‘We had a fun time!’: Ankeny swimmers edge Dowling for 3rd place at Sprint Invite

Ankeny swimmers (from left) Wilson Pous-Ojeda, Sam Kunkel and Brant Schumaker dive into the pool at the start of the 200 freestyle during the Sprint Invitational on Tuesday at Trail Point Aquatics Center. Pous-Ojeda placed eighth in a time of 1:55.20, Kunkel was 13th in 2:02.78, and Schumaker finished 18th in 2:07.89. (Photo courtesy of Jim Howard)

It was a good opening test for the Ankeny boys’ swimming team.

The Hawks kicked off their season on Tuesday by hosting the Sprint Invitational at Trail Point Aquatics Center. They racked up 308 points to edge Dowling Catholic by a point for third place in the six-team event.

Waukee Northwest won the meet with 407 points. Valley was second with 379.

“We had a fun time hosting the meet!” said Ankeny coach Dustin Rhoads. “I thought the guys swam pretty well against some really good competition. It was a chance to really just gain some experience racing against some great teams and swimmers.”

Ankeny’s Bryer Pearson swims the butterfly leg of the 200 medley relay during the Sprint Invitational on Tuesday. Pearson helped the Hawks to a third-place finish in the event, then later took second in the 50 butterfly in 23.44 seconds. (Photo courtesy of Jim Howard)

Junior Bryer Pearson had Ankeny’s highest finish of the night. He placed second in the 50 butterfly with a time of 23.44 seconds.

Senior Brock Peterson took third in the 100 individual medley in 56.01. He later finished fourth in the 25 freestyle in 10.44.

Another senior, Finn Stukerjurgen, also had a pair of top-five finishes. He placed fifth in the 100 IM in 56.76 and third in the 50 backstroke in 26.01.

“We were led by very strong performances from Bryer, Brock and Finn, but again I was pleased with everyone’s efforts and thought we competed and raced hard,” Rhoads said. “It gives us an idea of where we are at as a team and also to learn from the good things that went well and all of the little things we can improve to be better and faster!”

Ankeny’s Finn Stukerjurgen swims the breaststroke leg of the 100 individual medley during the Sprint Invitational on Tuesday. Stukerjurgen placed fifth in the event with a time of 56.76 seconds, then later took third in the 50 backstroke in 26.01. He helped the Hawks to a third-place finish overall. (Photo courtesy of Jim Howard)

Austin Troyer placed fifth in the 50 freestyle in 23.26. Noah Kearney was eighth in that event in 23.78, then later took sixth in the backstroke in 27.10.

Ankeny had a trio of top-10 finishes in the butterfly. Sam Howard followed Pearson’s runner-up performance by placing sixth in 25.68, while Jack Walsh took ninth in 26.09.

Wilson Pous-Ojeda placed eighth in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:55.20. Jake Smith added a ninth-place finish in the 50 breaststroke, posting a time of 30.21.

The Hawks opened the meet with a third-place finish in the 200 medley relay. The foursome of Peterson, Smith, Pearson and Stukerjurgen was clocked in 1:40.94.

**Ankeny’s Brock Peterson takes off at the start of the 200 freestyle relay during Tuesday’s meet. Peterson helped the Hawks to a third-place finish in the event. (Photo courtesy of Jim Howard)**

Ankeny also took third in the 200 freestyle relay. The quartet of Peterson, Pearson, Stukerjurgen and Troyer posted a time of 1:31.71.

Pearson later teamed up with Howard, Kearney and Troyer for a fourth-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay. The Hawks were clocked in 3:28.66.

“We are only two weeks into our season and have a lot of training to go and many more meets,” Rhoads said. “We have to keep working hard toward our goals for the end of the season, but it was fun to see the guys step up to this challenging but fun first meet and do very well.”

Ankeny will travel to Waukee on Dec. 5 for its CIML Conference opener against the Warriors, who placed fifth the Sprint Invitational with 259 points. The meet will be held at the Waukee Natatorium.