Ankeny’s Gracie Lindaman and Charlie Villhauer already knew they’d be swimming in some relay events during the finals of the girls’ state meet on Saturday at Marshalltown.
Now, they’ll be competing in an individual event, too.
Both swimmers qualified for the finals with strong performances on Friday during the preliminaries. Villhauer advanced to the “B” final in the 100 butterfly, then Lindaman matched her in the next event by qualifying for the “B” final in the 100 freestyle.
“I am really happy,” said Lindaman, a senior. “I was actually seeded lower in that event (than the 50 freestyle), so it was a nice surprise.”
Lindaman posted a time of 54.49 seconds. Seeded 21st in the event, she turned in the 15th-fastest time among the 16 qualifiers for the finals.
“With those sprint events, it’s kind of anyone’s race,” Lindaman said. “It’s just a matter of how well you execute your race.”
Earlier, Lindaman posted a time of 25.25 in the 50 freestyle. She had been clocked in 24.97 at last week’s regional meet.
Lindaman finished 18th overall in that event, matching her seed. She missed the finals by just .10 seconds.
“I learned some things from my 50,” Lindaman said. “The starter was a little different here than normal, so just being able to adapt and change really helped me.”
Lindaman will become an individual placewinner for the second time, assuming she finishes the race. She placed 15th in the 50 freestyle as a sophomore in 2022.
“I just want to drop some more time,” she said.
Villhauer, a freshman, posted the 14th-fastest time among the 16 qualifiers in the butterfly. Seeded 15th, she was clocked in 1:00.25 after recording a time of 59.95 at the regional meet.
Villhauer and Lindaman were among the eight Ankeny swimmers who competed on Friday. The others were Allie Kearney, Madi Trosper, Leah Schafer, Paige Spoelstra, Maggie Blackmore and Kylee Stone.
Blackmore placed 21st in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:28.68. The freshman dropped more than 2 seconds off her seed time while moving up three spots.
Kearney took 27th in the 200 individual medley in 2:20.51. The freshman dropped more than a second off her time while moving up five spots.
Stone, a sophomore, also placed 27th in the 100 backstroke. She moved up two spots by posting a time of 1:03.46.
Schafer, a senior, finished 28th in the butterfly. She was clocked in 1:03.28.
Spoelstra placed 29th in the 100 freestyle in 56.16. The senior dropped .09 seconds while moving up two spots.
Trosper, a junior, took 31st in the 50 freestyle. She was clocked in 25.90.
Saturday’s finals will begin at noon. Ankeny is seeded seventh in the 200 medley relay, 13th in the 200 freestyle relay and 24th in the 400 freestyle relay.