NCMP finishes third at Waterloo Wahawk Invitational

WATERLOO — Three victories and two meet records highlighted the Newton-Colfax-Mingo-Pella boys swim team on Saturday.

The Cardinals won a pair of relays, Finn Martin finished either first or second in all four of his events and NCMP placed third during the Waterloo Wahawk Invitational.

“We were calling this a tune-up meet because we haven’t seen competition since December 19,” NCMP head boys swim coach Sarah Patterson said. “And we swam really well. We ended up third, but I’m pretty happy with that placing. Overall, a really good meet for everyone.”

Martin’s individual win came in the 100-yard butterfly and he was second in the 50 freestyle. He also was part of the winning 200 and 400 freestyle relays, which also featured meet-record times.

“The highlight of the meet was our two freestyle relays setting meet records,” Patterson said. “The last relay was especially exciting as Finn (Martin) came from behind to touch out the Decorah team. He is such a fierce competitor.”

Decorah won the meet with 344 points. Vinton-Shellsburg/Center Point-Urbana edged NCMP for second with 270 points. The Cardinals were third with 262 and the rest of the six-team field included Spencer (165), Waterloo (155) and Keokuk (77).

The 200 freestyle relay team of Martin, Clay Lamb, Brady Comer and Eli Eekhoff won the race in a meet-record and season-best time of 1 minute, 35.29 seconds. The time also was good enough for top 20 in the state.

The 400 freestyle relay featured Eekhoff, Lamb, MacK Copeland and Martin, and they won the race in a meet-record time of 3:32.86.

The 200 medley relay was third. That foursome featured Drew Fuller, Comer, Eekhoff and Ethan Comer, and they finished in a season-best time of 1:52.88.

“The squad smashed their seed time and everyone swam well,” Patterson said.

Three Cardinals were in the top six in the 100 butterfly. Martin won the race in a career-best time of 54.6 seconds. That’s fast enough for top 20 in the state.

Lamb also placed third in 1:00.66 and Mason Gaulke finished sixth in 1:07.94.

Martin was second in the 50 freestyle in 22.45 and Brady Comer finished fifth in 25.24. Martin’s time also ranks in the top 20 in the state.

“The 50 freestyle saw a tight race,” Patterson said. “There was a big technical difficulty and a 10-minute break right before the swim, which rattled Finn a bit. He is only a freshman and is learning a lot as a competitor.

“Finn bounced back in the 100 fly with a personal-best time and teammates Clay Lamb and Mason Gaulke also made podium.”

The next best individual finishes came from Gaulke and Copeland. Gaulke was third in the 200 individual medley with a career-best time of 2:24.97 and Copeland finished third in the 500 freestyle in 6:06.27. Skylar Martinez-Gilbert gave the Cardinals two podium finishes in the 500 free as he was sixth in a career-best 6:49.39.

“Skylar Martinez-Gilbert had the meet of a lifetime, dropping 12 seconds from his 200 freestyle and 25 seconds in his 500 free,” Patterson said. “And, he was sixth in the 500 freestyle and made podium. We were so proud of him.”

Eekhoff was fifth in the 100 freestyle with a season-best time of 52.84 seconds, Fuller placed fifth in the 100 backstroke with a career-best 1:06.64 and Ethan Comer took sixth in the 100 breaststroke in 1:14.14.

Lamb (2:05.19) and Copeland (2:14.47) were seventh and eighth, respectively, in the 200 freestyle.

“(Fuller) is so powerful, and we keep working on the finesse parts of swimming,” Patterson said. “Brady Comer finished first in the 100 breaststroke but was called for a false start. He looked great, and we’d rather have a misstep at this meet than later in the season. His freshman brother, Ethan, placed sixth and made podium, which was great.”