MAGNIFICENT SEVEN

This year’s group of seniors on the Rhinelander High School boys’ swim team has created quite the legacy for itself, with three top-three finishes at state — including a state title in 2023. That’s not to mention all the dominance the Hodags have had at the Great Northern Conference and sectional levels. 

On Friday night, in their swan song at the Heck Family Community Pool, the seniors authored one more memorable performance for their home fans. 

Rhinelander was in a class of its own at the GNC championship meet once again, winning all 11 events en route to a 228-point romp over Tomahawk for the team’s seventh straight conference title. It was a performance that’s sure to cement the team’s legacy for some time to come as the Hodags broke seven GNC records and set four new Heck Pool records in the process.

    Rhinelander’s Shawn Denis reacts after breaking the pool and conference records in the 200-yard individual medley during the GNC championship meet at the Heck Family Community Pool Friday, Feb. 7. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

All four seniors who competed — Shawn Denis, Mathias Fugle, Dolan O’Malley and Samson Shinners — played a significant role in the performance. They won seven individual races between them and were a part of all 11 new records that were set Friday night. 

“We put a lot of a lot of yards into this pool, to be able go out on a great conference meet, break a bunch of records, it means a lot,” Dolan O’Malley said. “I’m so proud of all these guys for giving their all. It was so fun.”

The Hodags set the tone right out of the gates as the team of Dolan O’Malley, Shawn Denis, Charlie Antonuk and Judson O’Malley posted a time of 1 minute, 40.15 seconds in the opening event, the 200 medley relay. That was fast enough to break the pool record of 1:41.05 set by Carter Gaber, Jack Antonuk, Daniel Gillingham and Charlie Heck back in 2022, and narrowly missed the conference record set by the same quartet later that season. 

All four wins before intermission were record-breaking in some fashion. Shinners took down the pool and conference marks in the 200 freestyle (1:47.00). Ditto Shawn Denis in the 200 individual medley (2:00.34). Fugle then knocked off the conference record in the 50 freestyle (21.89).

    Mathias Fugle competes in the 100-yard freestyle during the GNC championship meet at the Heck Family Community Pool Friday, Feb. 7. Fugle set conference records in both the 50 and 100 freestyle on Friday. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Fugle got another record after intermission, edging Shinners by 0.18 seconds in the 100 freestyle (48.43) as both swimmers eclipsed the former conference record. 

The squad of Denis, Dean Gillingham, Shinners and Fugle smashed the conference record in the 200 medley relay by nearly two seconds (1:29.53). Denis went 1:01.32 in the 100 breaststroke to eclipse Jack Antonuk’s record in the 100 breaststroke by a half second and the Hodags put the cherry on top in the 400 freestyle relay. The O’Malley brothers, Shinners and Fugle went 3:18.30 in that race, beating both the old conference and pool marks by more than two seconds. 

Of the seven conference records Rhinelander set on Friday, four previously belonged to other schools. The Hodags now hold the GNC mark in nine of the 11 events.

“I think the highlight was a seniors,” coach Jenny Heck said. “It was just fantastic to have those guys come together and pull off times that we’ve been dreaming about.”

“Probably the best way I could have asked to finish the conference meet, even though I wasn’t on the 400 free (relay),” Shawn Denis said. “The other three seniors and Judson O’Malley, they just put in the effort and they got what they deserved.”

Dolan O’Malley added wins for Rhinelander in the 100 butterfly (55.42) and the 100 backstroke (54.81) while Dean Gillingham claimed the 500 freestyle (5:15.96). 

The top three finishers in each event earned all-Great Northern Conference honors. Of the 33 slots available on the all-conference team, the Hodags took 20 of them. In all 12 different Hodags earned all-conference honors in at least one event. 

Judson O’Malley nearly finished runner-up to his brother in both the backstroke and the butterfly. He did come home second in the backstroke but was out-touched by 0.01 seconds by Charlie Antonuk in the butterfly for Rhinelander’s lone 1-2-3 sweep of the night. 

Dean Gillingham was the runner-up in the 200 IM while Antonuk claimed second in the 50. Freshman Matthew Wood took third in the 200 freestyle and the Hodags took third with its B entry in both the 200 and 400 freestyle relays. Paul Denis, Broden Wagner, Wood and Antonuk took third in the 200 freestyle relay while Dean Gillingham, Christopher Larson, Meier and Wood took third in the 400 freestyle relay. 

The quartet of Meier, Wagner, Larson and Paul Denis added a fifth-place swim in the 200 medley relay. Meier and Wagner took fifth and sixth in the 200 IM, Wood was sixth in the 100 freestyle, Meier was fourth in the 500 freestyle and Larson was fifth in the 100 backstroke. Wagner and Paul Denis finished fourth and fifth in the 100 breaststroke, securing an automatic lettering time in the process. 

“Our taper guys, they all had lifetime bests today, swam fantastic,” coach Heck noted. “They’re swimming with the fastest guys in the state, and sometimes it was awfully overwhelming. They really were tough and learned a lot this year and performed incredibly. I think they were just really excited as well.”

All the records the Hodags set on Friday were an ominous sign for the competition heading into the postseason. Rhinelander will be gunning for its seventh consecutive sectional title this Saturday in Ashwaubenon and has put itself in contention to vie for yet another gold or silver trophy in Waukesha once again come Feb. 21. 

“Looking at the returning swimmers and seeing how much faster we were this year at conference than last year, I think our performances this year will lead to a lot better sectionals this year because we were so much faster,” Shinners said. “We were all going times that we should have been going sectional and state, so I think it’s really looking up for the rest of the season. I think we’ll be dropping lots of time.”

“It was exciting, but now the guys, they got to know that they got to even work harder. We had the adrenaline helping us get some of these times tonight, but we might not have that same adrenaline at sectionals,” coach Heck said. “We just have to stay focused, stay healthy and take one day at a time. I want them to be excited, but we have a ton of work to do.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].