It wasn’t the kind of day that the Ankeny girls’ swimming team was hoping for.
The Hawkettes were disqualified in the 200 medley relay to open Saturday’s state meet at Marshalltown, and they went on to place 29th overall with nine points. It marked the first time since 2013 that Ankeny didn’t place in the top 10.
Ankeny was seeded seventh in the medley relay, giving the Hawkettes a realistic chance to earn a spot on the awards podium. The foursome of Madi Trosper, Kyra Zinn, Charlie Villhauer and Gracie Lindaman posted a time of 1:51.01, which would have earned them a seventh-place finish and 24 team points.
However, the squad was disqualified for leaving the blocks too early.
Ankeny later scored the bulk of its points with a 14th-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay. The team of Lindaman, Zinn, Paige Spoelstra and Villhauer was clocked in 1:41.25.
Bettendorf easily won the race in a time of 1:35.07, earning automatic all-American honors.
The Hawkettes later ended the meet by placing 19th in the 400 freestyle relay in 3:45.96. The quartet of Villhauer, Spoelstra, Trosper and Leah Schafer dropped nearly 4 seconds off their seed time while moving up five spots.
Bettendorf easily won that event as well, posting a time of 3:28.39 to earn all-American consideration. The fifth-ranked Bulldogs finished fourth in the team standings with 216 points.
No. 1 Dowling Catholic captured the team crown with 260 points, despite winning no events. No. 4 Waukee Northwest placed second with 243 in its first season as a separate program, relying on some of the swimmers who helped Waukee to the last three titles.
Ankeny scored the rest of its points in a pair of individual events. Lindaman placed 15th in the 100 freestyle with a time of 55.23 seconds, while Villhauer finished 16th in the 100 butterfly in 1:00.81.
Lindaman, a senior, became an individual placewinner for the second time. She took 15th in the 50 freestyle as a sophomore in 2022.
Grace Hoepel of Iowa City High, who had earlier won the 50 freestyle, took the 100 freestyle in 49.94. She earned automatic all-American honors.
Villhauer, a freshman, had posted a time of 59.95 at last week’s regional meet. She was clocked in 1:00.25 during Friday’s preliminaries.
Hayden Bailey of Waukee Northwest won the butterfly in 54.99, earning all-American consideration. She later won the 100 backstroke.
The Wolves got another victory from Willa Hage in the 200 individual medley. Faith Frantum of Johnston swept the 200 and 500 freestyle events, while Lucy Parson of Waterloo West took the 100 breaststroke.
Cedar Falls won the medley relay and placed third overall with 220 points.