After finishing behind top-ranked Ames in the Mike Wittmer Invitational on Saturday, the No. 5 Ankeny boys’ swimming team had something to prove on Thursday.
The Hawks earned some revenge with a 109-61 victory over Ames in their CIML Iowa Conference opener at Trail Point Aquatics Center. The Little Cyclones were without four swimmers who are competing at junior nationals, where Ankeny’s Lance Swanepoel is also competing.
“There were a lot of good races tonight,” said Ankeny coach Justin Crouch, whose team is now 2-0 overall. “This was a good test to see how our team is shaping up in the early part of the season. Ames is a very good team. Although we were both a little shorthanded, it was exciting to see our swimmers begin to understand what it takes to compete at a high level. From top to bottom, it was a total team effort.”
Owen Schwebach had a big night for the Hawks. He won two individual events and also swam on two winning relays.
Schwebach captured the 200 individual medley in a time of 2:03.43. He later took the 100 butterfly in 52.41 seconds.
Nathan Neppl won the 100 breaststroke in 1:04.29, edging Ames’ Justin Shin by .08 seconds. Ankeny’s Hudson Griffin finished a close third in 1:04.41.
“I feel like our team is beginning to understand that success isn’t something that is necessarily handed to you, and it is important to remember that it takes a heck of a lot of work to be great at something,” Crouch said. “We may not have the same level of talent we have had the last couple years, but these kids are working and competing. They are not taking a backseat to anyone. For the most part, they are willing to learn and they are developing faster than I had anticipated at the start of the season.”
The closest race of the night came in the 100 freestyle, where Ames’ Joe Flannery won in a time of 50.91, edging Ankeny’s Brock Peterson by .01 seconds. Peterson later added another runner-up finish in the 100 backstroke, posting a time of 57.26.
Flannery also won the 50 freestyle in 23.16. The Hawks got a second-place finish from Devin Thornton, who was clocked in 23.31.
Zach Zinn provided a pair of second-place finishes for Ankeny. He posted times of 1:51.92 in the 200 freestyle and 5:17.60 in the 500 freestyle.
The Hawks opened the meet with a narrow victory in the 200 medley relay. The foursome of Peterson, Neppl, Schwebach and Thornton turned in a time of 1:40.30, while Ames was clocked in 1:40.42.
Schwebach swam the butterfly leg in 22.86 seconds to put Ankeny into the lead. Thornton then held off Flannery on the freestyle leg to seal the win.
The Hawks swept the top two places in the 200 freestyle relay. Thornton teamed up with Owen Evans, Karsten Peters and Zinn to win the race in a time of 1:32.70, while teammates Calvin Howard, Ryan Bendezu, Griffin and Noah Schafer took second in 1:33.28.
Ankeny later closed out the meet with another win in the 400 freestyle relay. Schwebach, Zinn, Howard and Peterson teamed up to post a time of 3:22.40.
“I think that it will be important to continue to work and not let dual-meet victories get in the way of our overall goal of swimming fast in the championship season,” Crouch said. “We have to train and continue to prepare to the best of our abilities every day. I think with the more success we get, that can sometimes get in guys’ heads so it will be important to stay grounded and keep things in perspective. A dual-meet win is great, but it isn’t the end-all, be-all.
“Our focus has to remain on getting better and competing every day,” he added.
The Hawks will host another Iowa Conference dual meet against Marshalltown on Thursday.