RHS swimmers edge Bay Port for Hodag Relays title

It came right down to the end Wednesday afternoon as the Rhinelander High School girls’ swim team went toe-to-toe with a much larger squad in its home Hodag Relays.

In the end, five wins and a runner-up finish in the final race of the day were just enough as the Hodags edged Division 1 Bay Port by a single point to win the title.

“It was a lot of fun, a lot of energy to have 10 teams in that pool,” Hodag coach Jenny Heck said. “It was really loud and exciting the whole time through. I think that was one of the most fun Hodag Relays that we’ve had, although, we’ve had some pretty fun meets like that. It helps when you get the win.”

With a four-point lead over Bay Port entering the last event, the Hodags needed to finish second or better in the 400-yard medley relay to secure the victory and did exactly that. The squad of Kiley Pooch, Vivian Lamers, Emma Houg and Rylee Mickevicius came home with a time of 4 minutes, 11.61 seconds — roughly a second and a half behind Bay Port, but nearly 10 seconds ahead of third-place Wausau West — to lock up the title.

In all, the Hodags had five wins, that single runner-up finish, two thirds, a fourth and a sixth to their record. Bay Port took three events and finished second in four others, but was hindered by a disqualification in the 400 individual medley relay, which helped decide the final outcome.

All 13 of Rhinelander’s swimmers were on at least one point-scoring A relay during the meet, and coach Heck said it took all 13 to earn the title against a Bay Port team that was nearly twice as large.

“I said to them, ‘Hey, it took each and every one of you for us to get this win. If one of you would have not been here or not did your part, we wouldn’t have had this win,’” she said. “It is important that they understand that they’re all needed. They’re all really valuable. When you have a team like Neenah, who has 26 kids there or, Bay Port, these larger teams, and we have 13, we need everyone.”

    Rhinelander’s Millie Gruett makes a turn during the 400-yard individual medley relay during the Hodag Relays invite at the Heck Family Community Pool Wednesday, Aug. 27. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

The Hodags took down two event records on Wednesday, beginning with the meet-opening 200 medley relay. The squad of June Chiamulera, Lamers, Ella Heck and Pooch went 1:51.65 in that event, breaking the previous record set by the Hodags in 2019 by nearly 2 1/2 seconds. Later in the meet, Ella Heck, Lamers and Millie Gruett claimed the 150 mixer medley relay (1:21.62), beating the previous mark set in 2022 by just more than one second.

“We weren’t going necessarily after records. We were just trying to put together some really strong relays that could compete with these teams,” coach Heck said. “To get the win and then get those records were just, fantastic. Those records have some of the fastest kids in the state swimming on those. You think sometimes those records are never going to be broken or it’s going to be a long, long time. So if you can break any of those Hodag relay records, you know you’re swimming fast.”

Rhinelander won the 400 IM relay with the team of Emma Houg, Gruett, Ella Heck and Rylee Mickevicius (4:18.15). Chiamulera, Mickevicius and Gruett swam to the win in the 300 butterfly relay (3:12.25), and Pooch, Houg and Chiamulera claimed the win in the 200 backstroke relay (3:08.67).

“I was really pleased with our seniors and our captains, Emma and Millie. Not only did they swim fast and were really valuable in their relays, but just their experience and just what they bring to the team I think, really, led everyone in the right direction. That stood out to me as great leadership and great swimming,” coach Heck said. “I couldn’t believe how fast some of these kids went. You know, Millie and Ryley had fantastic 100 fly splits. Kylie Pooch had great times.”

A trio of freshmen — Lola Beach, Aubree Edwardson and Hailey Novak — teamed with sophomore Kyleigh Kennedy to take third in the 500 freestyle decrescendo relay. Beach, Edwardson, Kyree McMahon and Maria Craig were third in the 200 freestyle really. 

“Our new swimmers swam really well,” coach Heck noted. “We had Kyleigh Kennedy, we keep track of their times from last year, and she’s way better than she was last year this time. All around every single person just swam out of their minds. And I think they were just so excited to swim in their home pool. There were so many people and lots of energy. So it really makes a big difference. I’m really happy that we could have so many people there and so many teams there and put on such a fantastic meet.”

Wednesday’s meet was Rhinelander’s third straight relay-style meet early in the season. Things revert back to standard events and the WIAA championship format beginning this coming Thursday when Rhinelander welcomes in Antigo and Medford in a double dual to kick off the Great Northern Conference season.

“It’s a great way to start the season because it’s a little less pressure and there’s a little more room for leeway in these relay meets. But now, it’s back to the high school WIAA format,” coach Heck said. “It’s a lot for the freshmen to learn and everyone to get back into that routine and kind of see where they’re at with some different events. We’ll try to get all the kids swimming all the events and see where they do best.”

Thursday’s meet gets underway at 5:30 p.m. at the Heck Family Community Pool.   

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].