May 22, 2023 at 7:09 a.m.
Six Hodags announce college plans
Six Hodags announce college plans
Two members of last winter's WIAA Division 2 boys' swim state championship squad announced their commitments, with Jack Antonuk signing at St. Norbert College in De Pere and Carter Gaber headed to St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa. Genna Fugle will continue her swimming career as well, signing with Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois.
Two Rhinelander High School football players are heading to the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Conner Jensen and Brendon Eckrich made official previously-announced verbal commitments to UW-Oshkosh and UW-Eau Claire, respectively.
Lastly, girls' wrestling trailblazer Abby Swanson will continue to wrestle collegiately, announcing her intentions to wrestle at Northern Michigan University in Marquette.
"It's great and for all of you kids that are here, I'm sure you will do great things, just like in your high school careers," RHS activities director Brian Paulson said during Friday's ceremony at the high school.
Antonuk heading to St. Norbert
One of the key pieces in the Hodags' state championship run, Antonuk decided to stay relatively close to home and swim for the Green Knights NCAA Division III program.
"I was in contact with quite a few schools toward the end of last year, but St. Norbert was one of the first ones that was kind of in that mix of schools," he said. "I've been talking to them for quite a bit. I was quite the indecisive guy, so I took it right down to the end, but I determined that I thought that their campus and the people there and the team itself were kind of a good fit for me. I really like the city. I'm a big Green Bay Packer guy, it's close to them. It's close to home and I felt I would fit in there really well."
Antonuk is the school-record holder in the 100-yard breaststroke as the only swimmer in Rhinelander history to go under 1 minute in the event (59.94 seconds). He did that in a fifth-place finish in last February's state meet. He was also on the state-championship-clinching 400 freestyle relay, was second in the 200 medley relay and was eighth in the 200 individual medley at state.
"He has a lot of opportunity to get pushed by other guys who are going to be faster than him or equal to him. I think he has a chance to really make some big gains. These guys in college get bigger, stronger," coach Jenny Heck said. "They swim faster. I know he's got a lot more in him. I think he's going to bring a lot to St. Norbert's. They're lucky to have him."
Antonuk is joining a Green Knight program that finished runner-up in the Midwest Conference last season.
In his remarks, Antonuk thanked his parents, friends and coaches and said he was grateful for Rhinelander's successful 2022-23 season.
"This last year was a cumulative effort, but not only myself but everyone around," he said.
Antonuk said he's currently undecided on a major, but said he is leaning toward a degree in the business field.
Gaber keeps it in the family at St. Ambrose
Carter Gaber is no stranger to St. Ambrose University's NAIA men's swimming program. That's because his older brother, Devon, is already a member of the Fighting Bees, having just completed his junior year.
"It made the recruiting process a lot easier for sure," he said. "You can get a really honest opinion and review of the team and the school and everything. It became a lot easier of a decision that way."
Heck credited Gaber's selflessness as part of this year's state-title run. In the process of trying to post times that would catch the eyes of college recruits, Gaber sacrificed optimal rest for his top event, the 100-yard backstroke, to help the Hodags win the 200 freestyle relay. That served as a turning point in Rhinelander come-from-behind march to the title.
"I'm so grateful for Carter. He's just really been a selfless swimmer," she said. "He's all for the team. I know he has high individual goals for college to get times. I think that he's going to have all those opportunities to get some of the times in the backstroke that he wants in college without some of the stress of having to do some of the freestyle at the same time."
While Gaber excelled in backstroke and freestyle at RHS, Heck said St. Ambrose is getting a very versatile swimmer.
"His freestyle was so amazing this year and without his freestyle we would not have had the results that we did. I've said that before, but he's very talented in other strokes too," she said. "I'm looking forward to see what he does swimming more distances - 200 back, 200 IM. His fly was good. I think he has a lot of opportunity for growth in college, so I'm glad he's going to continue on and I'm excited to see what he does."
St. Ambrose won the Liberal Arts Conference championship last season and took seventh overall out of 27 teams in the NAIA Championships.
Gaber said he plans to major in data science and analytics, and that St. Ambrose provided the best of both worlds for him, academically and athletically.
"I just loved the atmosphere, love the coach and his philosophies and it also happened to be one of the best data science programs in the country that also has a swim team," he said. "It was just a perfect fit for me."
Gaber thanked his parents and coaches during his remarks, which included a special nod to Rhinelander Swim Club coach Megan Cihla for helping him through his youth swimming days.
Fugle also following family to Olivet
Like Gaber, Genna Fugle also has family ties to the college she will be attending. Her older brother, Joe, committed to play for the Tigers' football team in 2022.
Also like Gaber, Fugle said the NAIA school provided a good fit for both her academic and athletic needs.
"The first thing I was looking for was a really solid nursing program," she said. "I already knew about Olivet because my brother goes there and it was just a really good combination of a nice swim program, a coach that I liked and a good nursing program.
"I already knew that I like the campus and stuff and it was just a matter of knowing the atmosphere. I think it's a lot like family there. The team's really close down there."
Fugle was a three-year state qualifier for the Hodag girls and swam a leg of the state-title winning 400-yard freestyle relay in 2020 when the Hodags captured the WIAA Division 2 state championship. She qualified for four events at state last year, swimming to fourth-place finishes in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays. She was also took seventh in the 200 medley relay and was ninth in the 100 freestyle.
Heck said Fugle came a long way over four years after joining competitive swimming later in her youth.
"She learned so fast and became so fast in high school in such a short amount of time that I know she has a lot more in her as well," she said. "I think that Olivet has a nice program. It's going to be a good match for her. I hope she continues to just enjoy it and love it, because I think her times are just going to improve, just from time (in the pool) alone. She's strong and a smart swimmer. It will be fun to see what she does."
