A look at the field for tonight’s WIAA state swim meet

      

The Rhinelander High School girls’ swim team is seeking its second WIAA Division 2 state championship in the last four years and is in very good position to accomplish its goal heading into tonight’s D2 state meet in Waukesha. 

According to calculations by the River News, the Hodags are projected to score 296 1/2 points at the meet, based on qualifying performances from last weeks D2 sectional meets. That’s 87 1/2 points ahead of second-place Madison Edgewood and 88 clear of third-place Whitefish Bay. 

Those two schools seem to be the only legitimate threats to the Hodags’ championship hopes. The Hodags enter the night with a meet-high 19 state qualifiers out of a possible 21 entries. Edgewood and Whitefish Bay both have 16 entries and no other team has more than nine entries.

To win tonight, the Hodags will have to end Edgewood’s recent run of dominance. The Madison-area private school has won state titles every season from 2015-2022. That includes a championship in the 2020-21 alternate fall season after the Crusaders opted out of the traditional 2020 fall season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Hodags won the 2020 title in Edgewood’s absence and finished second to the Crusaders in the team standings in 2021. 

Whitefish Bay seeks its first gold trophy after scoring runner-up finishes in 2006, 2007 and last year. 

Tonight’s meet gets underway at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $9 and must be purchased in advance online at wiaawi.org. The event will be streamed live on the WIAA.TV portal of the NFHS Network on a subscription ($11.99/month) basis.  

Here’s a closer look at each event tonight, where Rhinelander is seeded and how it may impact the state title race.

Diving

Both Edgewood and Whitefish Bay will get a head start on Rhinelander in this afternoon’s diving competition. Edgewood and Whitefish Bay each have two divers competing. Edgewood is led by senior Maya Forcier, who had the fourth-highest score in sectional qualifying (410.25) and placed sixth at state last year. She’s joined by freshman Olivia Walker, who’s seeded 11th (332.10). Whitefish Bay holds the Nos. 10 and 12 seeds with sophomores Annika Leinweber and Maddie Smith. Whitnall’s Rianna Dobbie is the top qualifier (449.50) and the top returning competitor from this event, after taking fourth last year. 

200 Medley Relay

This figures to be an early showdown between the projected top three teams as Rhinelander (1:46.91), Whitefish Bay (149.98) and Edgewood (1:50.63) enter seeded first, second and third overall. Edgewood is the reigning state champ in the event. Juniors Katie McClure and Sylvia Thompson were on that team and swam the event for the Crusaders at sectionals. Rhinelander took seventh in the event last year, but their qualifying time this year is only 0.32 seconds slower than the time Edgewood swam to win state last year. Whitefish Bay is scheduled to have two swimmers from last year’s ninth-place finish in this event — Katie Antonelli and Emma Dickinson.

200 Freestyle

Rhinelander’s Abi Winnicki seeks her first state title in an individual event, but will face tough competition from Whitefish Bay’s Anne Dickinson. The sophomore posted the top qualifying time at 1:52.17, 0.21 seconds ahead of Winnicki. Ashwaubenon’s Sienna Nitke also figures to be in the mix, qualifying third at 1:52.97. Nitke (third) and Winnicki (fourth) are the top returning finishers from this event last year. While Rhinelander and Whitefish Bay have only one entry, Edgewood has three, led by Thompson, who comes in seeded sixth (1:58.84).

200 Individual Medley

This figures to be an event where the northern half of the state shines, as eight of the 16 qualifiers came out of the Merrill sectional. Celia Francis won that sectional for the Hodags and is the No. 3 qualifier overall (2:12.53), leading three Rhinelander entries in the event. Ellyse Younker qualified seventh, and Lily Thorsen will start from Lane 4 in the opening heat, after posting the ninth-fastest qualifying time. Edgewood and Whitefish Bay each have only one entry in the event — Grace Charles (fourth, 2:13.22) for Edgewood and Antonelli (10th, 2:15.66) for Whitefish Bay. Jefferson/Cambridge senior Zoey Rank is the top seed (2:09.68) and also the top returning swimmer from the event, taking fifth last year. 

50 Freestyle 

The tie for first between Rhinelander freshman Vivian Lamers and Tomahawk senior Paige Dekiep for first at sectionals in the 50 freestyle left the door open for a 17th state qualifier, which happened to be Whitefish Bay’s Emma Dickinson. Anne Dickinson (24.08) is the top seed here, after finishing runner-up in the event last year at state. Stoughton’s Cheyenne Borroughs is seeded second, only 0.03 back. While Lamers and Dekiep are tied for the No. 3 seed, there could be plenty of volatility in this race, as there are only 0.60 seconds separating third and 14th in the event. Both Rhinelander and Whitefish Bay will look to gain ground on Edgewood, which did not have any qualifiers in this event. 

