Aquagirls capture 2nd straight LHC title

INDIANOLA — Fast times at Indianola Y.

NCMP’s Aquagirls recorded some of their fastest times of the season Tuesday night in defending their Little Hawkeye Conference swimming championships — varsity and junior varsity. The Aquagirls competed against Grinnell, Oskaloosa and host Indianola at the Indianola YMCA.

NCMP’s varsity set it’s sights on repeating as LHC champions and to do so it had to get past Indianola, a team which narrowly beat NCMP at the Southeast Polk Ram Relays this season. Mission accomplished by scoring 365 points to win as Indianola was second with 346 points.

We had a great meet last night. The girls were super pumped up and ready to take on rival Indianola,” NCMp head coach Sarah Patterson said. “They had beaten us by four points and one point earlier in the year, so we wanted to win this title. We wore fake tattoos and took the pool by storm.”

Grinnell finished third with 229 and Oskaloosa had 137 points for fourth. The Aquagirls won seven swimming events in the varsity division.

It was the first meet where I felt the whole team was performing to a top level,” Patterson said. “The coaches were so proud of these ladies.”

The NCMP junior varsity won the LHC division for the second straight year. It also won seven races on its way to 336 team points. Indianola was second with 318 followed by Grinnell with 113 points and Oskaloosa with 48 points.

Junior Lindsey Blommers was a double individual LHC champion. She defended her 100-yard breaststroke title in dominating fashion, 1 minute, 8.49 seconds, as the second-place finisher touched in 1:12.58. NCMP’s sophomore Allison Paulius took fourth in 1:16.63.

Blommers claimed the conference title in the 200 individual medley in 2:22.3. Paulius was sixth in 2:36.89.

Junior Alex Inskeep is the 2017 LHC 200 freestyle champion in leading a 1-2-3 finish for the Aquagirls. She won in 2:10.46 followed by teammates Natalie Boll, a freshman, and senior Jessica Zahn in 2:11.63 and 2:11.97, respectively.

Natalie Boll and Zahn were first and second in the 500 freestyle race in 5:50.83 and 5:5791, respectively. Sophomore Courtney Dawson placed fifth in 6:22.09.

Senior Jaclyn Michener won the conference title in the 50 freestyle race in 28.14. Junior Rachel Boll was third in 27.52 and freshman Makenna Brooks took fifth in 28.07 seconds.

“We won both the varsity and junior varsity 50 freestyle. It was so fun to see Jaclyn fired up. She is pretty low key — but she was on fire Tuesday night,” Patterson said. “Abbie Hill won the junior varsity race.”

Michener combined with Blommers, Zahan and Inskeep to capture the 200 freestyle relay title in 1:46.76. The Aquagirls ended the conference meet with a winning time of 3:57.12 in the 400 freestyle relay with the foursome of Natalie Boll, Zahn, junior Lakin Jenkins and Inskeep.

Jenkins took second in the 100 freestyle race in 58.98 seconds and Inskeep was fifth in 1:00.43. Jenkins placed third in the 100 backstroke in 1:04.90 and Rachel Boll was fifth in 1:08.92.

NCMP’s 200 medley relay team of Jenkins, Blommers, Brooks and Michener was second in 2:00.22.

Brooks, freshman Chloe Kibbee and sophomore Abbie Hill went 3-4-5 in the 100 butterfly. Brooks touched third in 1:09.21 as Kibbee edged out Hill for fourth, 1:13.25 to 1:13.69.

NCMP’s junior varsity team of Rachel Boll, Paulius, Kibbee and Hill won its division’s 200 medley relay in 2:07.48. The Aquagirls’ junior varsity was second in the 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle relays.

NCMP junior varsity individual winners were junior Liv Barnes in the 200 freestyle, Hill in the 50 freestyle, senior Janna Balek in the 100 butterfly, senior Sarah Urias in the 100 freestyle, junior Mariah Petro in the 500 freestyle and junior Harley Neal in the 100 breaststroke.

