Super seventh: Hodag swimmers win another GNC title in a runaway

The Rhinelander High School girls’ swim team continued its domination of the Great Northern Conference Friday night.

The Hodags won nine of 11 events and cruised to a 200-point victory in the GNC meet, hosted by Ladysmith at the Rice Lake High School natatorium. The triumph put the finishing touches on the seventh consecutive conference championship for the Hodags.

It was another dominant night for Rhinelander, which had seven different swimmers earn a victory and had nine swimmers receive all-conference recognition by finishing in the top three in at least one event. 

All 13 members of the Hodag squad scored a top-five finish in either an individual event or a relay and every entry the team had scored points by placing inside the top 12. 

“It was a fantastic meet, really a lot of success with all the swimmers,” Hodag coach Jenny Heck said. “We just were really pleased with how the girls were prepared for this meet. We talked a lot about being mentally prepared and how this meet will help us get ready for sectionals in two weeks. Not only was it great to swim at this new pool, that was really nice, but swim these kind of fast times at this point where it was really optimistic.”

    Rhinelander’s Emma Houg swims the breaststroke leg of the 200-yard individual medley during the GNC championship meet in Rice Lake Friday, Oct. 24. Houg won three events on the evening for the Hodags. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News0
  

The Hodags had four individuals score conference titles in three different events, led by senior Emma Houg, who claimed the 200-yard individual medley (2 minutes, 17.50 seconds). She also edged teammate Kiley Pooch for the win the 100 backstroke (1:01.39) and was on the Hodags’ winning 200 freestyle relay.

“Emma had a fantastic 200 IM time,” coach Heck noted. “We’re looking for something like that. We’re looking for those kind of (time) drops, for those kind of things, to make something happen. And she had a fantastic meet, not only in her IM, but in her 100 back.”

    Rhinelander’s Ryley Mickevicius swims the 200-yard freestyle during the GNC championship meet in Rice Lake Friday, Oct. 24. Mickevicius won three events on the evening for the Hodags. (Bob Mainahrdt for the River News)
  

Junior Rylee Mickevicius swept the distance freestyle races, claiming the 200 (2:03.19) and the 500 (5:34.75). She was also a part of Rhinelander’s winning 400 freestyle relay. Vivian Lamers won the 50 freestyle (24.68), Ella Heck took the 100 breaststroke (1:07.00) and both were on a pair of winning relays. 

Rhinelander opened the meet with the only conference record of the night. The team of Pooch, Ella Heck, Millie Gruett and Lamers won the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:49.51. That broke the previous GNC mark of 1:50.76 set by the Hodags in 2021 with Abi Winnicki, Karis Francis, Ellyse Younker and Noelle St. Pierre. Rhinelander added a third-place finish in the medley relay with its B entry of Houg, Kyree McMahon, Mickevicius and Lola Beach. 

“That medley really started out really, you know, with a bang,” coach Heck said. “Those girls were hoping to get that record and came out strong. And with our B relay being third as well, and with also some great splits. That got us off on the right foot. The kids were excited.”

Ella Heck, Gruett, Houg and June Chiamulera made up the winning quartet for the Hodags in the 200 freestyle relay (1:43.15) while Pooch, Chiamulera, Mickevicius and Lamers claimed the 400 freestyle relay (3:58.36).

The Hodags claimed runner-up finishes in the two events they didn’t win. After edging Antigo’s Holland Tainter by 0.05 seconds in the 50 freestyle, Lamers was out-touched by 0.03 seconds by the Antigo sophomore in the 100 freestyle (54.17). Gruett was second in a close race in the 100 butterfly, losing out to Merrill’s Marissa Miles (1:00.05) by 0.51 seconds.

Chiamulera added a runner-up swim in the 200, Beach was second in the 500 freestyle and Pooch lost out to Houg by 0.22 seconds for the top spot in the backstroke. 

McMahon, a junior, scored an individual all-conference honor with a third-place swim in the 200 individual medley. Ella Heck finished third in the 100 freestyle.

“We just have just such a well-rounded team,” coach Heck said. “We had just so much depth that was really fun meet to really to see them excel and just get ready and even a little bit more excited for sectionals.”

The Hodags had several other individual podium finishes. Freshman Aubree Edwardson was fourth in the 200 freestyle, Beach was fourth in the IM, Pooch and Gruett finished fourth and fifth in the 50 freestyle, Chiamulera tied for fourth in the 100 freestyle, Kyleigh Kennedy took sixth in the 500 freestyle and McMahon was fifth in the 100 breaststroke. 

Hailey Novak, McMahon, Kennedy and Edwardson were fifth as the Hodags’ B entry in the 200 freestyle relay. Edwardson, Maria Craig, Kennedy and Beach were fifth in the 400 freestyle relay.

“We had four girls who were tapered in Hailey, Maria, Kylie Kennedy and Aubree. And I thought they really had a really good meet. All of them had something really great happen to them,” coach Heck noted.

The top five teams on Friday matched the top five following dual-meet standings. Lakeland was the conference runner-up followed by Medford, Merrill and Colby/Abbotsford. 

All nine GNC schools will return to Rice Lake Saturday, Nov. 8 for a WIAA Division 2 sectional meet.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].