There wasn’t much pressure Tuesday on the Ankeny girls’ swimming team.
So coach Dustin Rhoads and his swimmers decided to have some fun in their home dual meet against top-ranked Dowling Catholic.
“It was good to be back home competing. We enjoyed hosting Dowling,” Rhoads said after his No. 7 squad dropped a 132-54 decision at Trail Point Aquatics Center. “We had fun with it and swam some different things. Obviously, they are No. 1 for a reason with a very deep and talented team. It has been a tough stretch for us, but again I am proud of this group for how they are competing and growing.”
The Maroons won every event and swept the top three places in three of them. They clinched at least a tie for the CIML Conference dual-meet title, improving to 5-0 in the league and 33-2 overall.
Ankeny’s records dropped to 0-5 and 4-6. It was the team’s fourth loss to a top-10 opponent since Sept. 16.
“We are only getting better from all of these experiences racing the top teams in the state!” Rhoads said. “I have seen a lot of improvements in the little details that don’t always show up on the scoreboard right away, but will by the end of the season.”
Ankeny’s best event on Tuesday was the 100 butterfly, where it outscored the Maroons by a 9-7 margin. Maggie Blackmore placed second in the event with a time of 1:03.68, Hayden Ocheltree was third in 1:04.55, and Piper Hedrick finished fourth in 1:05.73.
Madi Trosper placed second in the 100 backstroke in 1:06.28. Allie Kearney was the runner-up in the 100 breaststroke in 1:16.24.
Charlie Villhauer took third in a pair of events. She posted times of 2:21.77 in the 200 individual medley and 56.10 in the 100 freestyle.
Ankeny also got a third-place finish from Kambelle Subbert in the diving event. She posted a score of 200.95 points.
The Hawkettes opened the meet with a second-place finish in the 200 medley relay. The foursome of Trosper, Kearney, Villhauer and Blackmore was clocked in 1:58.11.
Ankeny also took second in the 200 freestyle relay. The team of Trosper, Abigail Brugman, Blackmore and Villhauer posted a time of 1:44.81.
“We have a couple weeks to go to keep putting in hard work to prepare us for the end of the season and the fun and fast swimming!” Rhoads said.
The Hawkettes will host the Ankeny Quadrangular on Thursday against Des Moines Roosevelt, Indianola and Newton. They will then compete in the Johnston Invitational on Saturday.
“We are excited to host this four-team meet in our home pool!” Rhoads said. “It’s another chance for these kids to compete and swim some different events all together as a big team. There’s only a few of those meets left as we near the end.”
