Iowa City West looks for first MVC Super meet title

The Iowa City West girls swim team is looking to raise the program's bar, and it could have its best chance to do it.The Women of Troy will attempt to claim their first Mississippi Valley Conference Super Meet team title Saturday at Holmes Junior High School in Cedar Falls.West Coach Rob Miecznikowski said the potential is there but so is the competition in perennial power and defending champ Cedar Falls, Linn-Mar and 2008 champ Cedar Rapids Kennedy."We've gotten second place a lot of times. This is the first chance where we actually have to take the title," Miecznikowski said. "The girls are very excited about it."West has plenty of depth, giving this season's team an edge on previous ones who earned multiple top-3 and top-5 finishes. Miecznikowski said the Women of Troy are three-deep in all four freestyle events and the 200 individual medley and strong enough to field three solid relays.One of the keys will be turning that depth into points from placing as many swimmers as possible in the top 16 of each individual event. The team met about performance expectations and the proper preparations for this weekend's event."It's got to be a team effort," Miecznikowski said. "Every  swimmer has to be scoring."West is ranked fourth in the Iowa High School Athletic Union Power rankings, which is tops in the MVC. The Women of Troy are well represented among the top reported times. Senior Sarah Weihe has top-12 times in the state, including the sixth-best 100 free time (55.01) and ninth-ranked times in the 200 free (1:59.83) and 500 free (5:21.50). Freshman Lilian Zhu has an even better resume, ranking in the top 10 in four events. Zhu is eighth in the 500 free (5:21.22), 100 back (1:00.87) and 200 IM (2:15.38).West has built a distance swimming tradition and this year is no different with Weihe, Zhu and Sophie Shoultz owning three of the top 16 reported in the state. Savannah Butler ranks seventh in the 100 breaststroke (1:09.24) and gives West a possible strong 1-2 punch in the 200 IM with a season-best time of 2:16.59, which is 11th in the power ratings. The 400 free relay is fifth in the state with an MVC-best time of 3:45.58."We've always had a pretty strong squad where we could go in and beat any team on any given day in a dual meet," Miecznikowski said. "We've never been three-deep in all the events."Not only is Miecznikowski upbeat about this weekend's performance, but also for the upcoming seasons. Abo0ut half the West roster is comprised of underclassmen. The goal is to set a championship standard, which he has been striving to accomplish the last 12 years."If we could take the title, it would set a precedent for the future and younger kids coming up," Miecznikowski said. "We're always looking to the future. The nice thing if you win titles like this is it becomes expectation."Kennedy will try to defend its 200 medley relay title, while Linn-Mar's Emilie Berg will look to repeat as the 50 free champion. Berg won the event last year after placing runner-up as a freshman in 2008. Berg, ranked fourth with a time of 1:08.36, could contend for a 100 breaststroke crown.