Olivet is the four-time defending KCAC conference champion and took third last March in the NAIA Championships. The team is in the process of finding a new head coach after Kelly Essler stepped down last month to take an assistant role at an NCAA Division I university.
Fugle thanked those who coached her in high school - including Heck, Marna Winnicki and Amy Francis - as well as her parents and teammates for a fantastic high school experience.
Swanson lands on her feet at NMU
Abby Swanson knew she was going to wrestle somewhere collegiately, but her final destination changed in the days leading up to her announcement.
Swanson said she had a preferred walk-on offer to a Power 5 school, but that changed after some holes were filled via the transfer portal.
Northern Michigan provided a solid Plan B.
"I decided on Northern Michigan because I know one of the girls on their team and they're going to be pretty good," she said. "They've got a lot of solid recruits this year. It's a relatively new team and (head coach Tony DeAnda) kind of sold it to me, being like the first national champ and to kind of build of program up and I'm excited to be able to do that."
Women's wrestling is a sport that is growing, both in the state and across the country. Swanson was a participant in the first two WIAA girls' wrestling state tournaments, taking fifth in the 185-pound weight class in 2022 before finishing third this past year - losing to eventual state champ Ella Creighton 2-1 in the opening round of the tournament.
Similarly, women's wrestling is growing at the collegiate level, and not yet at the full three-division structure of other established NCAA sports. Northern Michigan took 12th this year out of 37 teams in the NCWWC National Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa that included a mix of Division I, II and III schools.
Swanson's coaches said NMU will be a great fit.
"She's continued to grow and I think Northern Michigan's the perfect spot for her. If I would have done anything different myself, I would have went to Northern Michigan," Scottie Arneson said.
Added Eric Gobin, "She's extremely coachable, resilient, hard-working and I think any coach from any school's going to be excited to have her on the team. I'm excited to see how these upcoming years go and I'll be definitely following her."
Swanson thanked her coaches and family, especially her younger sister, Mya, who was the only other member of the inaugural RHS girls' wrestling team this past winter.
Swanson said she plans to major in science education with an emphasis on environmental science at Northern Michigan.
Jensen makes Titanic commitment
One false move at practice last September left Conner Jensen's football playing days in question. Yet he was able to eventually land with one of the top teams in the WIAC over the past several seasons.
Jensen admitted he did not know what the future held after a torn ACL cut short his senior season, right in the middle of the recruiting process. By that time, he said he had his choices narrowed to UW-Oshkosh or UW-Stevens Point.
"I went to Stevens Point in my cast and my crutches on my visit there and I could walk pretty nicely at Oshkosh," he said. "It's a relief because there's always that question of am I going to be able to ever play again? This is a life-long passion so I'm just grateful that I have another opportunity to get out there."
Jensen served as Rhinelander's starting center each of the past three seasons, helping Rhinelander to back-to-back eight-win campaigns in 2020 and 2021. His 2020 season was cut short due to a hand injury and his senior season was ended by a knee injury. Jensen still earned All-GNC honors last fall after earning second-team honors in 2021.
"He went through a lot of trials and tribulations from pinkies to knees but, as a player, he was always a guy you could count one. That's the type of person you want playing that position," Hodag football coach Aaron Kraemer said.
Jensen said Oshkosh offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Rich Worsell made the decision to become a Titan an easy one.
"To UWO coaching staff, thank you for making a dream come true," he said. "Thank you for making a tough decision an easy one. As soon as I stepped on campus, I felt right at home and I couldn't be more excited to call Oshkosh my home for the next four years."
The Titans went 6-4 last season and 4-3 in the WIAC under first-year head coach Peter Jennings. Oshkosh has either won or shared the WIAC title four times since 2012 and reached the NCAA Division III championship game in 2016.
"At UW-Oshkosh, I know they're getting a quality player and a person that's going to help their campus community," Kraemer said.
Jensen, who plans to major in multimedia journalism, thanked his parents, coaches, teammates, as well as the staff at UW-Oshkosh.
Eckrich gets a chance to showcase potential
Brendon Eckrich was poised to have a breakout season in 2022 as the No. 1 receiver in a more pass-oriented Hodag offense. He never really got the chance, however, as a groin injury suffered during a Week 2 loss and Denmark plagued him through the remainder of the season.
Because of that, and without many numbers to go off of from his junior year, Eckrich wondered if he would get a chance to compete at the next level.
"I honestly didn't know. I didn't go to any junior days, or anything like that. I didn't know if I would have any opportunity, or be able to make a highlight tape worthy of going to college, anything like that," he said.
Eckrich said he sent out a number of emails, essentially cold-calling coaches with his credentials. There weren't many responses, but did get one from Eau Claire's offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator Michael McHugh.
"Eau Claire was the last spot I went and I thought it was a perfect blend of everything," he said. "It was a great campus and they've got a lot of business people there. I'm excited with the new coaching staff and the opportunity to play offense was a big one for me. That's where my passion lies."
Eckrich showed flashes of big-play prowess with a 43-yard completion in a road win at Medford in 2021, and a 79-yard kick return for a touchdown in the 2022 season opener against Tomahawk. Kraemer said he's grateful that Eckrich will get a chance to showcase his potential.
"I know how much it hurt him to miss his senior year, that's why I'm really thankful to be going to Eau Claire to play a little of football and continue his career," he said. "He's the type of guy, his potential was never reached in high school but, in college it really does shine. He has the potential to do that."
Eckrich, who plans to major in business, joins a Bluegold squad that went 2-8 overall last year and 1-6 in the WIAC. He thanked his coaches, parents and UW-Eau Claire for the opportunity.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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