The Ankeny girls’ swimming team has qualified for the state meet in all three relays and also boasts a total of 12 individual qualifiers in the eight swimming events.
The eighth-ranked Hawkettes placed second in a regional meet on Saturday at Mason City with 438 points. They qualified for the state meet in every event except for diving, which was held on Thursday at Ames.
“I think our whole team did really well, and I’m super excited for state!” said Ankeny senior Anja Peck, who was one of four Hawkettes to qualify in a pair of individual events.
No. 4 Cedar Falls captured the regional title with 485 points. No. 17 Southeast Polk was a distant third in the nine-team field with 284.
Ankeny won three events, including two of the relays. The Hawkettes got a victory in the 200 individual medley from Peck, who posted a time of 2:11.70 to win the race by 4.5 seconds.
Peck later placed second in the 100 breaststroke in 1:06.62. She is seeded 10th in both events for the state meet, which is slated for Friday and Saturday at the Marshalltown YMCA.
“I was happy with my swims!” Peck said. “I am confident with where I am seeded and hope to perform well next weekend!”
Peck also teamed up with Josie Parton, Leah Schafer and Gracie Lindaman to win the 200 medley relay. Ankeny was clocked in 1:48.22, edging Cedar Falls by .55 seconds..
The Hawkettes later ended the meet by winning the 400 freestyle relay. The foursome of Alexis Hergenreter, Sophie Loeffler, Peck and Parton posted a time of 3:36.93.
Ankeny is seeded third and sixth in those two relays, respectively, for the state meet.
“I’m very proud of the work my teammates and I have put in leading up to the meet,” Lindaman said. “Our medley relay really just clicked. I have some really talented girls to swim with on that relay, so I am excited to see what we can do.”
Hergenreter, Loeffler and Parton also qualified for the state meet in two individual events. Lindaman, Schafer, Paige Spoelstra and Lauren Reimer were the other individual qualifiers.
Hergenreter placed second in the 200 freestyle in a time of 1:59.17 and was also the runner-up in the 500 freestyle in 5:19.16. Aspen Cole of Mason City won both of those races.
Parton also took second in two events, posting times of 53.69 in the 100 freestyle and 59.65 in the 100 backstroke. Spoelstra placed fifth in the 100 freestyle in 55.36, while Reimer was sixth in the backstroke in 1:01.74
Loeffler was the runner-up in the 100 butterfly in 59.19. She earlier took fifth in the 200 freestyle in 2:00.34.
Schafer added a fourth-place finish in the butterfly. She posted a time of 1:01.36.
Lindaman finished sixth in the 50 freestyle. She was clocked in 25.12.
“I was personally not happy with my day, but I have great girls around me that stepped up, and awesome coaches that support us,” Lindaman said. “I didn’t feel well, and that’s just what I had on this day.”
Lindaman also teamed up with Kyra Zinn, Loeffler and Hergenreter for a second-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay. Ankeny posted a time of 1:40.17 and is seeded ninth in that event.
“I think we can definitely knock a few teams off and make the podium in that relay as well,” Lindaman said.
Parton is seeded ninth in the 100 freestyle and 13th in the backstroke. Loeffler is seeded 10th in the butterfly, and Hergenreter is 16th in the 500 freestyle.
The rest of the team’s qualifiers will have to swim above their seeds in order to place in the top 16.
“Regionals is the hard meet with lots of stress of getting in,” said Lindaman, who is seeded 29th in the 50 freestyle. “I’m excited to see what we can do now at state! My individual events did not go how I wanted, but the plan is to show up and surprise some people in the 50. I just want to be the best leader I can and do whatever I can to help the team be our best.”