The seniors on the Ankeny boys’ swimming team celebrated their special night with a dominating victory.
Eighth-ranked Ankeny won all 11 events and rolled to a 132-38 victory over No. 16 Johnston on Thursday at Trail Point Aquatics Center.
It was Senior Night for coach Dustin Rhoads’ team, which improved to 1-2 in the CIML Conference and 5-6 overall. The Dragons’ records dropped to 0-3 and 4-12.
“Senior Night is always special,” said Rhoads. “I have been with these guys for three years and feel very honored and lucky to have been their coach. Thankfully, this was not their final home meet quite yet, but these 10 guys have meant so much to our team and program. They were awesome in the pool! The whole team was motivated to swim fast for the seniors, and it was cool to have a dominant win tonight over a conference rival.”
Seniors Noah Kearney and Bryer Pearson each won two individual events. They also swam on a pair of winning relays.
Kearney captured the 200 individual medley in a time of 2:05.59. He later took the 100 backstroke in 58.06 seconds.
Pearson won the 50 freestyle in 23.35 seconds. He then claimed the 100 butterfly in 51.95.
Kearney and Pearson teamed up with two other seniors, Parker Wilson and Ike Evans, to win the 200 medley relay. The quartet was clocked in 1:43.56.
Another senior, Wilson Pous-Ojeda, won the 200 freestyle in 1:53.67. He also combined with Pearson, Kearney and Evans to win the 200 freestyle relay in a time of 1:33.16.
Senior Sam Howard contributed a pair of second-place finishes in the win. He turned in times of 1:57.03 in the 200 freestyle and 58.41 in the butterfly.
“Each one of these guys has a unique story, and I have spent so much time with them you create special bonds,” Rhoads said. “It was emotional seeing them walk the pool deck as seniors, but I just gave them a hug and thanked them, and told them I was proud of them.”
The other seniors on the team are Michael May, Will Munter, Brandt Remaly and Greyson Sytsma.
“They might not be the fastest team in Ankeny history–which is ok–but I know that they are one of the best TEAMs as a group, and that’s something I’m proud of and will remember about this group,” Rhoads said. “They are awesome humans, and I love them. It was fun to get in the water with them afterwards to celebrate!”
Ankeny also got wins from sophomores Jake Smith and Jack Walsh. Smith won the 100 freestyle in 49.35 seconds and the 100 breaststroke in 1:06.70, while Walsh took the 500 freestyle in 5:14.78.
Walsh earlier placed second in the 200 IM. He was clocked in 2:06.92.
Miles Harbert was the runner-up in both sprint events. He posted times of 23.64 in the 50 freestyle and 52.36 in the 100 freestyle.
Harbert also teamed up with Smith, Pous-Ojeda and Landon Wisehart to win the 400 freestyle relay. The foursome posted a time of 3:28.01.
Ankeny also got a second-place finish from Cael Grubb in the 500 freestyle. He turned in a time of 5:22.46.
“We have plenty of more work to do and season ahead, so we can’t celebrate too much but I’m glad we got to honor our 10 seniors!” Rhoads said.
Ankeny will compete in the Little Hawk Invitational on Saturday at the Mercer Park Aquatic Center in Iowa City, where it will try to win the team title for the fourth straight year.