Hodag swimmers dominate at Merrill Relays

MERRILL — Rhinelander figures to have a very strong girls’ swim team this season. Thursday’s season opener provided a glimpse into just how imposing the Hodags could be.

Rhinelander turned in a dominating performance, winning seven of nine events and taking second in the other two, as it won the 12-team Merrill Fun in the Sun Outdoor Relays going away. 

The Hodags won all five events after intermission and defeated reigning Wisconsin Valley Conference champion Stevens Point by 20 points for the overall title. Eleven different Hodags were part of at least one winning relay — including five of the team’s six incoming freshmen. 

“That was a lot of fun,” coach Jenny Heck said. “All of our A and B relays were really successful, just our depth and the versatility of all the swimmers was really fun to see. We knew we’d have a lot of that this year, but to see it in the pool gives us a lot to look forward to.”

Essentially, the meet turned into a dual between the Hodags and the Panthers. Each squad won two of the first four events and were tied with 148 points at intermission. Rhinelander dropped the hammer after the break, taking all five events while Point finished second. 

    Rhinelander’s Vivian Lamers swims the freestyle leg of he 400-yard medley relay during the Merrill Relays girls’ swim meet Thursday, Aug. 17 in Merrill. Lamers, a freshman, was part of three event victories on the day. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

That included a 200-yard freestyle relay that included three freshmen, along with senior Sam Sundby. Vivian Lamers rallied from behind over the final 50 yards to hit the wall at 1 minute, 48.23 seconds and give the Hodags the win in that event by 0.53 seconds over Stevens Point. 

“That was a fun race. I was proud of them,” coach Heck said. “They have a lot of speed and to come in as confident as freshmen and get that win (is something). Vivian’s really a strong sprinter and I knew she’d have a good race. She just loves the competition so I think she wanted it a little more than the girl next to her too.”

Ella Heck and June Chiamulera joined Lamers and Sundby on that relay. Lamers was part of three relay wins on the day, as was fellow freshman Celia Francis. Ella Heck was part of two wins while Chiamulera and Kiley Pooch were part of one win each. 

    Rhinelander’s Karis Francis swims a leg of the 200-yard breaststroke relay during the Merrill Relays girls’ swim meet Thursday, Aug. 17 in Merrill. Francis was a part of four event victories. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

It was a good day for seniors, too. Abi Winnicki and Karis Francis were each four-event winners on the day. They swam together with junior Ellyse Younker in the 500 crescendo freestyle relay (4:46.44), the 200 butterfly relay (1:50.22) and the 400 freestyle relay (3:42.35). They swam with Celia Francis in both the crescendo and 400 free relay, and junior Lily Thorsen in the butterfly.

Winnicki was part of the winning 200 backstroke relay (1:53.31) with Pooch, sophomore Emma Houg and Celia Francis. Karis Francis was on the winning 200 breaststroke relay (2:10.66) with Thorsen, Lamers and Ella Heck.

Houg, Sundby, Thorsen and Lamers swam to victory in the 400 class medley relay (4:23.67), which required teams to have one swimmer represented from each grade level.  

“We have so much depth that we knew that we could do well in the fly, breast, back, those relays,” coach Heck said. “We can only put together four for an A relay when we really have six that we could put together for a fast combination. We tried to get every to swim one of their favorite events and maybe an event that might not have been their favorite, but we needed them to do.”

Rhinelander added runner-up finishes in the 200 medley and 400 individual medley relays. Senior Margaret Lambert, Ella Heck, Younker and Celia Francis made up the team in the 200 medley while Houg, Lamers, Ella Heck and Thorsen swam the 400 IM. 

The Hodags added a pair of third-place finishes with non-scoring B relays. Lambert, Pooch, freshman Rylee Mickevicius and Chiamulera took third in the 500 crescendo. Chiamulera, Lambert, Pooch and Houg were third in the 400 freestyle relay. 

Despite all the success, coach Heck said she saw plenty of details the team can still perfect. 

“As a coach, that’s what you look at,” she said. “We’re already looking at the details of things we’re going to do tomorrow morning at practice and things we can improve on. I’m going to keep pushing and keep things in perspective here.

“It’s great that I can get that specific with some of the things the girls are working on that, a lot of times, we’re not doing until the end of season. That’s a really good problem to have.”

Wisconsin Valley Conference teams Stevens Point, D.C. Everest, Merrill and Wausau West rounded out the top five on Thursday. The Hodags, seeking their fifth straight Great Northern Conference title, bolstered their case as the early-season favorite. Conference rivals Ladysmith, Tomahawk, Lakeland and Antigo finished ninth through 12th, respectively. 

Coach Heck called it a fun way to start the season. 

“That was the goal of today’s meet,” she said. “We said we were going to go out here to have fun. We’ve been training so hard the last couple weeks and this was almost like a reward day just to actually compete and not to have to train.” 

Next up, the Hodags travel to Colby/Abbotsford on Wednesday for an individual pentathlon meet.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].