Ankeny swimmers spoil S.E. Polk’s Senior Night with 117-53 triumph over Rams

Ankeny’s Owen Evans dives into the pool at the start of the 200 freestyle during Thursday’s dual meet at Southeast Polk. Evans went on to place second in the event with a time of 1:51.15. (Photo courtesy of Jim Howard)

The Ankeny boys’ swimming team moved above the .500 mark with a 117-53 victory at Southeast Polk on Thursday.

The Hawks raised their records to 3-2 in the CIML Conference and 5-4 overall.

“We had a successful meet,” said Ankeny coach Dustin Rhoads. “It was their Senior Night so it was fun to be a part of that, and they honored our seniors too so that was special for us again. It was a little bittersweet as this was probably our last meet all together as Saturday isn’t looking great, but we were able to mix up our lineup a bit and do different events and still get the win for JV and varsity.”

Ankeny won nine of the 11 events, including all three relays. Owen Schwebach and Bryer Pearson each captured two individual events for the Hawks.

Schwebach took the 50 freestyle in 22.34 seconds. He then won the 100 freestyle in 49.17.

Ankeny’s Owen Schwebach gets ready to swim the 50 freestyle during Thursday’s meet. He won both the 50 and 100 freestyle events to help the Hawks to a 117-53 victory. (Photo courtesy of Jim Howard)

Pearson won the 100 butterfly in 53.64. He also claimed the 100 backstroke in 56.88.

Brock Peterson captured the 200 individual medley in a time of 2:04.32. He was the runner-up in the butterfly in 54.22.

Tommy Gilbert won the 100 breaststroke in 1:05.56. Teammate Nicholas Robie placed second in 1:07.71.

Ankeny opened the meet by winning the 200 medley relay in a time of 1:46.02. The winning team consisted of Andrew Law, Robie, Pearson and Austin Troyer.

Pearson also swam on the winning 200 freestyle relay. He teamed up with Schwebach, Peterson and Owen Evans to post a time of 1:31.94.

**Ankeny’s Tate Brownsberger swims the backstroke leg of the 200 individual medley during Thursday’s meet. He placed fifth in the event with a time of 2:19.27. (Photo courtesy of Jim Howard)**

The Hawks later closed out the meet by winning the 400 freestyle relay in 3:23.41. That team was comprised of Evans, Peterson, Finn Stukerjurgen and Schwebach.

Evans placed second in a pair of events. He posted times of 1:51.15 in the 200 freestyle and 5:20.32 in the 500 freestyle.

Stukerjurgen added a runner-up finish behind Pearson in the backstroke. He was clocked in 57.76.

“With the weather being crazy, and half our team starting to rest and taper and the other half still grinding and working hard, it’s a weird part of the season,” Rhoads said. “I am not worried about their times, but was still pleased with their efforts tonight and the fact they raced hard. I’m excited to get closer toward the end of the season where we will taper and swim fast.

“These guys continue to be motivated and put in the work so I know they will have fast times when it matters most! We’ve just got to keep going!” he added.