March 10, 2022 at 8:33 a.m.
Gillingham named Hodag boys' swim MVP
Gillingham named Hodag boys' swim MVP
Junior Daniel Gillingham walked away with the top honor, named the most valuable swimmer by the coaching staff. Freshman Samson Shinners took home rookie of the year honors while sophomore Zacha King and junior Eli Lundt shared most improved honors.
All 14 members of the team walked away with something. They all received varsity letters, achieving an automatic letter time in at least one event during the season. They also all received certificates as members of the all-Great Northern Conference team. Junior Jack Antonuk also received his plaque as the GNC's boys' swimmer of the year.
The highest honor of the night went to Gillingham, who was a sectional champion in the 200-yard individual medley, and finished in the top six in all four of his events at the WIAA state meet. He was sixth, individual, in the 200 IM and the 100 butterfly, was on the Hodags' runner-up 200 freestyle relay team and the team's fourth-place 200 medley relay team.
"Daniel really worked hard this year in the weight room. You can tell, he's strong. He's just got huge talent and potential," coach Jenny Heck said during the banquet.
"He was swimming the 200 free more last year and I said, 'I think you're 200 IM is really good. I think you should pursue that,'" coach Heck added. "I don't know if you thought I was crazy at first or not, but he ended up podiuming at state, kept getting faster and faster. He podiumed in all four events at state.
"I could tell he had a little bit more in him and he could always really dig deep and that's impressive, because not everyone can do that."
Shinners earned rookie of the year honors for a season that saw him qualify for state in four events. He was a sectional champion in the 200 freestyle and placed in the top 10 in all four of his events at state - led by a runner-up finish in the 200 freestyle relay.
"He made an immediate impact on the team," coach Heck said. "He loves freestyle. He's really good at it, but he's good in all the strokes and all of the event. He never had a problem with it. I think the 200 free was really his thing, but he was awesome in the 50 free and the 500 free. He just did amazing in the freestyle."
King and Lundt both made significant time drops this year. King's drops led to state qualification in the 500 freestyle, the 100 backstroke and the 400 freestyle relay.
"This year he was healthy and amazingly fast," coach Heck said. "I was looking at his times, in the 200 IM last year he was a 2:24. This year he went a 2:16. The 500 free was a 5:28 last year. He was a 5:12 this year. His 100 back last year was a 1:05. He went a 56.3 and qualified for state. His 100 free was like a 57 last year. He went a 50.6 in the relay at state. Just huge gains and trained really hard. I knew it was possible for him to do great things."
Jenny Heck noted that Lundt dropped six seconds from his personal best in the 100 butterfly, five seconds in the 100 backstroke and two seconds in the 50 freestyle this year.
"He made such great gains this year, I was so proud of Eli," she said. "The first two years he was dealing with a lot of health issues. He had a hard time getting through some of the practices with asthma and breathing conditions. It was hard for them. He got a lot of those issues last year and worked really hard in the offseason, was there all the time in the weight room and just worked amazingly hard. I was just so impressed with his work ethic and how he's grown and matured."
The coaching staff honored both of the team's seniors - Ashton Cole and Jacob Schoppe - for their four years of dedication to high school swimming. Cole, additionally, was presented with the team's most dedicated award. The two were part of one of the strongest four-year runs in RHS swimming history.
"These two are great. I just had so much fun with them," coach Heck noted. "These guys have never lost a conference championship or sectional championship. That's amazing. Not many people can say that."
Juniors Carter Gaber and Charlie Heck were honored with the team's Heart of the Hodag. The two, along with Schoppe and Cole were also recognized as team captains.
It was another banner year for Hodag swimming, as the team dominated on its way to a fourth straight GNC title and won sectionals for a fourth year in a row. The team also placed third overall in the WIAA Division 2 state meet, matching 2019 as the team's best showing at state since the 1960s.
"We just really had a fantastic season and there's just so much to celebrate," coach Heck said.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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