It won’t be easy for the Ankeny girls’ swimming team to replace standouts Josie Parton and Anja Peck, who are now competing for Northern Iowa and Iowa State, respectively.
The duo led the Hawkettes to a ninth-place finish in last year’s state meet, accounting for 64 of the team’s 105 points. It was the squad’s 10th consecutive top-10 finish and its first under coach Dustin Rhoads, who took over the program a year ago.
Peck placed third in the 200 individual medley and 10th in the 100 breaststroke, while Parton took seventh in the 100 freestyle and 12th in the 100 backstroke. They also swam on the seventh-place 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays.
“It will be tough to replace two D1 swimmers in Anja and Josie along with Sophie (Loeffler) and Alexis (Hergenreter), which has hurt our depth, but I am focused on the girls we do have and am excited for the potential of this group,” said Rhoads, whose team posted a 6-5 record last season, including a 2-3 mark in the CIML Conference. “We have a good balance of upperclassmen with a lot of new faces that have talent and can help this team.”
Hergenreter and Loeffler both qualified for the state meet in two individual events and also swam on the 400 freestyle relay, but they elected not to swim this fall. That leaves Rhoads with four returning state qualifiers from the 2023 team.
Seniors Gracie Lindaman, Leah Schafer, Paige Spoelstra and Kyra Zinn are back to lead the way. They have been named team captains.
“The practices have been going well!” Rhoads said. “We have two-a-day practices every day of the week besides Wednesdays. We have a smaller group this year of 32 girls, but they are coming together as a team very well and are excited for meets to start!”
Lindaman will again focus on the sprint events. She placed 32nd in the 50 freestyle at the state meet, posting a time of 25.65 seconds.
Schafer took 29th in the 100 butterfly in 1:02.42. She also swam the butterfly leg on the medley relay before Lindaman swam the freestyle leg, anchoring the team to a time of 1:48.52.
Spoelstra is another talented sprinter. She finished 32nd in the 100 freestyle in 56.61.
Zinn, meanwhile, swam the anchor leg of the 200 freestyle relay, helping Ankeny to a 13th-place finish in 1:41.14. Like she did a year ago, Zinn will also compete for the Ankeny Centennial girls’ cross country team.
Rhoads said he thinks several newcomers will contribute heavily for the Hawkettes.
“I expect freshmen Charlie Villhauer, Maggie Blackmore and Allie Kearney to have an impact right away,” he said. “There’s plenty of girls in the mix for varsity positions, and we will need them to step up and continue to improve as the season goes along to help us.
“We also have six divers on the team, and they are working hard to perfect their dives. They are led by returners Miranda and Gabby Gagne and Isabel Peverill,” he added.
Ankeny will open its season on Tuesday by hosting a conference dual meet against Waukee, the three-time defending state champion. The Warriors rolled to a 134-52 win in last year’s dual meet.
“We have a long road ahead of us, but I am confident this group will continue to improve throughout the season and gain a lot of experience from the tough schedule,” Rhoads said. “Tuesday’s meet will certainly be tough, but it will also be fun and it’ll be good to see where we are at!
“The short-term goals for the season are always to work hard, have fun, and do your best. The long-term goals are to finish in the top half of the conference, top 10 at state, and get as many qualifiers to the state meet as possible,” he added.
