Hodag swimmers wrap up summer program

A number of current and incoming members of the Rhinelander High School boys’ and girls’ swim teams spent the summer sharpening their skills for the upcoming season — though that proved to be a little trickier than most offseasons.

    A group of Rhinelander swimmers who took part in the final day of summer training pose for a photo at the YMCA of the Northwoods Monday, July 31. Pictured in the front row, from left to right, are Genna Fugle, Lily Thorsen, Ellyse Younker, Millie Gruett, Charlie Antonuk and Judson O’Malley. In the back row are Dolan O’Malley, Chris Larson, Shawn Denis and Mathias Fugle. (Submitted photo)
  

    A group of Rhinelander swimmers who took part in the final day of summer training pose for a photo at the YMCA of the Northwoods Monday, July 31. Pictured in the front row, from left to right, are Vivian Lamers, Ella Heck, Kylie Pooch and June Chiamulera. In the back row are Claire Caselton, Emma Houg and Rylee Mickevicius. (Submitted photo)
  

The team capped off summer training last Monday with one final practice at the YMCA of the Northwoods, followed by a picnic at Buck Lake. 

The Y’s aquatic center played a vital role this summer as the Heck Family Community Pool at Rhinelander High School was closed during the month of July for scheduled repairs. RHS activities director Brian Paulson confirmed to the River News that those repairs concluded last week and the pool will be ready for the start of girls’ swim practice for the fall season, which begins today. 

“It was different than normal, but I think we got the job done,” Hodag swim coach Jenny Heck explained. “If you couldn’t get in the water for a whole month, that would make a big difference for these swimmers, especially the girls coming into season. We were very grateful for the YMCA for that. 

“We were really fortunate that the Y shared lanes with us. I think we had between 2-4 lanes every day at the Y, which was really nice. They kept the swimmers in the water, which is really important for the offseason.”

Momentum continues to be sky high for the program, coming off a WIAA Division 2 state championship for the Hodag boys’ swim team last February. The Hodag girls finished fifth at state last season, after taking second in 2021 and winning the D2 crown in 2020.

“The kids are all really excited and motivated. That helps. I didn’t have to do a lot of encouraging kids to get there. They wanted to be there,” Heck said.

Especially for the girls, who will jump right into their high school season, the summer sessions served as a means to keep in the water and refine technical aspects of their strokes. 

“We really took a lot of time to work on technique, some new drills, kind of slow down a little bit and just focus on swimming correctly and reshaping those habits so that we’re ready, when season comes, to train and we don’t have to spend a lot of time on the technical things we were doing for the last two months,” Heck said.

Even when swimmers haven’t been in the water with the team, some have continued to showcase their talents during the summer. Abi Winnicki’s accomplishments are most notable among that group after she claimed eight medals, including four golds, at the North American Indigenous Games in Nova Scotia last month. 

“I think almost all of the team, girls and boys, were in the water and training to some level. Some were competing in meets. A lot of the kids were swimming meets locally or state or, like Abi in Canada,” Heck said. “There were a lot of neat things going on and a lot of neat experiences. I think that just helped prepared the swimmers for different things that might happen during the season. Any experience they can get is good and I was really pleased with how they attacked it this summer.”

The Hodag girls’ first meet of the season takes place in Merrill Aug. 17. The RHS boys’ swim season will get underway Nov. 13.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].