February 16, 2022 at 3:38 p.m.
'Focusing on Friday'
Hodag swimmers seek better results at state
'Focusing on Friday'
Following another sectional title - and with a program-record 17 entries heading to Waukesha tonight - the Hodags are seeking to reverse that trend as they take part in the WIAA Division 2 state meet.
Rhinelander did so with 10 athletes, all of whom are underclassmen. That's an indication that the Hodags dominance of the northern half of the state will continue for at least one more year, but coach Jenny Heck said the team wants more and is ready to go stroke-for-stroke with some of the powerhouse programs in the southern part of the state.
"We're optimistic for the future but, right now, we're just focusing on Friday," she said.
Rhinelander has struggled to match its sectional performances each of the last two seasons as it placed 14th at state in 2020 and ninth last year. This year, the Hodags have the more entries than any other team in the field and went into the postseason with a different mindset, which they hopes will pay dividends tonight.
Given how strong the team was for much of the season, Heck elected not to fully taper a number of her state qualifiers for the sectional meet, instead focusing the training program for her team to be at its peak at tonight.
"I felt like it was a little risky on my part because we were never in a position where we could rest for state. We always had to rest for sectionals to make it there," she said. "We're hoping that this works. The guys are looking great. We'll just have to see, if it does it would we wonderful. A lot of times we're just trying to maintain our taper for state because we needed to get there. Hopefully, this time, we're the team that's improving."
The Hodags will have rest and depth on their side but face an uphill battle tonight. Defending D2 state champion Cedarburg is projected to retain its crown, favored by 11 points over another southern power, Madison Edgewood. Shorewood, Rhinelander and Nicolet round out the projected top five, based on qualifying performances from last weekend's sectional round.
"Our goal at the beginning of the season was to be top five overall at state," Heck said. "We were ninth last year. If we can move up, I think anything (beyond fifth) is icing on the cake and I think we're in real good position to do so."
The one thing Rhinelander lacks that the rest of the top five have is the high-end star power that can vie for individual state titles. Cedarburg and Edgewood are both the top seed in four events, while Nicolet is favored to win the 100 freestyle. Shorewood is seeded second in four events. Rhinelander's top entry is its 200 medley relay, which is seeded third.
"The teams that are in the top five are winning events and we don't have that guy who's winning events right now," Heck said. "We're depending on all the guys to score cumulative points. We have to work extra hard when we can't rely on that first place person to give you lots of points."
Rhinelander is also seeded fourth in the 200 freestyle relay, though exactly how the Hodags play their relays remains to be seen. With 10 different swimmers to choose from, the Hodags might not necessarily roll out the same relay lineups as they did last week. That tactic can come in handy to keep swimmers from competing in back-to-back events, or to gear up for strong run at one or two relays in particular.
"We have some ideas," Heck said. "All those guys are going to be ready to swim and swim wherever we need them. We kind of have to look and see where we're going to be positioned best, what we can go after and how we can score points."
Individually, Rhinelander has only two entries starting in podium position. Daniel Gillingham is seeded sixth in the 200 individual medley and Brock Arrowood is sixth in the 100 butterfly. Rhinelander has several just outside the top six as well. Jack Antonuk is seeded seventh in the IM and eighth in the breaststroke, Carter Gaber is seeded seventh in the backstroke, Gillingham is seeded eighth in the butterfly and Samson Shinners is seeded eighth in both the 200 and 500 freestyle.
"We got a lot of guys in and a lot of guys have positions to move up, but you know how it is down at state, everyone's thinking the same thing. Everyone wants to move a position," Heck said. "Some people are more rested than others, so what you end up having to do is just swim your race and not worry about what the guy next to you is doing because you don't know how well rested they are. As long as everyone gives it absolutely everything they have, try to move up a spot or two, I think we're in really good position."
Tonight's meet starts at 5:30 p.m. at the Waukesha South High School natatorium.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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