Little Hawk swimmers surge back to state

MARSHALLTOWN – A year ago, the girls' swimming state championships were completely void of Iowa City High representation.

This time, the Little Hawks are bringing a crew.

City High seniors Alix Sharp and Alayna McCafferty – 200-yard medley relay state qualifiers as freshmen and sophomores – will compete for the first time in individual events when the state swimming meet begins Saturday at noon at the Marshalltown YMCA.

'It's a little special for them to be swimming in their own lane just showing off everything they've done,” City High Coach Zane Hugo said. 'They've both had incredible drops this year and I think it will be exciting for them to hopefully swim fast this weekend.”

Standout performances at the Clinton regional Oct. 31 were not only enough to qualify for state, it propelled three Little Hawks into the top 15. Sophomore Laura Lorenger is seeded 13th in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:00.91), while both Sharp (200-yard individual medley, 2:14.46) and McCafferty (100-yard backstroke, 1:00.66) are the 15 seed.

'It's really great to get back as a senior,” said Sharp, who missed qualifying in the 200 IM last season by half a second. 'It's a great way to end the season.”

The trio now all rank either second or third in school history in their respective events, and will also team with junior Devan O'Rourke in the 200 medley relay – City High's third medley qualifier in four years.

'It's just making sure that you're engaged in the training,” Sharp said. 'Our coaches are great. We've had a lot of fun with them … It's very hard work, but it's fun.”

Before her senior season, McCafferty made a concerted effort to spend the summer out of the water and arrived at opening practice a little rusty, but determined to gear her focus toward maximizing the enjoyment of her final season of high school swimming.

'I didn't put a lot of pressure on myself to make it (to state),” McCafferty said. 'I think it was easier on me to just have fun with it, focus more on that aspect.”

McCafferty is part of a state backstroke field that includes Jessica Williams of Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Vinton-Shellsburg/Union Community's first state qualifier, freshman Arabella Shepard.

Kennedy leads the way with nine swimmers in all 11 events, and its 200-yard freestyle relay team of Darby Manternach, Maddie Bagby, Kassidy Lovig and Kirsten Siebenga is seeded third.

Iowa City West senior Erica Hsu is the highest-seeded area swimmer. The 14-event career state qualifier is the two-seed in the 200 IM and fourth in the 500-yard freestyle.

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