RHS: Boys Swimming
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RHS Boys' Swimming Places 3rd In GNC Meet
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By Student Writer - Connor Kuczmarski | Published: 02/01/2013
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Hodags' Kirby Kuehn in the 200-yard IM. He was fourth in 2:32.21 |
Although the Hodag's were without one of their top athletes on Friday, the Rhinelander boys' swimming team still had an extremely positive outing at the GNC conference meet in Medford. The Hodags notched several all conference honors and posted many season best times en route to 229 overall score and a third place finish overall.
Jake Zalewski was forced to miss the meet with an undisclosed illness, and this threw a curve ball to Rhinelander swim coach Amber Laggis and her Hodag lineup. Forced to shuffle around relays as well as individual athletes, Coach Laggis was satisfied with the way her boys' responded to the hindrance.
"Jake wasn't able to swim tonight and a lot of boys' had to step it up," stated Laggis. "We had to switch around some relays and the boys responded well."
Coach Laggis continued on, speaking about the pride she felt as a coach watching many of her athletes earn conference recognition by finishing in the top six in their designated events.
"A lot of boys' got in the top six and received recognition at the meet," said Laggis. "That was really cool to see and we had a lot of that."
Rhinelander's Marshall Kieffer in the 500-yard freestyle. He was 10th in 7:06.4. |
Some of the Hodags' younger swimmers showcased extreme upside heading into the future on Friday. Kirby Kuehn cracked the top six in both of his events, swimming to fourth place finishes in the 200 yard IM (2:32.21) as well as the 100 yard backstroke (1:08.45). Ethan Brown took fifth in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 26.33. Freshman Sam Olson launched into the top six with a fifth place finish of his own in the 200 yard IM (2:46.80).
"Kirby was in the top six in both of his events," said Laggis. "Ethan Brown did great especially in the 50 free. Sam Olson also cracked into the top six and that was cool to watch."
With Zalewski out of the lineup, captains Mik Kuczmarski and Conar LaBelle stepped up to rally their team. The senior duo provided confident encouragement throughout the meet as well as solid performances in the pool.
Kuczmarski took third in the 500 freestyle (6:24.58) and fifth in the 100 yard breaststroke (1:21.29). He also teamed up with Kuehn, Olson, and Marshall Keiffer to take third in the 200 yard medley relay (2:05.51). Kuczmarski, LaBelle, Kuehn, and Brown secured the Hodag's highest finish on the night, a second place in the 200 yard freestyle relay (1:45.42). LaBelle, Brown, Keiffer, and Olson went on to take fourth place in the 400 yard freestyle with a time of 3:59.65. Individually LaBelle took sixth in the 100 yard freestyle (57.09) and fifth in the 200 yard freestyle (2:12.46).
"Our 400 free relay went under 4 minutes for the first time on the season, that was awesome," said Laggis. "Mik and Conar did well. Our 200 free relay took 2nd place and it was cool to get the second team all conference finish. Everyone helped scored points tonight, especially the relays."
With a positive conference meet under their belt, the Hodags push forward to next Saturday's WIAA sectional located in Stevens Point. Heading towards the meet, Coach Laggis is focused on not only what will help the Hodags perform collectively, but individually as well.
"We just need to get ready for sectionals," said Laggis. "We are definitely hoping that Jake (Zalewski) will be back and we are working on putting a lineup together. We only get one relay so there are more limited entries, but I have an idea of who is going to swim. I just need to get everyone on board for one more week of practice. We want to finish was high as we can as a team as well as individuals."
Final Score:
Lakeland - 431
Shawano - 319
Rhinelander - 229
Tomahawk - 148
Medford - 118
Event Summary:
200 Yard Medley Relay
1. LUHS - Kellner, Richardson, Jain, Garcia - 1:49.85
2. SHAW - Soper, Kane, Colon, Klister - 1:51.37
3. RHS - Kuehn, Kuczmarski, Olson, Keiffer - 2:05.51
(...)
11. RHS - Drescher, Yabe, Hagen, Mork - 2:28.96
200 Yard Freestyle
1. Garcia, LUHS, 1:53.96
2. Langheim, LUHS, 1:58.22
3. Colon, SHAW, 2:07.47
(...)
5. LaBelle, RHS, 2:12.46
6. Gaber, RHS, 2:29.58
10. Keiffer, RHS, 2:30.39
13. Drescher, RHS, 2:56.76
200 Yard IM
1. Kane, SHAW, 2:26.00
2. Schumacher, MED, 2:26.73
3. Richardson, LUHS, 2:30.52
4. Kuehn, RHS, 2:32.21
5. Olson, RHS, 2:46.80
(...)
9. Hagen, RHS, 3:14.92
50 Yard Freestyle
1. Kellner, LUHS, 23:63
2. Canta, LUHS, 26:11
3. Balocca, LUHS, 26:16
4. Brown, RHS, 26:33
(...)
11. Mork, RHS, 29:00
100 Yard Butterfly
1. Sopa, SHAW, 59:49
2. Andrews, LUHS, 1:05.04
3. Jain, LUHS, 1:05.082
(...)
8. Olson, RHS, 1:33.23
10. Hagen, RHS, 1:43.18
100 Yard Freestyle
1. Garcia, LUHS, 50:18
2. Langheim, LUHS, 52:56
3. Treing, SHAW, 53:37
(...)
6. LaBelle, RHS, 57:49
8. Brown, RHS, 59:98
11. Gaber, RHS, 1:06.85
500 Yard Freestyle
1. Colon, SHAW, 5:55.07
2.Schumacher, MED, 6:06.84
3. Kuczmarski, RHS, 6:24.58
(...)
10. Keiffer 7:06.48
200 Yard Freestyle Relay
1. LUHS - Cantu, Andrews, Balocca, Langheim - 1:41.85
2. RHS - LaBelle, Kuehn, Kuczmarski, Brown - 1:45.42
3. THS - Loretz, Ehn, O'Brien, Ieruli - 1:47.36
(...)
9. RHS - Mork, Hagen, Gaber, Yabe - 2:04.59
100 Yard Backstroke
1. Kellner, LUHS, 1:02.80
2. Tetting, SHAW, 1:07.64
3. Jain, LUHS, 1:08.04
4. Kuehn, RHS, 1:08.45
(...)
9. Drescher, RHS, 1:37.94
100 Yard Breaststroke
1. Soper, SHAW, 1:10.79
2. Kane, SHAW, 1:14.90
3. Richardson, LUHS, 1:16.05
(...)
5. Kuczmarski, RHS, 1:21.32
7. Yabe, RHS, 1:23.16
400 Yard Freestyle Relay
1. LUHS - Andrews, Langheim, Kellner, Garcia - 3:38.00
2. SHAW - Colon, Tetting, Kane, Soper - 3:48.76
3. LUHS - Hoehn, Balocca, Jain, Cantu - 3:52.90
4. RHS - Brown, Keiffer, Olson, LaBelle - 3:59.65
(...)
7. RHS - Gaber, Drescher, Yabe, Mork - 4:52.05
More Story Images: (Click the images below to enlarge.)
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02/01/2013 
