The Ankeny boys’ swimming team took a big step forward on Saturday.
The ninth-ranked Hawks placed third among seven squads in the CIML Conference meet at Summit Middle School in Johnston. They finished with 315 points, four more than No. 7 Waukee.
Ankeny also finished ahead of No. 8 Dowling Catholic, which placed fifth with 237 points.
“We had a good day!” said Ankeny coach Dustin Rhoads. “It was awesome for us to place third as a team. We kind of got a little revenge on close losses to Waukee and Dowling from the regular season so I know the guys were very happy about that. Those two teams have some very good top-end guys, but we knew we were the better team and wanted to prove that. I am very proud of our efforts.”
No. 4 Waukee Northwest captured the team title with 421.5 points. No. 5 Valley was the runner-up with 338.5.
Waukee was the two-time defending champion, but many of its swimmers left when Waukee Northwest started its own program this season. The Wolves won five of the 11 events.
Ankeny was led by senior Brock Peterson, who won the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:01.47. He edged Waukee’s Lathen Schwickerath by .51 seconds.
“I was very pleased with the IM,” said Peterson. “I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but I was still very confident going into that meet. It definitely helped in the race.”
Peterson later placed fourth in the 100 backstroke. He was clocked in 56.00 seconds.
Teammate Finn Stukerjurgen also had a pair of top-four finishes. He took fourth in the 100 butterfly in 54.67 seconds, then later finished second in the 100 breaststroke in a time of 1:05.83.
“I was very pleased with my swims as they aren’t events I do often,” said Stukerjurgen. “I think this meet can help build our team’s confidence going into championship season.”
Ankeny’s Bryer Pearson was the runner-up in the butterfly in 53.35. He also finished ninth in the backstroke in 57.57.
Wilson Pous-Ojeda placed fifth in the 500 freestyle in a time of 5:14.47. He earlier took sixth in the 200 freestyle in 1:55.07.
Austin Troyer placed fifth in the 50 freestyle in 22.94 seconds. He later finished ninth in the 100 freestyle in 51.45.
Jack Walsh provided a pair of sixth-place finishes. He posted times of 2:08.68 in the 200 IM and 5:16.30 in the 500 freestyle.
Charlie Morrissey added an eighth-place finish in the backstroke. He was clocked in 57.53.
The Hawks opened the meet with a fourth-place finish in the 200 medley relay. The foursome of Stukerjurgen, Peterson, Pearson and Troyer posted a time of 1:41.05.
The same quartet also placed fourth in the 200 freestyle relay. Ankeny turned in a time of 1:31.27.
The Hawks closed out the meet with a seventh-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay. The team of Noah Kearney, Pous-Ojeda, Sam Howard and Morrissey posted a time of 3:35.04.
“We had multiple guys battling some sickness and even one key varsity guy (Jake Smith) out of the meet, but we still competed hard and did very well,” said Rhoads, whose team finished with a 16-10 dual record. “This was kind of a preview of our district meet in a couple weeks, so it was nice to swim in this pool again. I am excited for the guys to get some more rest and wear some fast suits. We will finalize our strongest lineup and really push for a district title and getting as many guys to state as possible.
“It will be fun!” he added.