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Douglas Miles

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Byron Butler called it, ‘one of the best sessions that I have ever been a part of’.

Given the fact that the West High boys swimming coach has won one state title as a head coach and two as an assistant with the Trojans, the statement was a mouthful.

“We came in seeded to score like around 200 points,” Butler said after West exploded for 233 points and finished second in the team standings at the boys state swimming championships on Saturday at the University of Iowa Campus Recreation and Wellness Center. “I think that our boys improved on their seeds more than any other school and I just incredibly proud of that. They did so, so great.”

Waukee won five of 11 events, scored 293.5 points and repeated as state champion, its fourth title in the last seven years.

The remarkable performance from West High allowed the Trojans to leapfrog West Des Moines Valley, which finished third with 208.5 points.

“Execution and teamwork,” West High senior Jordan Christensen said. “We were there with each other throughout each and every single race. We started off strong with the medley relay and we continued to move up spots. Whether we were in the ‘B’ final or the ‘A’ final, we just continued to move up spots. I thought our guys did amazing. We had great execution, great determination, dropped some time. We did great.”

Christensen’s 200-yard medley relay description reflected his humble demeanor because the manner in which West High got the state meet started was a stirring reflection of what was to come.

The West High quartet of senior Boyd Skelley, Christensen, sophomore Holden Carter and senior Kirk Brotherton not only helped West High repeat as state champion in the event, it did so with a state-record time of 1:30.87.

The performance – the only state record broken on Saturday – bested the 1:31.58 standard established two years ago by crosstown rival Iowa City High.

“It meant a lot,” Brotherton said. “It has been a goal of ours for several years. We have wanted that record. We have had our eye on it and to go execute and get it done, what more could you ask for?”

Brotherton – an Iowa City Liberty student – closed his high school swimming career in resounding fashion.

In addition to the medley relay state record, Brotherton posted a trio of runner-up finishes.

He started a 200-yard relay foursome (with senior Damon Conzemius, sophomore Max Gerke and Skelley) that placed second in 1:23.22.

As an individual in the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard freestyle, the standout sprinter narrowly missed a state title in both events.

“It was competitive,” said Brotherton, who was 30 hundredths of a second behind Sioux City Metro’s Kohen Rankin in the 50 free and just nine hundredths off the pace won by AJ Abram of Waukee in the 100. “I knew these events were going to be tight and I was going to need to be my best to score well for the team. It is a lot of fun to compete with those guys. They are all insane athletes. Iowa swimming has really taken a leap. It has gotten a lot faster, so I was grateful to be a part of it.”

Christensen also closed in a strong way with a third-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke and seventh in the 200-yard individual medley.

“I was very happy,” Christensen said. “I was really happy about my swims. I moved up some spots in some of my individuals.”

Brotherton, Christensen and Skelley – who was seventh in the 100 free – are three of the 18 seniors that have competed in their last meet for West.

“This year is especially hard just with how many seniors we are losing,” Butler said. “I found myself getting a little emotional at times during the meet. Last swims for some of these guys. Just an incredible group of kids.”

A glimpse of what is to come arrived via robust days from a pair of standout sophomores.

Iowa City Liberty student Holden Carter placed fifth in the 100-yard butterfly and eighth in the 100-yard backstroke, while Max Gerke – a transfer from Iowa City Regina – finished ninth in the 200-yard freestyle.

“I think these guys can go some places, too,” Christensen said. “These underclassmen, they have some great confidence with themselves. They are already fast and I am really happy for what they did today and I am excited to see that they can do.”

Iowa City High – which finished 14th overall with 64 points – was led by sophomore Joe Polyak.

The Iowa City Regina student finished fourth in the 200-yard individual medley in 1:53.12 and sixth in the 100 breaststroke (57.72).

“I was very happy,” Polyak said. “I came in 10th and I improved. That is all I wanted.”

City High junior Kento Yahashiri joined Polyak in the top 10 of the breaststroke standings with a ninth-place finish, while fellow junior John Weigel was 10th in the 100 free.

