September 19, 2022 at 11:13 a.m.
Winnicki sets RHS 200 free record in Waukesha
Winnicki sets RHS 200 free record in Waukesha
Winnicki bettered her 200-yard freestyle record by just more than a second and came within 0.03 seconds of her school mark in the 100 freestyle. Her top-three finishes in those races were the highlights for the Hodags, who placed 10th in a field chock-full of Division 1 and high-end Division 2 talent.
Winnicki swam the 200 freestyle in 1 minute, 53.98 seconds as she took third place in that event. That was 1.01 seconds faster than she swam the event as a freshman in a third-place finish at the WIAA Division 2 state meet in the same Waukesha South pool.
"That's the first time dropping time in two years in that. That was exciting," Winnicki told the River News afterward. "The 200 free, I just knew I needed to go out (fast). I was excited because of my 1:55 last week. I just went out and I was ahead of the two girls next to me, so I just kept kicking. I remember seeing (coach) Jenny (Heck), I was breathing on her side, and she was pointing over. So I did my turn and breathing to the other side and I saw the (leader) and I was like, 'Oh, she's kind of close.' There was never a time I was thinking about not trying as hard as I could. Something was there, the switch was flipped and I was just kicking, and it hurt so bad."
Winnicki was the runner-up in the freestyle with a time of 52.71, just a blink away from her school record set in a sixth-place finish at last year's D2 state meet.
Those were the two top finishes of the day for the Hodags in a field that featured a number of fast, southern Wisconsin D1 schools along with reigning D2 state champion Madison Edgewood.
Sophomore Ellyse Younker had Rhinelander's only other top-10 finish in an individual event, taking seventh in the 100 butterfly (1:01.24).
Winnicki, Younker and senior Genna Fugle were part of Rhinelander squads that took sixth in both the 200 and 400 freestyle relays. The three swam with Lily Thorsen in the 200 free relay (1:41.51); and with Camilla Gruett in the 400 free relay (3:44.16).
Thorsen was the only other Hodag to score points, finishing 16th in the 100 butterfly.
"I think it was the biggest meet some of these girls have swam at. It was loud and fast, but they kept it together and did great," Hodag assistant coach Marna Winnicki said. "Everybody's swimming fast, either best times or right near them right now. That's a great place to be this early in the season."
Head coach Jenny Heck was on deck for the meet Saturday, but was unavailable for comment after the meet. Coach Winnicki said the meet was beneficial for all members of the team, regardless of if they have aspirations of returning to Waukesha in November for the state meet.
"Everybody got to see the state pool. Some of these kids obviously aren't going to be swimming here (in November) so it was nice everyone could experience a good, fast pool and see the competition that's out there, compared to what we see all the time in the GNC," she said. "I think it's kind of a bit of an eye-opener for some of them, but I think they're ready."
Rhinelander 126, Lakeland 19
The Hodags did not have much competition in Great Northern Conference action Thursday, defeating a short-handed Lakeland squad 126-19 in Minocqua.
The T-Birds had only two varsity swimmers, however freshman Olivia Mickle did claim the 200 individual medley and the 100 backstroke against a Hodag team that shuffled its lineup and swam a number of athletes in off events.
With no outside opposition in the relays, Rhinelander created competition within its own team. Rhinelander's A and B relays in the 200 medley, 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle were all within four seconds of each other.
The Hodags had 11 different swimmers play a role in a win on Thursday. Margaret Lambert, Abbie Ames, Alicia Lentine and Phoebe Moran won the 200 medley relay; Lambert, Eva Heck, Sadie Houghton and Abi Winnicki won the 200 freestyle relay; Ames, Houghton, Heck and Fugle won the 400 freestyle relay.
Abi Winnicki also claimed victory in the 50 freestyle (25.02) and the 100 breaststroke (1:09.48). Younker took the 200 freestyle (2:06.08), Fugle won the 100 butterfly (1:12.24), Camilla Gruett took the 100 freestyle (1:01.93) and Emma Houg won the 500 freestyle (5:52.49).
Rhinelander (3-0 Great Northern) swims at Tomahawk this Thursday in GNC play.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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