Newton girls win fifth straight LHC title

INDIANOLA — Harper Barton won four events at the Little Hawkeye Conference meet in all four of her prep seasons.

Barton’s four wins on Tuesday helped the Newton girls swim team claim its fifth straight conference title at the Indianola YMCA.

Tori White also won four events, Reid McCloud secured three wins and a trio of Cardinals were part of two victories as Newton won the meet with 571 points.

Oskaloosa finished second with 444 and Indianola completed the three-team field with 343.

Newton won all three relays, claimed victories in 10 of the 11 events and finished 1-2-3 in the 200-yard freestyle.

“It was an honor to watch the girls succeed in such a way my first season at Newton,” Newton head girls swim coach Kaylee Franke said. “Coach (Sarah) Patterson and coach (Nick) Shelton had tough shoes to fill so sharing in an experience they had both coached them to is an honor. Coach Kara and I were happy to have gotten to experience that with our girls tonight, too.”

Barton and White both were part of the winning 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams.

The 200 freestyle relay team featured Barton, McCloud, Temple Barton and White and they won the race in 1 minute, 44.64 seconds.

Harper Barton was on this winning relay for three of her four seasons, and White and Harper Barton were part of the winning 400 freestyle relay three times as well.

“The 200 freestyle relay team swims well because it’s led well,” Franke said. “Two of our three captains swim on that relay and carry themselves as such, so in reflection, the two underclassmen match their energy.

“That race is hard for some to stay motivated for since it sits in the middle of the meet but that level of accountability doesn’t allow any of them to check out.”

The 400 freestyle relay team of Temple Barton, Alexa Van Maanen, White and Harper Barton won the race in 4:00.42.

Emalee Weuve, Van Maanen, Julia Nedder and Kimberlee Miller won the 200 medley relay in 2:06.74.

White, McCloud and Harper Barton all won two individual events, while Nedder was an individual LHC winner for the first time in her career.

Harper Barton secured her fourth LHC title in the 100 breaststroke. She won the race in 1:09.84 and Van Maanen was third in 1:20.35.

Harper Barton also won her third LHC title in the 100 freestyle. She posted a winning time of 54.93 seconds and Temple Barton (59.95) was third.

White’s third LHC win in the 100 backstroke was clocked in 1:03.23, but Oskaloosa finished 2-3-4 in the event.

She won the 200 individual medley for the first time in her career, too. White won that race in 2:25.96 and Van Maanen was the runner-up in 2:36.52.

The Cardinals finished 1-2-3 in the 200 freestyle and 1-3-4 in the 100 butterfly.

In the 200 freestyle, McCloud claimed her first LHC title with a time of 2:03.76. Temple Barton (2:11.26) and Weuve (2:20.64) were next in second and third, respectively.

“I knew this was our best lineup for the 200 freestyle so the 1-2-3 finish really was just solidifying what those girls were all already capable of,” Franke said.

Nedder claimed her first LHC title in the 100 butterfly. Her winning time was clocked in 1:09.53, and Peyton Phillips (1:21.51) and Nilaya McConnell (1:25.33) finished third and fourth, respectively.

“The 100 fly was a bit of a wild card for us,” Franke said. “(Nedder) always rises to the occasion and shows great skill in that event. (McConnell) has trained as her counterpart and risen to the occasion many times this season.

“For (Phillips), this is an event she rarely swims. But I always refer to her as a versatile swimmer, specifically for moments like tonight’s third-place finish. The girl can rise to nearly any event.”

McCloud’s third win of the day came in the 500 freestyle. She won her first LHC title in that event with a time of 5:33.02.

Notes: Oskaloosa’s junior varsity won that portion of the meet with 162.5 points. Newton was second with 107.5 points and Indianola scored 96 in third. Jordyn Ryan won the JV 200 freestyle in 3:15.83.