The Boone girls’ swimming and diving team claimed the North Central Conference championship Friday, October 23, at Grinnell, winning the team title with 398 points and finishing well ahead of runner-up Decorah’s 326 points.
The remaining team scores were Grinnell (242), Newton (205), Oskaloosa (165) and Williamsburg (44).
“Today was certainly a testament to our depth,” said head coach Chris Mann. ” Our varsity girls put in 33,000 yards of pretty tortuous practices this week and then were asked to show up and perform at a high level.”
“They showed their grit, with a ton of podium finishes,” he said.
The Toreadors dominated the 100-yard backstroke, sweeping the top three positions.
Avery Howie won the conference championship in 1:03.01, followed by Makenzie Klatt in second at 1:05.15 and Lilli Lucht in third at 1:05.20.
“We drove the nail in the coffin with a 1-2-3 sweep of the 100 backstroke,” Mann said.
Another of Boone’s conference champions came in the 50-yard freestyle, where Aleah Karolus touched the wall first in 24.69 seconds.
Teammates Howie and Sara Gute also scored for Boone with third- and 10th-place finishes, respectively.
Boone’s 400-yard freestyle relay team of Quinn Houston, Howie, Kilee Hughes and Karolus also captured first place in 3:46.60, edging Decorah by just 33-hundredths of a second.
The 100-yard freestyle featured another outstanding Boone effort.
Karolus nearly secured a second individual title, finishing second by just seven-hundredths of a second in 54.02.
Quinn Houston added fourth place, and Makenzie Klatt contributed an eighth-place finish.
The Toreadors continued to score heavily in the 200-yard individual medley, led by Claire Enabnit’s runner-up finish in 2:25.48.
Harper Houston added fourth place in 2:28.34, while Ashlyn Burkhart finished seventh.
Boone followed that with another strong showing in the butterfly.
Ellie Hughes placed second in the 100-yard butterfly in 1:05.94, while Claire Enabnit was third in 1:06.98 and Finley Houser finished eighth.
In the 200-yard freestyle, Boone placed three swimmers in the top seven.
Quinn Houston earned a third-place finish in 2:03.15, Kilee Hughes was fifth in 2:06.91 and Finley Houser took seventh in 2:17.67.
Distance events were also a strength for the Toreadors.
Kilee Hughes placed third in the 500-yard freestyle in 5:44.47, while Morgan Cox finished fourth and Lucy Enabnit added a fifth-place finish.
Boone added more points in the 100-yard breaststroke as Ellie Hughes finished third, Harper Houston took seventh and Lucy Enabnit placed 11th.
Boone’s 200-yard medley relay team of Howie, Ellie Hughes, Houser and Sara Gute placed fourth in 1:58.69.
In the 200-yard freestyle relay, the quartet of Karolus, Houser, Quinn Houston and Ellie Hughes placed fifth in 1:44.89.
In the diving well, Amaya Filipiak placed third in the 1-meter diving competition with a score of 328.25, while Chloey Williams added a fourth-place finish at 285.70 points.
“Today, our depth was just too much for the other teams to overcome,” Mann said.
“I’m proud of our varsity girls, but it is our JV girls who competed in their last meet that were lights out,” he said. “They were going best times all day long, which was fun to showcase their hard work this season.”
Complete results, including JV results, were previously posted to kwbg.com
Boone next competes in the regional state qualifying meets.
The divers compete Thursday, November 5, at the Waukee Natatorium, and the swimmers till compete Saturday, November 7, at the DMACC Ankney Campus Pool.
Teams at the diving meet include Ames, Ankeny, Boone, Des Moines East, Des Moines North, Des Moines Roosevelt, Fort Dodge, Grinnell, Indianola, Iowa City High, Iowa City West, Council Bluffs Lewis Central, Mason City, Newton, Sioux City West, Spencer and Waukett.
Teams at the swimming meet include Ankeny, Boone, Des Moines East, Fort Dodge, Grinnell, Indianola, Iowa City West, Mason City and Spencer
“We are looking forward to the regional meets on Thursday, November 5 for diving and Saturday, November 7 for swimming,” Mann said.
Jill Lutz reporting
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