Hodag swimmers cruise to 6th straight GNC title

COLBY — The Rhinelander High School girls’ swim team showed once again on Friday that it is head and shoulders above the rest of the Great Northern Conference.

The Hodags rolled to their sixth straight conference title, claiming eight events and 22 of the possible 33 spots on the all-conference team as they won the GNC meet in Colby.

Celia Francis was a four-event winner for the Hodags, who went 1-2 in five events and swept the top three spots on two separate occasions. Even though the Rhinelander struggled in some instances to match its seed times — the big drops won’t occur until the postseason taper begins — the Hodags lapped the field with their depth, winning the title by 147 1/2 points over runner-up Medford. 

The sixth GNC title moved Rhinelander ahead of Tomahawk (5) for the most girls’ swimming championships in conference history.

“I was trying to see what we could get out of the girls and I saw a lot of good things,” coach Jenny Heck said. “I know they’re fatigued and tired. They fought through it and did really well. To come out and be so dominant in all of the events, we really had a great showing. I was really proud of them.”

Six members of the squad were a part of the GNC title in at least one event and 10 members of the team made the all-conference list by placing in the top three in at least one event.  

In particular, the Hodags flexed their depth in the medley events and middle freestyle. Rhinelander swept the top three in the 200-yard individual medley, did so again in the 100 freestyle, and took the top two spots in both the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays.

Rhinelander actually had four of the top six in the IM as Francis scored the win (2 minutes, 11.35 seconds) ahead of teammates Lily Thorsen and Ellyse Younker. Sophomore Kyree McMahon, who won the penultimate heat of the event, snuck onto the podium in sixth place. 

The Hodags again went 1-2-3 in the 100 freestyle with June Chiamulera (56.58) edging out fellow sophomores Ella Heck and Kiley Pooch. 

Francis, Heck, Younker and Thorsen (1:51.16) swam to the win in the 200 medley relay, roughly 0.40 seconds off the conference record. They finished ahead of teammates Pooch, Chiamulera, Rylee Mickevicius and Emma Houg. The Hodags stacked their top 400 freestyle relay team — with the four of the top six from the conference season in the 100 freestyle — as Younker, Chiamulera, Vivian Lamers and Francis swam to the win (3:44.93) ahead of Houg, Mickevicius, Pooch and Millie Gruett.

“We have a lot of depth, a lot of opportunities,” coach Heck said. “They’re fighting for positions on relays, trying to figure out where we’re going to put everyone. We have so many options. That’s a good problem to have. Some of them were in events they’re going to swim, some in others. We’re just trying some things to see how they worked out.”

    Rhinelander’s Celia Francis takes off at the start of the 100-yard backstroke during the Great Northern Conference girls’ swim championship meet in Colby Friday, Oct. 25. Francis won all four of her events on the night for Rhinelander. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Francis added a win in the 100 backstroke (57.00) with a time that was 0.05 seconds faster than her sectional championship performance from last season. 

“She attacked it like a 50 and it was just really great to see,” coach Heck said. “She really swam well and she’s getting sharper and her turns looked great. This is what we need from her. She’s really showing some strength. It’s kind of coming together. She had a bit of a rough start this season, and that happens with everybody. You just have to stay in the fight, keep working on what you can and it will eventually come along.”

Lamers took the 50 freestyle (25.36) for Rhinelander while Ella Heck won the 100 breaststroke (1:10.21) ahead of teammate Lily Thorsen — marking the third straight year that Thorsen has finished as the runner-up in the event at conference. Heck, Gruett, Thorsen and Lamers added a win in the 200 freestyle relay (1:43.60).

Rhinelander scored runner-up finishes in the three events it didn’t win. Mickevicius finished second to Lakeland’s Olivia Mickle in the 200 freestyle and Houg was second behind Mickle in the 500 freestyle. Younker took second in the 100 butterfly behind Antigo’s Chloe Tainter. 

Chiamulera added a third-place finish in the 200 freestyle, Gruett took third in the 50 freestyle, Mickevicius was third in the 100 butterfly and Pooch added another third-place finish in the 100 backstroke.  

“We lost some big swimmers last year, but a lot of those girls didn’t get chances last year to perform,” coach Heck said, noting how well a number of the underclassmen fared Friday. “We knew that if we want to do anything this year, those girls were going to have to step up and that’s exactly what they’re doing. They’re showing they’re a true team. It’s going to take all of them to have end-of-year success.”

Not everything went perfectly for Rhinelander on the night as two of their top-seeded swimmers did not win — Younker in the butterfly and Lamers in the 100 freestyle. Lamers actually hit the wall first in that event (55.95) in what would have been a 1-2-3-4 sweep for the Hodags, but she was deemed to have flinched on the block prior to the start of the race and was disqualified.

“That DQ, it isn’t what you want to happen, but it makes us be a little sharper and be a little more aware and prepare for sectionals,” coach Heck said.

Heck said the team celebrated its title Friday night, but quickly shifted its focus to another potential six-peat at sectionals, which will take place Nov. 9 in Menomonie. With 15 days between meets to prepare, she said the team will have time to fine tune the details prior to the start of the postseason. 

“It’s a good time of year though. Some of this needs to be done. We haven’t taken the time to do it and now we’ll take a little more time. I’m glad we have the extra week to prepare before sectionals. I think all the girls feel more ready. 

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].