If the Ankeny girls’ swimming team needed a measuring stick for its progress, Tuesday’s opponent provided just what the squad needed.
Waukee, the two-time defending state champion, won 11 of the 12 events and defeated host Ankeny, 134-52, in the CIML Conference opener for both teams at Trail Point Aquatics Center.
“It was a fun night hosting No. 1 Waukee in our pool for our home opener,” said Ankeny coach Dustin Rhoads, whose team dropped to 2-1 overall. “The big crowd and our opponent made it an exciting environment for a meet! Obviously, they are the two-time defending state champions for a reason. They are very good with tons of depth and don’t have any holes in their lineup.”
Waukee, which scored a record 402 points at last year’s state meet, swept the top two places in all three relay events. The Warriors also swept the top three places in three of the individual events.
“As a big-time competitor this is humbling for sure, but Waukee is the highest standard girls’ program in the state right now,” Rhoads said. “I have a lot of respect for head coach Shelly Twigg and coach Dan Briggs and the program they’ve built.”
Ankeny’s lone victory came in the 100 breaststroke, where Anja Peck won the event in a time of 1:09.07. She earlier placed second in the 200 individual medley in 2:14.09.
Josie Parton was the runner-up in the 100 freestyle in 55.12. She later placed second in the 100 backstroke in 1:01.96.
Alexis Hergenreter also contributed a pair of second-place finishes. She posted times of 2:00.57 in the 200 freestyle and 1:02.42 in the 100 butterfly.
Sophie Loeffler added a third-place finish in the butterfly. She was clocked in 1:03.58.
“I’m glad we got to compete against (Waukee), and I thought we raced hard and dove well and actually were faster and much sharper overall than a week ago, which is good progress,” Rhoads said.
Ankeny will travel to Newton on Thursday for a non-conference dual meet.
“We still have a lot to work on, but we will keep training hard and have our eyes set on our end-of-the-season goals and not just one dual-meet loss,” Rhoads said. “We learned a lot and will keep looking to get better and chase them! I want this program to become what Waukee is in the future!”