Streak keepers

MARION - Cedar Rapids Washington senior Jared Thorson remembers with reverence his freshman introduction to the Warriors' enduring streak of boys' swimming district titles.

'The first year I did districts, I was like, ‘Whoa, this is a long streak,'” Thorson said. 'Then I got in the pool and I was like, ‘I need to swim fast for my team.'”

Buoyed by the personal accountability to his team and the vast tradition of the Washington program, Thorson was a key contributor to the Warriors' last three district championships that extended its dominance to an improbable 51 consecutive years. Now, the decorated senior swims for No. 52 Saturday at the Linn-Mar Aquatic Center - not only as a means to qualify for the Feb. 14 state meet at Marshalltown, but as a constant source of pride for a hungry Washington squad anxious to retain what it owns.

'We talk about it every day,” said Thorson, a favorite Saturday in the 100-yard butterfly. 'It's all I can really hope for is to try to extend what the others before us have done.”

If the Warriors are to hoist another district banner, their timeless formula for success - a deep stable of point scorers throughout their lineup - will be tested. The loss of 14 graduating seniors from last season's state runner-up squad has reduced the roster from nearly 50 swimmers to just more than 30.

While the quartet of Thorson, Nick Saulnier, Cameron Kelley and Matt Jackson are the lone returning state qualifiers, Washington received valuable contributions at the Mississippi Valley Conference championships Jan. 30 from further down its lineup. Freshmen Kaleb Donels and George Durin had top-10 finishes in individual events and assisted on runner-up relays. Five other Warriors (Michael Janssen, Jack Foarde, Kai Vorhies, Evan Stewart and Mitchell Anderson) also earned points. The performance vaulted Washington from 13th to No. 7 in the quikstats.com power rankings.

'Oh, it's awesome,” Thorson said. 'You finally see all of the practice they've worked. It's finally paying off. I'm so happy for all of them.”

Washington Coach Chris Cruise admits that in lean years where a top-10 finish at the state meet was unlikely, he was willing to sacrifice a few points at state in order to tailor his lineup toward preserving the district streak. This year, he said, is not one of those years.

'We think we've got things set up pretty nicely for the state meet,” Cruise said. 'We've got a great group of kids at the top of our lineup swimming really well right now. ... So our focus is to get these kids through.”

Defending state champion Iowa City West was within 21 points of ending the streak last season and figures to be even stronger Saturday. Host Linn-Mar is deep and vastly improved, and Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Muscatine are talented squads that will have a say in the outcome.

'The district is going to fall where it's going to fall,” Cruise said. 'We can't control a lot about that. If it doesn't make a difference as to what's going to happen at state, then we'll do what we can to help make our district lineup as strong as we can. Otherwise, our first and foremost priority is Marshalltown.”

Swimming begins at 12:30. The top-24 times across the eight district meets in each event qualify for the state meet.

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