The Ankeny boys’ swimming team has qualified for the state meet in every event except the 200 freestyle.
The seventh-ranked Hawks placed second in a district meet on Saturday at Mason City with 465 points. No. 5 Cedar Falls captured the team title with 490 points.
“As we expected, the team race was a battle throughout,” said Ankeny coach Dustin Rhoads, whose team led by four points after six events. “Unfortunately, we just came up a little short of a district title, but we have a lot to be proud of and I believe we can swim even faster next week!”
Ankeny won four events on the day. Owen Schwebach took the 50 freestyle in 21.82 seconds and the 100 butterfly in 50.88.
“My times were good,” said Schwebach. “Both were season-bests, but they also show a lot of room to go faster next weekend which is what I’m looking forward to.”
Finn Stukerjurgen won the 500 freestyle. He posted a time of 4:54.84, winning the event by nearly 3 seconds.
The Hawks opened the meet with a victory in the 200 medley relay. The foursome of Brock Peterson, Nicholas Robie, Schwebach and Owen Evans was clocked in 1:37.04.
Ankeny later placed second in the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:27.61. That team consisted of Schwebach, Evans, Peterson and Roe Denny.
The Hawks closed out the meet with a third-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay. The foursome of Denny, Bryer Pearson, Stukerjurgen and Austin Troyer was clocked in 3:23.68.
Ankeny boasts three individual qualifiers in three different events. The Hawks swept the top three places in the butterfly on Saturday as Peterson took second in 51.57 and Pearson finished third in 52.44.
Peterson was the runner-up in the 200 individual medley as well, posting a time of 1:56.63. Stukerjurgen placed third in 1:59.00, and Robie also qualified for state by finishing sixth in 2:04.81.
“I am happy with the way things went,” said Peterson. “Both of my times were personal records by a very noticeable drop. Both races felt really good, and I know I can go even faster when I fully taper (rest) and shave.”
In the 100 breaststroke, Ankeny qualified three swimmers with a 4-5-6 finish as the trio was separated by just .20 seconds. Tommy Gilbert placed fourth in a time of 1:02.04, followed by Carson Sommerfeld in 1:02.14 and Robie in 1:02.24.
Evans placed second behind Schwebach in the 50 freestyle, posting a time of 22.03. He also qualified for state with a third-place finish in the 100 freestyle, where he was clocked in 48.32.
Pearson and Andrew Law both qualified in the 100 backstroke. Pearson placed second in that event in 55.22, while Law finished third in 55.47.
“We had a great meet,” Rhoads said. “I am very happy for all the guys. Their hard work throughout the season is now paying off. I am especially thrilled for our seniors. The main goal was to get as many guys qualified to state as possible.”
The state meet will be held on Friday and Saturday at Iowa City. Ankeny is seeded seventh in both the medley and 200 freestyle relays, giving the Hawks a good chance to earn spots on the awards podium in those events.
“I look forward to taking my guys to Iowa City and seeing them swim fast in a very special pool to cap off our season,” Rhoads said.
Schwebach and Peterson appear to be Ankeny’s top contenders in the individual events. Schwebach is seeded sixth in the butterfly and 10th in the 50 freestyle.
“My seeding puts me next to some fast guys for prelims to push myself to seed highly in the final,” Schwebach said.
Peterson is seeded eighth in the 200 IM and ninth in the butterfly.
“I’m super confident for next weekend and anxious to swim,” Peterson said.
