March 22, 2023 at 8:19 a.m.
Team review: RHS boys' swimming
State title a perfect ending for Hodag swimmers
Team review: RHS boys' swimming
In hindsight, what that moment symbolized was perhaps the start of the greatest 45 minutes in the history of the swim program.
We know the story by now. The Hodags made up an 45-point deficit over the final four events to earn their first ever WIAA team state title. It was a monumental win, considering it was the first time any school north of Wisconsin Highway 64 had ever hoisted a state swimming trophy.
Plenty still had to fall into place after Heck anchored the Hodags to the 200 freestyle relay win but, for a moment, consider what would have happened had Heck not made up a 0.17-second deficit over Shorewood's Johan Bannink over the final 50 yards.
Had Shorewood won that race, the resulting 12-point swing would have been enough to put the Greyhounds on top at the state meet and Rhinelander would have fallen to third, a half-point behind McFarland.
In that context, perhaps Heck's release of emotion matched the magnitude of the moment.
"Hitting the touch pad at the end and seeing the No. 1 on the board, it was just a dream come true," he said afterward. "It was amazing. I was just so happy that I could bring home what my teammates started in that relay, be the first to touch that wall. It was an amazing feeling."
Overall, it was a dream season for the Hodags, who topped off their first straight Great Northern Conference and WIAA sectional championships with the biggest prize of them all. After placing third at state in 2022, a unified Hodag squad had a singular goal of a gold trophy this year and pushed itself to achieve it.
"This was such a huge, special moment for these guys," coach Jenny Heck said. "I think I smiled for a week straight. I just kept reliving it and, so often, things don't go the way you want them. All the way through we had such great success - winning the GNC, winning the sectional and winning state is just like an absolute dream come true. I keep saying it, but it really was."
Here are five storylines from the recently completed season.
Crowning achievement
The record will show that the Hodags edged McFarland by 5 1/2 points for the state title and finished seven points clear of Shorewood, which led much of the second half of the meet before fading late.
Overall, it was a banner night in the pool for the Hodags. The 200 freestyle relay championship was Rhinelander's 24th individual state title. The team of Carter Gaber, Daniel Gillingham, Fugle and Charlie Heck hit the wall in a school-record time of 1:27.00.
It was one of many great performances for the Hodags at state. The night featured eight top-six finishes for the Hodags, including four school records. Of the nine swimmers the Hodags had in the pool at state, seven of them ended up on the podium in at least one race.
"This has been our dream and our goal for so long," coach Heck said. "We kept saying it every day and we counted down the days to this day. It's just a dream come true. It's one of the coolest things that's ever happened for this group of guys to really fight for something and know they each were an important part of it all along the way."
It was the capper to another dominant year for the Hodags. Nine of the team's 10 swimmers qualified for state in at least one event. The Hodags, as a team, advanced a meet-high 19 entries to state through the sectional round, which they won by 78 points over Ashwaubenon.
That came on the heels of obliterating the Great Northern Conference again this season. Though the Hodags' margin of victory wasn't as great this season - purely a product of not having enough swimmers to fill every slot in the conference lineup - Rhinelander won 10 events and had 24 entries place in the top three as they rolled to a 422-177 win over Tomahawk in the final standings.
Speedy seniors
Much of this year's success can be traced back to the seniors, a group of six that were the heartbeat of the team.
They made up an all-senior 200 medley relay at state that finished second - with Carter Gaber, Jack Antonuk, Daniel Gillingham and Charlie Heck. Gillingham swam to podium finishes in the 200 individual medley (fourth) and the 100 butterfly (sixth). Antonuk added a podium finish and a school record in the 100 breaststroke (fifth), becoming the first in school history to break the minute mark.
Gaber took one for the team, sacrificing a bit of energy in his main event, the 100 backstroke, to lead off the 200 freestyle relay just minutes prior. Marcus O'Malley swam only one event, but it was a key leg of the championship-clinching 400 freestyle relay.
Even the only Hodag swimmer who didn't qualify for state, Eli Lundt, went out with a bang at sectionals, posting a lifetime best in the 100 backstroke and missing the state cut by only five positions.
While they all had individual goals, Antonuk said they were all motivated by a larger, team goal.
"Even though it's coming to a close, we've done so much together and are so successful in what we do together that I think now that we have our mind set on a single goal, we're going to make sure that we go out with a bang and get that goal that we've been training for this year," he said prior to the state meet.
Secret weapon
Rhinelander's team featured only one junior, and his impact late in the season played a significant role in the Hodags' success.
Zacha King had three events at state, and he ended up on the podium in all three. He won the opening heat of the 200 individual medley, breaking the school record in the process. That record lasted only a couple of minutes, however, until Gillingham broke it again, giving King a fifth-place finish in the event.
King was on the fourth-place 400 freestyle relay at the end of the meet and backed up a breakout swim in the 100 backstroke at sectionals. He qualified second for the event and finished second, dropping an additional 0.86 seconds off his time.
"Zacha was amazing," Jenny Heck said. "I said halfway through the season, 'Zacha, you're going to be our secret weapon.' I kept telling him that and he trained like a maniac and he gave it his all. People didn't expect this out of him. If it wasn't for that, and people doing all those little things, it had to all come together."
Strong sophomores
Rhinelander's three sophomores played a big role as well. Mathias Fugle was on the state-winning 200 freestyle relay and was also part of the clinching 400 freestyle relay.
Individually, Fugle, Shawn Denis and Dolan O'Malley each qualified for two individual events at state, and their points added to the Hodags' total.
"We had a group of 10, so we had to fill in those spots we were missing, and our sophomores and junior really stepped up and did that," coach Heck said. "These are the guys that are going to be stepping up to be the heart of the team next year, along with Zacha."
What's next
Barring something unanticipated, there likely will not be a state repeat for the Hodags. Rhinelander will have only four returning swimmers from this year's squad and is slated to bring in only a couple of freshmen.
The swimmers Rhinelander returns will be strong but, ultimately, how many are on the team will determine how much team success the Hodags will enjoy.
However, as Marcus O'Malley implored his team at the season-ending banquet earlier this month, that doesn't mean the Hodags should stop pushing for the top.
"Set new goals. Continue to work together, whoever your teammates are and push each other. Recruit some guys," he said. "I'm excited to see what you all can do. Go chase some more goals."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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