The Ankeny girls’ swimming team is hoping to peak at the end of the season.
Saturday’s CIML Conference meet at Johnston, which featured five of the state’s top six teams, was a good place to start.
Fifth-ranked Ankeny placed third in the six-team field with 283.5 points. The Hawkettes edged No. 6 Valley by a half-point for third place.
“We had a great meet,” said Ankeny coach Dustin Rhoads. “Placing top three was a goal for our team this season, and it was exciting to see this team accomplish that in the regular season and at this meet!”
No. 1 Waukee racked up 521 points to defend its team title. No. 2 Dowling Catholic took second with 473 points.
Ankeny was led by senior Anja Peck, who placed third in the 100 butterfly in a time of 1:00.08. She also took fourth in the 500 freestyle in 5:23.58.
“I was super happy with my swims today!” said Peck. “They were off events, but I was really happy with how I performed in them, especially my 100 fly!”
Peck was joined in the butterfly by teammate Alexis Hergenreter, who contributed a sixth-place finish. She was clocked in 1:02.81.
Josie Parton placed fourth in the 50 freestyle in 25.28 seconds. She later added an eighth-place finish in the 100 breaststroke, posting a time of 1:13.03.
Gracie Lindaman took eighth in the 50 freestyle. She was clocked in 25.95.
Lauren Reimer placed seventh in the 100 backstroke in a time of 1:03.75. She finished just ahead of teammate Sophie Loeffler, who took eighth in 1:04.08.
Reimer also placed eighth in the 200 freestyle in 2:05.39. Loeffler finished ninth in the 200 individual medley in 2:21.46.
“We swam some different events and had a lot of fun!” Rhoads said. “I’m very proud of them and excited for this team to get some rest and prepare to swim fast at regionals and state!”
Ankeny opened the meet with a fourth-place finish in the 200 medley relay. The foursome of Parton, Peck, Loeffler and Lindaman posted a time of 1:53.01.
Lindaman and Parton also swam on the fourth-place 200 freestyle relay. They teamed up with Kyra Zinn and Hergenreter to turn in a time of 1:42.55.
Ankeny later ended the meet with another fourth-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay. The quartet of Hergenreter, Peck, Paige Spoelstra and Loeffler was clocked in 3:50.01.
“Our third-place finish was definitely exciting, and I think it is definitely a step in the right direction,” Peck said. “Our team has been really strong lately, and I can’t wait to see how we perform at regionals and state!”
Waukee won eight of the 12 events, including all three relays. Willa Hage won both the 200 IM and the breaststroke for the Warriors, while Nora Kemp took both the 50 and 500 freestyle events.
Dowling got victories from Lucy Huss in the butterfly, Anna Huss in the 100 freestyle and Abby Wilcox in the backstroke. Southeast Polk’s Holli Hetzer won the diving competition, which was held on Tuesday.