Newton girls finish third, trail host Tigers by single point at Grinnell College

GRINNELL — Harper Barton hit the state standard swimming qualification in three individual events last year and finished in the top 10 at the state meet in one of them.

And her times in two of those events early in the season are better than what she posted at the start of last year.

That could spell trouble for the rest of her competition, and Barton locked up a standard state qualifying time in the 100-yard freestyle at Grinnell College on Thursday.

“I wanted to qualify in the 50 and 100 because our next two meets are at home and that’s a meter pool and we can’t qualify in those meets,” Barton said. “I want to get those qualified early so the pressure is off the rest of the season.

“I know I’ve prepared and done the work so now it’s time to perform.”

The Newton girls swim team won four events in the meet hosted by Grinnell/BGM/Baxter, and Barton claimed three of them.

The Cardinals were third in the four-team field but only trailed the hosts by one point. Ankeny won the meet with 372 points.

Grinnell/BGM/Baxter finished second with 342 points, Newton was third with 341 and Indianola placed fourth with 128.

The Cardinals were one point back of Grinnell mostly because the Tigers finished 1-2-3 in diving, an event Newton doesn’t participate in.

“We can’t even compete in one of the events they had tonight and still came within one point of second,” Newton head girls swimming coach Kaylee Franke said. “That tells me that if it’s swimmer against swimmer we’re exactly where we need to be.”

Ankeny won five events but its depth pushed the Hawks to an easy win. They finished 1-2-4 in the 100 butterfly, placed 1-3 in the 200 individual medley, 2-3 in the 100 freestyle and 2-4 in the 50 freestyle and tripled up in the 500 freestyle and 100 backstroke.

Barton’s first win came in the 50 freestyle. She won the race in 25.06 seconds, which was .14 seconds off the state qualifying standard time of 24.92.

She also won the 100 freestyle. The state qualifying standard time in that event is 54.55, and Barton won the race in 54.48. Temple Barton took third in 58.79.

“It feels good to know the pressure for that event is off, and the hard work is paying off,” Harper Barton said. “I’m excited for what I can do the rest of the season. I need to work on my under waters, my breakouts and my dive into the pool. I need to keep my head down, too.”

Franke is not surprised Harper Barton is seeing early-season success.

“She’s always going to be the girl who puts in every last effort, and that’s why we see her get to the level she’s at,” Franke said. “(Harper Barton) puts in the pool time I ask of her and more so I’m not all that shocked to see what she’s doing so far. It’s important to highlight that the results come from the work she’s put in. She’s put in the time this summer to excel this much early in the season.”

The other individual win came from Tori White, who won the 100 backstroke in 1:04.2. Ankeny finished 2-3-4 in the event.

The fourth win for the Cardinals came in the final event of the night. Newton won the 400 freestyle relay in 3 minutes, 49.1 seconds with the quartet of Harper Barton, White, Temple Barton and Reid McCloud.

“We tried a new group in the 400 freestyle relay, and that turned out really well,” Harper Barton said. “I don’t know how those will shake out, but the relays looked good today.”

Newton placed second in the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays.

White, Harper Barton, Julia Nedder and Alexa Van Maanen teamed up for second in the 200 medley relay. Their time was clocked in 1:59.81 and Ankeny won the race in 1:57.21.

The 200 freestyle relay team included Van Maanen, Kimberlee Miller, Temple Barton and McCloud and they placed second in 1:51.15. Ankeny’s winning time was 1:46.39.

“I think we’ve started really well,” Franke said. “It’s a good mix of swimmers with a bunch of rookies who are learning the sport, a great middle pack and some high-end performers. I like the rate everyone is growing at.

“I feel like everyone is excelling well within the realm of the sport and where they’re at. We just need to see consistent growth with each meet.”

The other two runner-up finishes were collected by Temple Barton and White.

Temple Barton placed second in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:06.94. Ankeny’s Avery Anderson won the race in 2:05.84.

White and Van Maanen finished 2-4 in the 200 IM. White’s runner-up time was clocked in 2:30.39 and Van Maanen turned in a 2:41.48 in fourth.

Van Maanen also placed third in the 100 breaststroke. She posted a time of 1:20.13.

McCloud grabbed a third-place finish in the 100 butterfly. She finished the race in 1:05.38 and Nedder was fifth in 1:12.1. Ankeny’s Charlie Villhauer won the race in 1:01.54, and the state qualifying standard time is 1:00.19.

“We’ve got some technique things we really need to shape up,” Franke said. “We have some fast girls on this team, but there are races that can come down to a single stroke length so we need to have the longest strokes in the pool and the best breath control. Those are the two key points we need to focus on.”

Grinnell’s 1-2-3 finish in diving was led by Baxter senior Camryn Russell. Her first-place tally totaled 289.3 points.

The defending state diving champion was nearly 65 points better than any other participant in the field.

“This was better than Tuesday’s meet,” said Russell, who is committed to dive at the University of Northern Iowa. “I had one new dive today, but I’m just trying to get back into it. It takes a month to get comfortable again. And I don’t want to be at my best yet anyway.”

Notes: Grinnell/BGM/Baxter won three events on the night. Indianola did not claim a win. ... Russell said she needs to clean up her entries but hopes to set a new pool record this season. The current record is 300.1, and Russell scored as high as 296 last fall. “I have all the pieces,” Russell said. “I just need to put it together.” … While Harper Barton and White are two veterans who are leading in the pool, Franke said she’s getting leadership in other ways from another group of swimmers. “We’ve obviously seen who leads us in the pool, but I’ve also been impressed that we have a couple of girls who are great teammates and are getting our rookies to where they need to be,” Franke said. “They are leading that middle pack. I’ve been impressed with Madison Scott, Emalee Weuve and Brilea Moffitt, and the way they invest in the swimmers around them no matter the level they’re at. That’s a huge part of why we are where we are at this point in the season.” ... Hitting the state standard qualifying time does not guarantee a state berth. Athletes who hit the standard must swim that event and not get disqualified at the regional meet. Swimmers also are only permitted to compete in two individual events at the state meet.