Ankeny senior Bryer Pearson earned a spot on the awards podium in his final boys’ high school state swimming meet.
Pearson placed third in the 100 butterfly on Saturday at the University of Iowa’s Campus Recreation & Wellness Center. He set a personal record of 49.60 after breaking the 50-second mark for the first time during Friday’s preliminaries, when he was clocked in 49.84.
“Finally dropping below 50 was definitely a surreal moment for me and a great way to end my high school career,” said Pearson.
Parker Macho of Linn-Mar (Marion) won the event in 46.58. He broke his own state record of 46.74 that he set on Friday, when he eclipsed the previous mark of 46.89 that had been held by Ankeny’s Lance Swanepoel since 2023.
Pearson helped Ankeny to a 17th-place finish overall. Coach Dustin Rhoads’ team scored 51 points.
“We had a great meet,” said Rhoads. “I am really proud of the guys for how they competed and represented Ankeny. I’ve said it before–this was not the fastest team ever, but they were a team that improved and had fun, and they swam fast when it mattered most. They are great teammates and great human beings.”
Iowa City West captured the crown with 224 points, edging runner-up Linn-Mar by four points. The Lions won the the 400 freestyle relay to close out the meet, but West earned a fourth-place finish in the event to secure the team title.
The Ankeny foursome of Pearson, Jake Smith, Miles Harbert and Wilson Pous-Ojeda posted a time of 3:13.63 that would have placed ninth in that event, but the squad was disqualified.
“The 400 free relay had an unfortunate ending, but that’s just how swimming is,” Pearson said. “It is full of highs and lows.”
Rhoads was not happy about the disqualification. Last year, his team was DQ’d in the 200 freestyle relay.
“We should have finished even higher in the team standings, but had an unfortunate relay DQ which was a horrible call by the officials,” Rhoads said. “It was very disappointing, but that wasn’t going to define our meet. The guys left it all in the pool and did their best. That’s all we can ask for.”
Ankeny had a few highlights on Saturday. Senior Noah Kearney placed ninth in the 200 individual medley with a time of 1:57.81.
Kearney dropped more than a full second off his preliminary time from Friday.
“I thought my ninth-place finish was a great way to close out my high school swimming career along with my two relays,” said Kearney.
Jack Walsh added a 14th-place finish in the IM. He was clocked in 2:00.56.
Smith, meanwhile, competed in a pair of “B” finals. After placing 15th in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:46.54, he took ninth in the 500 freestyle in 4:45.38.
Smith’s time in the 500 freestyle was faster than the 4:51.43 that was recorded by Luka Fisher of Waukee Northwest, who swam in the “A” final and placed eighth overall.
Ankeny’s other individual competitor on Saturday was freshman Logan Shwery in the 50 freestyle paralympic event. He placed fifth with a time of 59.08 seconds.
Ankeny opened the meet with an 11th-place finish in the 200 medley relay. The team of Kearney, Landon Wisehart, Pearson and Harbert posted a time of 1:38.93.
Iowa City West won the event in 1:31.14, finishing .39 seconds ahead of Linn-Mar.
“We were definitely happy with our time in the medley,” Pearson said. “Everyone gave their all, and we kept up with the best in the state.”
Kearney later teamed up with Smith, Ike Evans and Sam Howard to place 19th in the 200 freestyle relay. Ankeny was clocked in 1:30.18.
Iowa City West also won that relay in 1:24.23.
“I think our relay times were very good for the end of our season, and we all gave it everything that we had to get the best splits that we could!” Kearney said.
Rhoads will now have to replace 10 seniors. Evans, Howard and Pous-Ojeda are among those who will graduate along with Kearney and Pearson.
“I’m lucky I got to coach this group,” Rhoads said. “I will miss the seniors I have been with for three years. They left the program in a great place, and the future is bright for the ones returning and coming up.”
