Waukee Boys' Swimmers Retain Top 10 Ranking as Season Heats Up

Submitted by Daniel Briggs, Waukee High School Head Boys' Swimming Coach

The 2012 season came to a strong close as the No. 7-ranked Warriors gave No. 4-ranked Valley a great run as both teams performed their highest power point totals for the season. This has opened up the door for 2013 to really be something special for the WHS Boys Swim Team.

The Warriors capped off a great first half of the season with a 4-3 dual meet record and won both invitationals (Boone and Husky-Bear).

"I really thought before the season started up that we had some opportunities to compete with the teams that normally could have left their varsity team at home and we would have struggled to beat their JV teams. Dowling right out of the shoot is not what anyone dreams of, but we gave them a solid run and actually had a couple of chances to win a thriller. Johnston and Valley have a solid core of returning state qualifiers, and like us, Valley has a strong showing from their freshman class. With quality wins over DM Lincoln, Newton, Grinnell, and Fort Dodge, our team was right where I had predicted before the season's start and the Invite titles added a great feeling of accomplishment as we defended our title at the Husky-Bear and won the Boone Invite for our first time at this meet."

During a snowy break, the boys completed nearly 40,000 yards in 5 days as well as 10 hours of grueling "dryland" that makes even some of the most intense programs out there seem easy.

The team is winding down to the last push of the regular season and will be beginning the championship portion of the season at Johnston on Saturday, January 19 at Johnston and at home on Monday, January 21 with the JV Conference Meet.

The Warriors have plenty to prove in the upcoming weeks until that point with dual meets with SE Polk (1/10) and Ankeny (1/15). The Warriors will also be trying to retain their crown at the SE Polk Invite (1/12) as well as another great finish at the Johnston Invite (1/5).

To finish out the dual meet season with SE Polk and Ankeny, this will determine the CIC East Divisional Champion.

Against SE Polk, the Warriors are starting a new "Swim For The Cure" theme that will hopefully be an annual event offered as the two teams will be facing each other a lot being conference foes.

There are lots of ways businesses and individuals will get an opportunity to help out for the tremendous cause. We will have a "Chuck-A-Duck" competition where spectators and swimmers can purchase a rubber duck that will be tossed into a ring for the chance at the grand prize as well as numbered ducks that may have a random prize attached to them as well. Businesses may "sponsor" a race and will have their name of business announced and scrolled on the video/scoreboard.

Another option is to donate to have a list of survivors or loved ones remembered on the board as well throughout the meet. The last detail to the meet is that the scoreboard will be lit up pink and white all night with events, names, placings, and times for the duration of the meet.

"If we can finish the season out barring sickness and other causes keeping our swimmers out of the pool, we will see some great things in the championship portion of the season. We have never stayed in the top ten as a team as long as we have this season and many events are still in the top 24 going into the last half of the season. We should have a lot of chances to make events into state and compete with many teams to stay a top ten contender even at the state meet. Our seniors are the driving force of this years squad, but are getting a lot of help from this years freshman class too. The veterans in the sophomore and junior classes are adding the powerful depth we need to be competitive with the top tier teams this season."

If you are interested in hearing more about the SE Polk Dual meet (Swim For The Cure), please contact Dan Briggs at dbriggs@waukee.k12.ia.us.