State Swimming Meet

At University of Iowa Campus Recreation and Wellness Center

Team scores – 1. Waukee 293.5; 2. West High 232; 3. West Des Moines Valley 208.5; 4. Linn-Mar 194; 5. Bettendorf 190; 6. Pleasant Valley 134; 7. Ankeny 119.5; 8. Ames 117.5; 9. Sioux City Metro 103; 10. West Des Moines Dowling 100; 11. Dubuque Hempstead 89; 12. Johnston 82; 13. Davenport Central 71; 14. City High 64; 15. Indianola 27; 16. Spencer 23; 17. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 21; 18. Marshalltown 19.5; 19. Cedar Falls 18.5; 20. Cedar Rapids Washington 14; 21. Vinton-Shellsburg 13; 22. Williamsburg 9; 23. Burlington 8; 24. Decorah 5; 25. Dubuque Senior 4; 25. Grinnell 4; 25. Council Bluffs Lewis Central 4; 28. Cedar Rapids Jefferson 2.

200 medley relay – 1. West High (Boyd Skelley, Jordan Christensen, Holden Carter, Kirk Brotherton) 1:30.87; 2. Waukee 1:32.12; 3. Linn-Mar 1:33.34; 10. City High (John Weigel, Kento Yahashiri, Joe Polyak, Will Larson) 1:36.81.

200 freestyle – 1. AJ Abram (Waukee) 1:36.13; 2. Alex Stone (Bettendorf) 1:37.02; 3. Cooper Callahan (Linn-Mar) 1:38.41; 9. Max Gerke (West High) 1:42.82.

200 IM – 1. Andrew Reiter (Waukee) 1:48.57; 2. Tommy Hancock (West Des Moines Dowling) 1:52.43; 3. Joshua Chen (Ames) 1:53.01; 4. Joe Polyak (City High) 1:53.12; 7. Jordan Christensen (West High) 1:55.28.

50 freestyle – 1. Kohen Rankin (Sioux City Metro) 20.26; 2. Kirk Brotherton (West High) 20.56; 3. Aiden Carstensen (Linn-Mar) 20.87.

100 butterfly – 1. Lance Swanepoel (Ankeny) 48.22.2; 2. Carter Anderson (Bettendorf) 48.88; 3. Kyle Hopewell (Davenport Central) 48.99; 5. Holden Carter (West High) 50.12; 16. Andy Luo (West High) 53.51.

100 freestyle – 1. AJ Abram (Waukee) 44.60; 2. Kirk Brotherton (West High) 44.69; 3. George Holesing (Dubuque Hempstead) 44.87; 7. Boyd Skelley (West High) 47.32; 10. John Weigel (City High) 47.44.

500 freestyle – 1. Jacob Pins (West Des Moines Valley) 4:26.30; 2. Cooper Callahan (Linn-Mar) 4:31.87; 3. James Coffey (Waukee) 4:36.78; 6. Max Gerke (West High) 4:40.11; 13. Lukas Swanson (West High) 4:48.88.

200 freestyle relay – 1. Bettendorf 1:23.09; 2. West High (Kirk Brotherton, Damon Conzemius, Max Gerke, Boyd Skelley) 1:23.22; 3. Waukee 1:23.39; 14. City High (Joe Polyak, Chase Loftus, Will Larson, John Weigel) 1:28.19.

100 backstroke – 1. Asher Havenhill (Waukee) 48.85; 2. Aiden Carstensen (Linn-Mar) 49.48; 3. Ian Steffen (Linn-Mar) 50.17; 8. Holden Carter (West High) 51.94; 15. Boyd Skelley (West High) 53.30.

100 breaststroke – 1. Kohen Rankin (Sioux City Metro) 53.19; 2. Joshua Chen (Ames) 54.65; 3. Jordan Christensen (West High) 55.66; 6. Joe Polyak (City High), 57.72; 9. Kento Yahashiri (City High) 59.36.

400 freestyle relay – 1. Waukee 3:03.91; 2. Bettendorf 3:04.00; 3. Linn-Mar 3:04.11; 4. West High (Max Gerke, Holden Carter, Jordan Christensen, Damon Conzemius) 3:08.21.

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