February 6, 2023 at 9:08 a.m.
Thrive for five
Hodags capture 5th straight GNC title, Gillingham voted swimmer of the year
Thrive for five
The Hodags won 10 events and placed in the top three with all but one of their 25 entries as they romped to the conference title in the GNC meet at the McKenna Aquatic Center in Antigo.
Along the way the Hodags set a converted conference record in the 400-meter freestyle relay. Senior Daniel Gillingham, who was on that relay and part of four victories on the night, took home conference swimmer of the year honors.
Rhinelander finished the night with 422 points, more than double that of runner-up Tomahawk (177).
"These guys are just dominant in the conference," Hodag coach Jenny Heck said. "We had some good races from other guys, but our depth is just strong."
The Hodags saved the best for last in the meet as Gillingham, Mathias Fugle, Carter Gaber and Charlie Heck posted a time of 3 minutes, 43.84 seconds in the 400 freestyle relay to beat out teammates Marcus O'Malley, Dolan O'Malley, Eli Lundt and Zacha King by more than 20 seconds.
When converted from short course meters to short course yards the winning 400 freestyle relay time translates to 3:20.94, surpassing the record of 3:22.17 set by Lakeland in 2019. Because Rhinelander's mark was set in the lone meter pool in the conference, both record times will be recognized by the GNC moving forward.
"We were hoping to get that conference record. I remember getting beat years back on that by Lakeland," coach Heck said. "We were really happy because the guys had to really swim it on their own. There was no competition ... It's even harder when you're not swimming against anyone and you're swimming it on you own. I was really proud of those four guys. They each had to dig deep to get their leg done. That was really satisfying."
The relay win capped off four-win nights for both Gillingham and Gaber. They were also both on the winning 200 medley relay squad (1:52.86). Gillingham (2:20.48) edged King by 3.34 seconds to win the 200 individual medley and teammate Jack Antonuk by 0.15 seconds to take the 100 butterfly (0.15). That was enough to earn swimmer of the year honors from the rest of the conference coaches.
"It was really nice were acknowledged for their wins and their success. We've had so much of that and it was nice to have that acknowledgment from the other coaches in the conference as well. With four wins, it was just the right person to have it," coach Heck said.
Gaber was also nominated for the swimmer of the year after leading Hodag 1-2-3 finishes in both the 50 freestyle (24.75) and the 100 backstroke (1:00.80). Gaber edged teammate Charlie Heck by 0.05 seconds in the 50 with Fugle 0.97 seconds back in third. King finished 1.29 seconds behind Gaber in the backstroke with Lundt rounding out the top three.
"Carter had a great 100 back time, and Zacha and Eli as well," coach Heck noted. "Carter just missed the conference record, which was his goal, but he's in good position and he's feeling ready (for the postseason)."
The Hodags swept the top two spots in nine of the 11 events, including the 200 freestyle where brothers Marcus and Dolan O'Malley went 1-2. Marcus, the elder of the two, won the event by 1.12 seconds.
"Marcus had a good 200 free (2:12.95)," coach Heck said. "That was fun to watch. When you have brother against brother, what better competition could you want. Marcus held strong. His freestyle, he's been working really hard on that. I was really pleased for him."
Charlie Heck (55.81) edged Fugle by 0.10 seconds to take the 100 freestyle. Shawn Denis led a 1-2-3 sweep of the 400-meter freestyle for the Hodags. Denis (4:46.70) beat Dolan O'Malley by 4.10 seconds with Lundt placing third.
Rhinelander also took the top two positions in the 200 medley relay as Gaber, Antonuk, Gillingham and Charlie Heck made up an all-senior squad that beat out Dolan O'Malley, Denis, Marcus O'Malley and Lundt by 9.30 seconds.
The Hodags added a win with their lone entry in the 200 freestyle relay as King, Fugle, Antonuk and Denis swam to victory (1:45.19).
Tomahawk's Zach Hanse was the only one to break up a clean sweep of the night for Rhinelander. He edged Antonuk by 1.27 seconds to win the 100 breaststroke. Denis placed third for the Hodags in that event.
"Jack got beat by Zach, but Zach had a really great meet, swam fast in both of his events," coach Heck said. "He took it out fast, had a great time and deserved the win. Jack's in a good spot too and is just going to get faster and faster as we go."
Rhinelander now focuses its attention on the WIAA Division 2 sectional meet which will be held in Ashwaubenon this coming Saturday. Coach Heck said all 10 swimmers will have at least one event as the Hodags look to win their fifth straight sectional title and advance as many swimmers as possible to the D2 state meet in Waukesha Feb. 17.
"Now is when we really have to hit it," she said. "Everything has to go right from now on. We've got to try to stay healthy, get extra rest and do all the things that are so important to do outside of the pool. All the hard work's done in here. We can refine skills but, right now, it's really up to them and who's going to do all those things that you need to do when no one's watching. Hopefully they're going to get it done because I know they want it and let's see how far we can take this."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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