Douglas Miles

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – All season long, Zach Armstrong directed his team to “step up” to the standard that is West High boys’ swimming.

The Trojans rose up on Saturday and delivered a performance befitting one of the best programs in the state.

“Better than last year,” Armstrong said after West scored 181 points and finished second as a team at the boys’ swimming state championships inside the University of Iowa’s Campus Recreation and Wellness Center. “We got more guys qualified into state this year, which is just a testament to how hard they have worked all season and through the offseason. I am really proud of how hard they worked, especially the seniors this year. They really held this team together and worked hard. Proof is in the pudding.”

West High finished well behind Dubuque Hempstead (213.5 points), which was bolstered by wins in both the 200 and 400 freestyle relays on its way to its first state championship in program history.

The runner-up finish was the best for West High since placing second three years ago and is the fourth top-three placement for the Trojans in the last six years.

“It starts with our programs when they are younger,” Armstrong said. “The middle school programs, our clubs, they start them young and then we get them going when they get to high school and we just keep the standard.”

West High opened the meet with a rousing victory as the quartet of sophomore Ethan Landon, junior Winston Fan, senior Hayden Hakes and junior Oliver Mikulski won the 200-yard medley relay in 1:30.48, just 17 hundredths of a second off the Trojans’ state-record pace (1:30.31) from last year’s state meet, which included Fan and Hakes.

It was the fourth time in five years that West won the medley relay at state.

“We’re all excited about it,” Hakes said. “Every work that these guys put in, all that work, it’s pretty motivating to me and the other people. Especially all the guys that want to redo the state championship. Keep winning it year after year. It means a lot to us. We’re very excited to hold up that title.”

An Arizona State signee, Hakes was one of three swimmers named “Swimmer of the Year.”

He collected a pair of individual titles by winning the 200 freestyle in 1:37.29 and then improved on last year’s runner-up finish in the 500 freestyle by vaulting to the coveted top spot of the podium with a victorious time of 4:25.54.

“I’m very happy with it,” Hakes said. “I know I can go faster, but I’m very excited and I think being able to stand on top of the podium again and race the best people in the state of Iowa, it means a lot to me and I think a lot to them, too.”

After not reaching an “A final” – the top eight – in either event last year, Fan posted a pair of third-place finishes in the 100 butterfly (48.93 seconds) and the 100 breaststroke (55.88).

“It means a lot,” Fan said. “These past two years, I have just been swimming hard sometimes the results don’t show like you want to but his year, it finally paid off. God first. Hard work pays off. Just keep swimming.”

Landon also earned a top-three finish in an individual event when he swam a time of 50.38 in the 100 backstroke.

West High closed the meet by placing second in the 400 freestyle relay as Mikulski, Landon, Fan and Hakes combined for a time of 3:05.76.

Newton’s Finn Martin – the youngest brother of former West swimming standouts Oliver, Ruby and Scarlet Martin – collected a pair of titles in the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle and shared the “Swimmer of the Year” honors with Hakes and Parker Macho of Linn-Mar, who won the 200 individual medley and the 100 butterfly crowns.

Iowa City High finished 21st in the team standings with 25 points, highlighted by two trips to the podium by Philip Berry-Stoelzle.

The Little Hawks’ junior placed sixth in the 200 freestyle (1:42.67) and seventh in the 100 (46.53).

Iowa Campus and Recreation Center in Iowa City

Team scores – 1. Dubuque Hempstead 213.5; 2. Iowa City West 181; 3. Waukee 177.50; 4. Linn-Mar 172; t5. Waukee Northwest 152; t5. Cedar Falls 152; 7. Sioux City 123; 8. Bettendorf 112; 9. Pleasant Valley 98; 10. West Des Moines Valley 92, 11. Dubuque Senior 88; 12. Cedar Rapids Washington 77; t13. West Des Moines Dowling 67; t13. Ankeny 67; 15. Boone 64; 16. Ottumwa 60; 17. Newton 58; 18. Carroll 51; 19. Southeast Polk 50; 20. Lewis Central 32; 21. Iowa City High 25; 22. Ames 24; 23. Grinnell 19; 24. Waterloo Swim Team 15.

200 medley relay – 1. Iowa City West (Ethan Landon, Winston Fan, Hayden Hakes, Oliver Mikulski), 1:30.48; 2. Cedar Falls, 1:34.23; 3. Waukee Northwest, 1:34.77; 17. Iowa City High (Philip Berry-Stoelzle, Drew Brown, Woodbury Rogers, Braydon Calonder), 1:40.95.

200 freestyle – 1. Hayden Hakes (Iowa City West), 1:37.29; 2. Teagen Renze (Carroll), 1:38.48; 3. Hudson Huberg (Linn-Mar), 1:38.74; 6. Philip Berry-Stoelzle (Iowa City High), 1:42.67.

200 individual medley – 1. Parker Macho (Linn-Mar), 1:48.46; 2. Andrew Seifert (Cedar Rapids Washington), 1:48.69; 3. John Trosper (Waukee), 1:51.97.

50 freestyle – 1. Finn Martin (Newton), 20.19; 2. Isaac Clark (Boone), 20.63; 3. Owen Leitzen (Dubuque Hempstead), 20.81; 7. Oliver Mikulski (Iowa City West), 21.42.

100 butterfly – 1. Parker Macho (Linn-Mar), 47.97; 2. Dylan Alt (Waukee Northwest), 48.60; 3. Winston Fan (Iowa City West), 48.93; 14. Ethan Landon (Iowa City West), 52.03.

100 freestyle – 1. Finn Martin (Newton), 44.64; 2. Hudson Huberg (Linn-Mar), 45.47; Kyle Powers (Dubuque Hempstead), 45.73; 7. Philip Berry-Stoelzle (Iowa City High), 46.53.

500 freestyle – 1. Hayden Hakes (Iowa City West), 4:25.54; 2. Wesley Mooney (West Des Moines Dowling), 4:34.49; 3. Will Van Zee (West Des Moines Valley), 4:36.35.

200 free relay – 1. Dubuque Hempstead, 1:23.35; 2. Bettendorf, 1:24.75; 3. Linn-Mar, 1:24.91.

100 backstroke – 1. Dylan Alt (Waukee Northwest), 49.25; 2. Teagen Renze (Carroll), 49.44; 3. Ethan Landon (Iowa City West), 50.38; 13. Oliver Mikulski (Iowa City West), 53.22.

100 breaststroke – 1. Kiefer Roemer (Bettendorf), 53.92; 2. Andrew Seifert (Cedar Rapids Washington), 55.43; 3. Winston Fan (Iowa City West), 55.88.

400 freestyle relay – 1. Dubuque Hempstead, 3:05.04; 2. Iowa City West (Oliver Mikulski, Ethan Landon, Winston Fan, Hayden Hakes), 3:05.76; 3. Linn-Mar, 3:06.51.

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