The outcome of Saturday’s CIML Iowa Conference boys’ swimming meet at Trail Point Aquatics Center was essentially decided before the first event even began.
Third-ranked Ames easily won the meet with 494 points, while No. 8 Ankeny placed second in the five-team field with 424. No. 16 Marshalltown took third with 368 points.
“I felt like we were very competitive in the meet,” said Ankeny coach Justin Crouch. “Ames took a much different approach to the meet, and it showed. They really brought their best lineup and were able to win the meet without much doubt. We swam well in some spots.
“We were missing some guys that would have helped us due to other school activities. Knowing this, I let the varsity sign up for events like the junior varsity. We used this meet as a way to get out and race and be able to celebrate the season as a team. It was a great opportunity to show the work and effort that everyone has been doing throughout the season,” he added.
The Hawks got a first-place finish in the 100 freestyle from Lance Swanepoel, who posted a time of 47.84 seconds. Teammates Owen Schwebach (48.99) and Zach Zinn (50.01) took second and fourth, respectively.
Ankeny later ended the meet by winning the 400 freestyle relay in 3:17.37. That team consisted of Swanepoel, Schwebach, Calvin Howard and Zinn.
Swanepoel added a second-place finish in the 50 freestyle in 22.19. Schwebach was the runner-up in the 100 breaststroke in 1:03.79, while teammate Hudson Griffin was fourth in that event in 1:04.44.
The Hawks got a third-place finish in the 100 backstroke from Brock Peterson, who was clocked in 57.31. He earlier took fourth in the 200 individual medley in 2:06.26.
Peterson also teamed up with Griffin, Howard and Devin Thornton for a second-place finish in the 200 medley relay. Ankeny posted a time of 1:42.84.
The Hawks also placed second in the 200 freestyle relay. The quartet of Swanepoel, Schwebach, Thornton and Zinn was clocked in 1:28.74.
“There were a lot of good swims,” Crouch said. “It has been such a tough battle to stay healthy and be able to finish on a strong note, but I felt that everyone swam to the best of their ability. Whether that was a guy just trying to get the best swim they can or another guy preparing for districts and state, the effort was there and I respect that.”
Here are the rest of Ankeny’s top-six individual finishes:
200 IM: Thornton, 2:17.89 (6th)
50 freestyle: Howard, 23.30 (5th); Owen Evans, 23.61 (6th)
100 butterfly: Roe Denny, 57.83 (5th); Finn Stukerjurgen, 59.92 (6th)
500 freestyle: Howard, 5:12.31 (6th)
100 backstroke: Andrew Law, 59.49 (5th)
The Hawks will now have two weeks to prepare for the district meet on Feb. 5 at Southeast Polk.
“This team has my respect because they have done everything I have asked them to do,” Crouch said. “They were very coachable, and although the results may not have shown it (Saturday) we are going to be ready to go in two weeks. My goal is not always to win a meet. I want the guys to remember that if they swim their absolute best, do their job and prepare the way they need to prepare, then good things will happen. The more guys we can get into the state meet the better off we will be.
“I am really looking forward to the championship season and finishing strong,” he added.