Hodag Highlights: Rhinelander captures seventh straight GNC swim title

The Rhinelander High School girls swim team continued its conference dominance Saturday, cruising to a seventh consecutive Great Northern Conference championship at the newly opened eight-lane Rice Lake natatorium.
The Hodags, undefeated in conference dual meets this season, showed why they’ve been untouchable in the GNC for the better part of a decade. Rhinelander won nine of 11 events and placed multiple swimmers in the top six in all but one race.
The meet opened with a statement as the quartet of Kiley Pooch, Ella Heck, Camilla Gruett and Vivian Lamers shattered the conference record in the 200-yard medley relay. Their time of 1:49.51 erased the previous mark of 1:50.76. The Hodag B relay team of Emma Houg, Kyree McMahon, Rylee Mickevicius, and Lola Beach added a third-place finish in the event.
Rhinelander’s depth proved overwhelming throughout the afternoon, though two races provided some drama. Gruett fell just short in the 100-yard butterfly, placing second by .51 seconds, while Lamers came even closer in the 100 freestyle, touching the wall a mere .03 seconds behind the winner.
The Hodags now enter a three-week training period before returning to Rice Lake for the sectional meet on Nov. 8, where they’ll look to extend their season toward the state championships.