‘We all stepped up and swam great’: Ankeny ties Dowling for 13th at state meet

Ankeny’s 200 medley relay team walks to the starting blocks prior to the start of its race during the boys’ state swim meet on Saturday at the Campus Recreation & Wellness Center in Iowa City. From left are Finn Stukerjurgen, Bryer Pearson, Brock Peterson and Austin Troyer. The Hawks placed 11th in the event with a time of 1:36.71. (Photo courtesy of Jim Howard)

The Ankeny boys’ swimming team double-placed in two events, scored points in three others and tied for 13th place overall in the state meet on Saturday at the Campus Recreation & Wellness Center in Iowa City.

Tenth-ranked Ankeny finished with 67 points, matching the total of No. 9 Dowling Catholic–its CIML Conference rival. No. 4 Dubuque Hempstead won its first state title with 213.5 points, finishing 32.5 points ahead of No. 6 Iowa City West.

“In general, I am very proud of how our team performed,” said Ankeny senior Finn Stukerjurgen. “It’s a testament to the time we’ve invested in the pool and the weight room together.”

**Ankeny’s Finn Stukerjurgen swims to an eighth-place finish in the 100 backstroke during the state meet on Saturday. He posted a time of 53.22 seconds. (Photo courtesy of Jim Howard)**

Stukerjurgen led the way for Ankeny, placing eighth in the 100 backstroke in a time of 53.22 seconds. Dylan Alt of Waukee Northwest won the event in 49.25.

Stukerjurgen had posted a time of 52.04 during Friday’s preliminaries.

“I’m very happy with how I swam,” said Stukerjurgen. “It was fun to finally break into that ‘A’ final and compete with those top guys.”

**Ankeny’s Finn Stukerjurgen (left) and Brock Peterson dive into the pool at the start of the 200 individual medley during the state meet on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Jim Howard)**

Stukerjurgen earlier placed 10th in the 200 individual medley right behind teammate Brock Peterson, who took ninth in 1:56.23. Stukerjurgen was clocked in 1:56.42, dropping almost a full second off his time from Friday.

Peterson trailed Stukerjurgen by nearly a full second midway through the “B” final. But the senior swam the third leg of the race–the breaststroke leg–in 33.83 seconds to move ahead of his teammate.

“Swimming next to Finn in the IM was one amazing experience for me,” said Peterson. “It felt like it was every day in practice with him just pushing each other faster and faster until the end, and that’s how it ended up being.”

Ankeny’s Brock Peterson hugs teammate Finn Stukerjurgen after the completion of the 200 individual medley on Saturday. Peterson placed ninth in the event with a time of 1:56.23, while Stukerjurgen finished 10th in 1:56.42. (Photo courtesy of Jim Howard)

Parker Macho of Linn-Mar (Marion) won the event in 1:48.46. He edged Andrew Seifert of Cedar Rapids Washington by .23 seconds.

Peterson then placed 12th in the 100 butterfly in 51.93 seconds. He had posted a time of 51.86 in Friday’s preliminaries.

“It was a bittersweet meet for me. It was my last meet ever so I just wanted to enjoy it,” Peterson said. “I didn’t drop time in my events, but it was a good way to go out. I’m definitely satisfied with my swims, and I can walk out happy.”

**Ankeny’s Bryer Pearson swims to a ninth-place finish in the 100 butterfly on Saturday. He was clocked in 50.36 seconds. (Photo courtesy of Jim Howard)**

Ankeny junior Bryer Pearson took ninth in the butterfly in 50.36. He dropped more than a full second off his time from Friday.

“I was happy with my finals race as a 50.36 is still a great time, but I wish I could have showed some of that time during prelims as my prelims race wasn’t exactly great,” said Pearson. “That ultimately resulted in a ninth-place finish despite my time being the seventh-fastest (overall).”

Linn-Mar’s Macho also won that event in 47.97. Alt was the runner-up in 48.60.

As teammates Brock Peterson (left) and Finn Stukerjurgen look on, Ankeny’s Austin Troyer gets ready to swim the anchor leg of the 200 medley relay at Saturday’s meet. (Photo courtesy of Jim Howard)

Ankeny opened the meet with an 11th-place finish in the 200 medley relay. The foursome of Stukerjurgen, Peterson, Pearson and Austin Troyer was clocked in 1:36.71, dropping more than 2 seconds in the event.

“After the medley, I think everyone knew what was in store for today and we all swam our hearts outs during the remaining individual and relay events,” said Pearson, who swam the butterfly leg in 22.57 seconds, the fourth-fastest split in the race. “I would say we all swam great today.”

**Ankeny’s Finn Stukerjurgen begins the opening leg of the 200 medley relay at Saturday’s meet. (Photo courtesy of Jim Howard)**

Ankeny later ended the meet with a 10th-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay. The team of Pearson, Peterson, Stukerjurgen and Jake Smith posted a time of 3:14.84.

Iowa City West won the medley relay in 1:30.48, finishing nearly 4 seconds ahead of Cedar Falls.

Rhoads switched his lineup around from the district meet, inserting Peterson and Stukerjurgen into the 400 freestyle relay. The Hawks dropped almost 6 seconds off their time, getting a 48.15 split from Peterson on the second leg.

Ankeny’s Brock Peterson gets ready to swim the second leg of the 400 freestyle relay at Saturday’s meet. He helped the Hawks to a 10th-place finish in the event with a time of 3:14.84. (Photo courtesy of Jim Howard)

“I’m super pleased with my relay squads,” Peterson said. “We all stepped up and swam great. I knew the 400 was going to be my last race ever so I just left it all out there.”

Dubuque Hempstead put an exclamation point on its team title by winning the 400 freestyle relay in 3:05.04. Iowa City West was second in 3:05.76.

Ankeny was earlier disqualified in the 200 freestyle relay. The quartet of Troyer, Smith, Noah Kearney and Sam Howard posted a time of 1:29.55, which would have placed 18th overall and would not have scored points anyway.