January 17, 2022 at 8:13 a.m.
RHS swim honors Heck family, seniors in dominating win over Shawano
RHS swim honors Heck family, seniors in dominating win over Shawano
Rhinelander won all 11 events and took down a Heck Family Community Pool record Thursday as it defeated Shawano 136-31 in Great Northern Conference play.
Prior to the meet, the Hodags honored the late Robert G. Heck, who passed away Jan. 7. A large contingent of Heck family members were on hand to witness one of their own Charlie Heck, Robert's grandson, help reset the pool record in the 200-yard medley relay.
Charlie Heck swam the anchor leg of the relay, and had a 22.04-second freestyle split, as the team finished with a time of 1 minute, 41.05 seconds. Carter Gaber, Jack Antonuk and Daniel Gillingham were the other members of the record-breaking relay team. Gaber, Antonuk and Heck were also part of the previous record of 1:41.81 set in 2020.
"I looked and said, why wouldn't we go for this tonight," Hodag coach Jenny Heck said. "We were right there. We were working hard and I wasn't going to sacrifice our training to get a record. I said, 'Guys, the only thing you can do is put on your fast suits. If you want to do that and get your head mentally in the game and be ready, you can do that, but we're not letting up. You're going to have to do it tired.' I was really pleased with their efforts and getting that done."
Prior to the meet the swim team honored Robert Heck not with a moment of silence, but rather a long round of applause. In addition to Heck's legacy as a businessman and influential figure in the growth of the Rhinelander-Oneida County Airport, he watched several children and grandchildren grow up competing in the RHS pool, which became the Heck Family Community Pool in 2011, following a donation from the family to aid in the renovation of the facility.
"Bob leaves behind a legacy of support that will likely only be matched by those that learned from his lead," Brian Gaber, emcee of the pre-meet tribute, told the audience. "Bob wanted Rhinelander to be a place that would continue to be a community that meets the needs of families that live here, and his generosity and care for his community will always be his hallmark.
"Until his health began to fade recently, Bob was a fixture at these meets and he loved the excitement of watching the teams compete."
Jenny Heck, Robert's daughter-in-law, said she and the team were moved by the tribute.
"What a great honor, I think, for the Heck family," she said. "Way outside of what I have done, they have put so much into this community and the pool. I couldn't be more happy to be a part of their family."
Charlie Heck kept it going outside of the opening relay. He had a hand in four victories on the evening. Individually, he took the 50 freestyle (22.77) and the 100 butterfly (1:01.05) and was on the team's winning 200 freestyle relay (1:38.44) with Ashton Cole, Jacob Schoppe and Gillingham.
Schoppe and Cole, Rhinelander's two seniors, both experienced victory in their final meet in the Heck Pool. In addition to the 200 freestyle relay, Schoppe won the 100 breaststroke (1:13.32), rallying over the final 25 yards to beat Shawano's Ben Langlois by 0.45 seconds.
"I know Jacob wasn't feeling his fastest tonight, but he just dug deep and got the job done. His underwaters were amazing and I think won that race," coach Heck said. "Both Ashton and Jacob, I'm just proud of their efforts and their contributions for all four years and I think they finished off on just a high note tonight."
Gillingham was also a four-event winner for Rhinelander, adding the 200 individual medley (2:08.07) and the 100 freestyle (51.14) to his two relay wins. Jack Antonuk took the 200 freestyle (1:54.44), Samson Shinners won the 500 (5:10.96) and Carter Gaber won the backstroke (59.20).
Rhinelander added a win in the 400 freestyle relay (3:39.86) with Mathias Fugle, Zacha King, Shawn Denis and Antonuk (3:39.86).
"We had some amazing times all the way around, with all of the guys tonight. With the training we've been doing, I really thought it was an amazing night of fast times," coach Heck said.
Seemingly buried beneath the other events surrounding the evening, Rhinelander (6-0) became the lone unbeaten in the GNC with the victory, handing the Hawks (3-1) their first loss. Rhinelander and Shawano will meet again Jan. 25 in Shawano after their December meeting was postponed due to inclement weather.
"There's lots to celebrate tonight," coach Heck said. "We're just going to keep it going. We only have two (dual) meets left. We'll see what we can do and we still have lots to swim (for) yet this year. It was a great night, but we still have a long way to go."
Lightning Invite
The Hodags kept the momentum going the following night in Appleton. Rhinelander won only one race, but had at least one top-four finisher in every event as it cruised to a 96-point victory in the Lightning Invite at Appleton North.
"The depth really showed today," assistant coach Brent Olson said. "Everybody swam at or better than their times for the season. It was a phenomenal meet all around."
Olson skippered the team Friday night as both Jenny and Charlie Heck were absent to attend Robert Heck's visitation and memorial service.
Rhinelander's lone win came in the 200 medley relay as the group of Carter Gaber, Antonuk, Gillingham and Fugle posted a time of 1:43.54 to win the event by more than four seconds.
Gaber and King finished second and third, respectively, in the 100 backstroke, with both swimmers cracking the minute mark. Gillingham was the runner-up in the 100 butterfly, was third in the 500 freestyle and was also on the third-place finishing 200 freestyle relay team with Antonuk, Brock Arrowood and Shinners.
Antonuk added a runner-up swim the 100 breaststroke and was third in the 200 freestyle while Shinners added third-place swims in the 200 individual medley and the 100 freestyle.
Arrowood finished fourth in the 100 butterfly, Dolan O'Malley was fourth in the 500, and Fugle was fourth in the 100 breaststroke.
Rhinelander also took fourth with its B entry in the 200 medley relay and its A entry in the 400 freestyle relay.
Rhinelander is back in action this Thursday at Antigo in GNC action.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected]
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