Depth guides NCMP to narrow win over Des Moines Lincoln

DES MOINES — The Aquagirls and Des Moines Lincoln battled all the way to the final event on Thursday.

The Newton-Colfax-Mingo-Pella girls’ swim team was tied with the Railsplitters with three events to go but pulled away with strong showings in the 100-yard backstroke, 100 breaststroke and 400 freestyle relay.

NCMP wound up winning 93-83 on the road despite being outscored by six in diving.

“We had a super fun meet swimming against Des Moines Lincoln,” NCMP head coach Sarah Patterson said. “We haven’t had a barn burner like that in years. It was so much fun — I felt like I was 25 again.

“Very proud of this team effort. It took every single place and every single swimmer to get this win.”

Lincoln won six of the 11 varsity events, but NCMP’s depth was too much in the end.

Lillie Ray and Peyton Ray both were part of three wins and Maylei Ruggles scored wins in two events.

While Lincoln won six events, the Aquagirls were 1-3-4 in the 50 freestyle and 2-3-4 in both the 100 backstroke and 100 breaststroke.

The Aquagirls won the 200 and 400 freestyle relays and went 2-3 in the 200 medley relay.

In the 200 freestyle relay, Harper Barton, Peyton Ray, Paige Benson and Lillie Ray won the race in 1 minute, 46.01 seconds. The team of Skyler Gooden, Hailey Dickerson, Izzy Lane and Addison Van Maanen finished third in 1:53.9.

The winning team in the 400 freestyle relay included Lillie Ray, Peyton Ray, Van Maanen and Ruggles and they hit the wall in 3:52.3. Lane, Dickerson, White and Alex Riney finished third in 4:06.79.

“Lillie Ray’s lead-off leg was so strong in the (400 freestyle relay) that it put us in a really good position,” Patterson said. “She’s such a fun swimmer to watch and she really motivates teammates.”

White, Barton, Lillie Ray and Ruggles were second in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:57.5. The third-place team featured Riney, Estella Allen, Lane and Benson and they were clocked in 2:06.7.

Lincoln won the event with a time of 1:55.29.

“The meet started with Lincoln winning the medley relay by over two seconds,” Patterson said. “But, we just kept pushing ourselves and keeping our nose to the grindstone.

“Honestly, that’s what I was most impressed with. We never gave up and just kept grinding all the way until the last relay.”

The individual wins by NCMP came from Lillie Ray in the 50 freestyle, Peyton Ray in the 100 freestyle and Ruggles in the 100 butterfly.

Lillie Ray won the 50 freestyle in 25.97 seconds but Barton (26.57) and Benson (27.83) finished 3-4, respectively.

Peyton Ray won the 100 freestyle in 57.83, but Lincoln gained valuable points in second and third. Van Maanen was fourth in 1:00.95.

“(Peyton Ray) was so determined to win that I could see it from the pool deck,” Patterson said.

Ruggles won the 100 fly in 1:06.25 and Lane finished third in a personal-best 1:08.56.

In the 200 freestyle, Peyton Ray was second in 2:06.39. She trailed Lincoln’s Emma Sizemore, who finished in 2:05.10.

In the 200 IM, NCMP was second and third, respectively, with Riney (2:27.63) and Van Maanen (2:28.95). Tori Dudley of Lincoln won the race in 2:26.83.

“Alex Riney and Addison VanMaanen had outstanding swims in the 200 IM and finished with really good times for this point in the season,” Patterson said.

Before the Aquagirls made their final push to the win, Avery Meyer finished third in the 500 freestyle with a personal-best time of 6:05.63. Sizemore won that race, too, in 5:35.92 and the Railsplitters went 1-2.

In the 100 backstroke, Lincoln’s Dudley won the race in 1:04.43, but NCMP finished 2-3-4 with White (1:05.42), Riney (1:07.35) and Ruggles (1:08.76), respectively.

“Our backstrokers went 2-3-4 and even though we didn’t win the event, those were huge points for us,” Patterson said. “The next event, the 100 breaststroke, was the same story. We didn’t win the event, but Harper Barton had another amazing race and almost touched out the Lincoln girl at the end.”

Lincoln’s Haylee Shaffer (1:10.58) edged Barton (1:10.79) for the win in the 100 breaststroke, but Allen (1:18.6) and Ellie Wogen also were third and fourth, respectively.

“Estella Allen and Ellie Wogen earned huge points that we needed going into the last relay,” Patterson said.

The Aquagirls edged Lincoln 9-7 in points in both the 100 backstroke and 100 breaststroke and then finished off the win with a 10-4 surplus in the final relay.

“I think we surprised them,” Patterson said. “It’s a tough time of year where we are still training hard and it’s hard to drop time. But, we looked really good and are definitely working on the back half of our races.”

Notes: Scores were not kept in JV competition, but NCMP continued to dominate. Emily Vander Molen was part of four wins, Gooden won three times and Allen registered two wins. Brilea Moffitt also won the JV 500 freestyle and NCMP was the only team which had swimmers in the JV relays. “If points were kept, we would have won by over 100,” Patterson said.