100 Butterfly

    Rhinelander’s Karis Francis competes in the 100-yard butterfly during a WIAA Division 2 sectional in Merrill Saturday, Nov. 4. Francis enters as the second-fastest qualifier in that event as well as the 100 breaststroke heading into tonight’s WIAA Division 2 state meet in Waukesha. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Jefferson/Cambridge’s Jordyn Davis is the only swimmer back to defend a state title, after winning the 100 butterfly last year, but she comes in as only the No. 5 qualifier this year (58.05). Sauk Prairie’s Savannah Acker (56.54) leads the field, followed by Rhinelander’s Karis Francis (57.16) and Dekiep (57.53), who was the state runner-up a year ago. Rhinelander’s Ellyse Younker finished seventh last year and qualified eighth this time around. Sophomore Millie Gruett makes her first state appearance in an individual event, qualifying 15th. Whitefish Bay has three entries, led by freshman Aibhy King in fourth (57.98). Edgewood only has one entry, Jane Jensen, in 12th.

100 Freestyle

If the numbers play out as anticipated, look for Rhinelander to begin to widen its lead here, with Winnicki as the top qualifier (51.67), Lamers starting fifth (54.62) and fellow freshman June Chiamulera making her state debut with a 15th-place qualifying effort (56.54). The Hodags should rack up plenty of points while Whitefish Bay is shut out in the event. Edgewood has two qualifiers — Katie McClure in seventh and Addyson Sipe in 16th. This will likely be a match race between Winnicki and Nitke (52.02), with nobody else seeded within two seconds of the top two. Nitke was the state runner-up last year in this event while Winnicki finished fourth. 

500 Freestyle

This event figures to have a light impact on the team race, with each of the big three contenders fielding only one entry. Thompson is Edgewood’s top hope. She comes in seeded third and finished fifth in this race a year ago. Emma Dickinson for Whitefish Bay (11th) and Emma Houg for Rhinelander (14th) will both be looking to pick up points and may be in position to do so out of the first heat. Only 5.56 seconds separate seeds 9-16 in the event, and Houg is only 10.11 seconds behind the No. 5 qualifier in the event. Ashwaubenon’s Erin Schuch is the top qualifier (5:07.65) and also the top returning finisher in the event, after placing fourth last year. 

200 Freestyle Relay

The Hodags hold the top seed here (1:38.84), 0.78 seconds up on Ashwaubenon. Whitefish Bay is seeded third (1:40.96) and Edgewood, last year’s champ in this event, is seeded fourth (1:41.61). These teams were the top four at state last year with Ashwaubenon second, followed by Whitefish Bay and Rhinelander. McClure was the only member of last year’s championship relay to swim the event for Edgewood at sectionals. Barring any lineup changes, both Ashwaubenon (Schuch) and Whitefish Bay (Emma Dickinson) will have swimmers hopping out of the 500 and into the 200 freestyle relay, following a brief intermission.

100 Backstroke

By this point, the Hodags are projected to have a comfortable 63-point lead, and could add to it here, as Celia Francis checks in as the No. 2 qualifier (57.05). Like her older sister in the butterfly, she’ll be chasing Acker (56.44). Barring any major time drops, it figures to be a match race between those two. Davis is the No. 3 qualifier at 58.21. Whitefish Bay has two qualifiers, freshmen Lila Borchardt (fifth, 59.96) and Alexis McCauley (15th, 1:02.31). Edgewood’s only qualifier is Emma Reed in 11th (1:01.64).

100 Breaststroke

In what could be one of the best races of the night, Karis Francis will be battling four of the top five finishers in this event last year, in Rank, Stoughton’s Cheyenne Borroughs, Baraboo’s Kenzie Stute and Kohler’s Amber Hess. Borroughs, who took third last year, is the top qualifier at 1:04.64, followed by Francis (1:05.29) and Rank (1:05.60). Charles is Edgewood’s lone qualifier in fifth (1:07.8) while Antonelli (12th, 1:09.13), represents Whitefish Bay’s lone entry. The Hodags, meanwhile, will be looking to add to their lead with Lily Thorsen and Ella Heck going off 14th and 16th, respectively. Thorsen finished eighth in this event at state last year. 

400 Freestyle Relay

If all has gone according to plan, the Hodags will have clinched the state title by this point, leading by 77 1/2 points going into the final race. They’ll need only a 40-point cushion and a valid finish to take out all the drama here. Still the Hodags will look to go out with a bang, as their 3:35.33 qualifying time is the top in the state by more than four seconds over Ashwaubenon, which finished runner-up in this event a year ago. Whitefish Bay qualified third and Edgewood qualified fifth. Thompson is the only swimmer from last year’s state championship team to have swam the event at sectionals. Antonelli and Anne Dickinson swam the event for Whitefish Bay last year, when they finished third.