Ankeny sophomore Maggie Blackmore earned a pair of top-eight individual finishes in the Johnston Invitational girls’ swimming meet on Saturday, helping her team to a fifth-place finish overall. She placed seventh in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:03.67 and finished sixth in the 100 freestyle in 57.69 seconds.
Blackmore anchored Ankeny to a third-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay. She also swam on the Hawkettes’ fourth-place 400 freestyle relay.
Blackmore is currently ranked eighth in the state in the 500 freestyle, 32nd in the 200 freestyle, 47th in the 100 butterfly and 48th in the 100 freestyle.
Here is some inside info on Blackmore:
How is the season going thus far?
I think this season is going great not just for me but as a whole team. We’ve faced some tough teams and seeing everyone still put up great times and work together as a team is so fun to see especially during mid-season.
You had three meets this last week in a span of five days. Are you feeling pretty tired?
Yeah, having three meets in one week is definitely tiring, especially this far into the season. But it’s also pretty fun because I love meet days and getting that many opportunities to race new girls in one week is exciting.
Do you like competing that much, or do you think a little more practice time would be beneficial?
I do love competing, but I think when regionals and state are so close having more practice time would definitely be good for the team. It’s hard to manage recovering from so many meets while also needing to work hard in practice.
I know you’ve been swimming your off events these last few meets. Do you like taking a break from your normal events?
It’s fun getting to try new things and get some variety for sure, but I love swimming the 500 and 200 freestyle so I can perfect the little things before the big meets at the end of the season, too.
Do you think the sport of swimming is more challenging physically or mentally?
Swimming is so demanding both physically and mentally. In practice it’s much harder physically, but on meet days it’s hard to stay in a positive mindset before or after a rough race and still needing to keep your composure for your team and on relays, so I think both are equally hard but I personally lean more toward mental.
When did you first start swimming, and what did you like about the sport?
I started swimming competitively when I was 13 which is a little late compared to most of the other girls I swim with, but I really loved the team aspect. The club I started on made the sport fun, and I quickly made a lot of close friends.
Have you played any other sports?
When I was younger I played a lot of different sports, but I never considered any of them as seriously as swimming. I liked volleyball and basketball, but they didn’t stick like how swimming did.
Your team began the week with a 132-54 loss on Tuesday to top-ranked Dowling Catholic, the fourth top-10 opponent that you’ve faced this season, and then you saw the Maroons again at the Johnston Invitational. Do you think Dowling is the best of the teams that you’ve competed against?
Yes, Dowling is definitely a great team. They have a ton of great girls and great depth, and is in my opinion the best team we’ve swam against this year. But other teams like Waukee Northwest and Cedar Falls were also some tough (opponents) to swim against.
You posted an automatic state qualifying time of 5:15.38 in the 500 freestyle during a meet at Johnston on Sept. 30. How fast do you think you can swim that event by the end of the season?
I’m super proud of that time, and it’s exciting to drop 7 seconds in a dual meet because you don’t get to see that often so I’ll still be happy with whatever time I end up going. I don’t want to put limits on myself before those big races. I am hoping to drop .39 seconds at state so I can get my sectionals cut, though.
I know it’s early, but are you planning to swim in college, and have you looked at any schools yet?
I’ve definitely been thinking about it more and more as the season progresses, and it’s definitely a goal of mine. I haven’t looked at any specific schools, but I have been keeping an eye on the times that DII and DI schools go to give myself a good idea of what schools to look at in the future.
Do you know what you want to study?
I know I want to do something where I can meet new people all the time so I’d like to do something in the medical field. I am really interested in dentistry.