley relay (1:47.00), with Denis, King and Fugle in the 200 freestyle relay (1:36.83) and with Gaber, King and Antonuk in the 400 free relay (3:38.63).
"I think the guys really stepped it up. You have to kind of make your races out of some of these meets and our relays were competitive with each other and pushed each other," Heck said. "I think that's going to kind of be the key to the season, just pushing and trying to make the most out of each other and try to make each other better."
Rhinelander swims against Shawano on Thursday at the Heck Pool before hosting the annual Hodag Relays on Saturday.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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