March 18, 2024

NCMP’s Blommers wins 100-yd breaststroke on a record swim at Valley’s Tiger Tanker

WEST DES MOINES — Setting team records early in the season in the 100-yard breaststroke pushed NCMP sophomore Lindsey Blommers to a new goal. She decided on seeing how much she can lower her mark in the event.

Blommers shaved two seconds off her NCMP record in winning the 100 breaststroke race at Saturday’s West Des Moines Valley High Tiger Tanker. Blommers’ winning time of 1 minute 7.41 seconds was three seconds ahead of the entire field of swimmers at the invitational meet.

Blommers broke the long-standing NCMP breaststroke record on Sept. 1 at Grinnell then a week later lowered her own record to 1:09.45 at Ankeny Centennial. Saturday’s time moved Blommers from 11th to fifth in the breaststroke rankings.

“Lindsey looked smooth and comfortable the whole race,” NCMP head coach Sarah Patterson said. “We will keep training and working on race strategy. She is very coachable and fun to have in the pool.”

The 100 breaststroke win by Blommers was NCMP’s only win of the day in a meet with three of the top 10 teams in the Iowa power rankings. Third-ranked Waukee squeezed past fifth-ranked Dowling Catholic for the meet title, 408-399. Sixth-ranked Valley was third with 374 points.

Atlantic, which is ranked 22nd, was fourth with 229 points and 25th-ranked Council Bluffs Lewis Central had 203 points for fifth. Fifteenth-ranked Linn-Marr was sixth with 184 points and Spencer was seventh with 140 points.

NCMP’s Aquagirls scored 119 points for eighth place. Sioux City Metro was ninth with 95 points. The Aquagirls are ranked 33rd in the state power rankings.

“Our band kids had to leave half way through the meet, so our goal was to beat one team.  We accomplished our goal and swam hard as a team,” Patterson said.

Opening Saturday’s competition, the Aquagirls’ foursome of Lakin Jenkins, Blommers, Emily Miller and Sarah Prendergast claimed a fifth-place finish in the 200 medley relay in a season’s-best 1:58.82. Later in the meet, Jessica Zahn teamed up with Blommers, Jenkins and Prendergast for seventh place in the 200 freestyle relay race in 1:49.74.

NCMP’s relays placed in the top 10 in all three. It finished the meet with an eighth-place swim in the 400 freestyle relay in 4:10.18 by the team of Zahn, Jaclyn Michener, Willa Colville and Prendergast.

Miller placed ninth in the 100 butterfly race in 1:06.34 while Jenkins was 14th in 1:08.99 and Courtney Dawson finished 22nd in 1:16.11. In the 100 breaststroke race, Allison Paulius was 16th in 1:20.36 and Erika Van Sickle placed 21st in 1:26.45.

Blommers turned in a 10th-place time in the 200 individual medley race in 2:26.35. Miller was 20th in 2:36.17 and Zahn took 24th in 2:40.38. Jenkins finished 16th in the 100 backstroke in 1:10 followed by Sarah Urias in 22nd in 1:17.71 and Camilla Scholsser in 24th in 1:23.62.

Alex Inskeep was 15th in 100 freestyle race in 1:01.34, Colville finished 19th in 1:02.79 and Michener took 24th in 1:04.25. Schlosser placed 18th in the 50 freestyle in 29.51 seconds followed by Abbie Hill in 20th at 30.01 seconds and Urias in 21st in 30.26 seconds.

Prendergast touched 15th in the 500 freestyle race in 5:48.67, which was a personal best time. Zahn was 18th in 6:04.51, and Emma Thomas was 26th in 6:46.62. in the 200 freestyle, Inskeep placed 19th in 2:16.37 in front of teammate Dawson in 2:16.75 and Van Sickle was 23rd in 2:20.23.

NCMP swims at home for the final time at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. It is Senior Night for the Aquagirls, who host Perry and Oskaloosa at the Newton YMCA.

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535
or jsheets@newtondailynews.com