“Liv started the meet by winning the 200 freestyle for the junior varsity. It was an event she hadn’t swam this year,” Patterson said. “She was nervous, but I knew she would put down a good performance.  Mariah Petro dropped four seconds from her time and placed third. Mariah also won the junior varsity 500 freestyle 500 and dropped eight seconds.”

Patterson said Balek’s winning time in the junior varsity butterfly was her personal best. She said the Aquagirls — both varsity and junior varsity — saw drops in times and had great swims across the board.

“This was a meet we needed as we head down the home stretch of the season,” Patterson said.

The Aquagirls turn things around for the 2017 North Central Iowa Conference championships on Saturday at Decorah. Races begin at 1 p.m. at Luther College.

2017 Little Hawkeye Conference

Swim Meet

Varsity

Team scores: NCMP 365, Indianola 346, Grinnell 229, Oskaloosa 137.

200-yd medley relay: 2. NCMP (Lakin Jenkins, Lindsey Blommers, Makenna Brooks, Jaclyn Michener), 2:00.22

200-yd freestyle: 1. Alex Inskeep, 2:10.46, 2. Natalie Boll, 2:11.63, 3. Jessica Zahn, 2:11.97.

200-yd IM: 1. Blommers, 2:22.33, 6. Allison Paulius, 2:36.89.

50-yd freestyle: 1. Michener, 27.14, 3. Rachel Boll, 27.52, 5. Brooks, 28.07.

100-yd butterfly: 3. Brooks, 1:09.21, 4. Chloe Kibbee, 1:13.25, 5. Abbie Hill, 1:13.69.

100-yd freestyle: 2. Jenkins, 58.98, 5. Inskeep, 1:00.43.

500-yd freestyle: 1. Natalie Boll, 5:50.83, 2. Zahn, 5:57.91, 5. Courtney Dawson 6:22.09.

200-yd freestyle relay: 1. NCMP (Blommers, Zahn, Michener, Inskeep), 1:46.76.

100-yd backstroke: 3. Jenkins, 1:04.90, 5. Rachel Boll, 1:08.92.

100-yd breaststroke: 1. Blommers, 1:08.49, 6. Paulius, 1:16.63.

400-yd freestyle relay: 2. NCMP (Natalie Boll, Zahn, Jenkins, Inskeep), 3:57.12.

Junior Varsity

Team scores: NCMP 336, Indianola 318,, Grinnell 113, Oskaloosa 48.

200-yd medley relay: 1. NCMP (Rachel Boll, Paulius, Kibbee, Hill), 2:07.48

200-yd freestyle: 1. Liv Barnes, 2:27.14, 3. Mariah Petro, 2:36.26.

200-yd IM: 2. Bri Teague, 2:55.08.

50-yd freestyle: 1. Hill, 29.36, 2. Emma Thomas, 29.37, 3. Sarah Urias, 29.76

100-yd butterfly: 1. Janna Balek, 1:18.86, 2. Jaden Hobbs, 1:223.16.

100-yd freestyle: 1. Urias, 1:06.31, 2. Thomas, 1:07.70, 4. Barnes, 1:08.45.

500-yd freestyle: 1. Petro, 6:59.78, 3. Jordon Pritchard, 7:34.60.

200-yd freestyle relay: 2. NCMP (Urias, Dawson, Hill, Natalie Boll), 1:56.98.

100-yd backstroke: 2. Molly Coy, 1:19.04, 3. Camilla Schlosser, 1:19.70, 6. Pritchard, 1:35.06.

100-yd breaststroke: 1. Harley Neal, 1:26.33, 3. Molly Lamb, 1:35.65, 4. Delaney Nasalroad, 1:35.93

400-yd freestyle relay: 2. NCMP (Brooks, Erika Van Sickle, Rachel Boll, Michener), 4:11.57.

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