Eastern Iowa schools enter boys state swimming meet with something to prove

In 2015, four of the top six finishers in the state swimming meet came from the Mississippi Valley Conference.

This year's meet, set for Friday and Saturday at the University of Iowa’s Campus Recreation & Wellness Center in Iowa City, has the same potential.

Cedar Falls, Iowa City West and Linn-Mar are the top three ranked teams. Any one of the three could take home the team title. Defending champion Dubuque Hempstead is ranked eight and Cedar Rapids Washington is 10th.

West won the 2015 title and this year's edition could do it again. Coach Byron Butler was on the staff for that team. He believes this year stacks up favorably with 2015.

"The MVC was pretty strong in my first years of coaching, and we have always had some strong teams and individuals," he said. "West won in 2015, and Wash was 2nd at state. There were also several good swimmers at the other MVC programs.

"However, I think the depth is significantly greater than it was back then," he continued. "We have several programs sending 10-plus swimmers to the state."

Over the past few seasons, the overall strength of boys high school swimming has shifted to the eastern part of the state.

"I think it is cyclical," Butler said. "If you look at the top teams over the last 15-20 years, we have seen several MVC schools along with Muscatine, Ankeny, Valley, and Waukee come out on top.

"We still don't know what the result will be this weekend, and a team out West could still make a move. Despite it being a cycle, our teams on the East side remain strong because of dedicated coaching at the club and HS levels. I think all of the coaches in our conference do an excellent job building relationships with swimmers and families, and developing them in the pool."

For West to win a state title, the Trojans will have to rely on its depth. Their strength is in the relays. West is second seeded in the 200 and 400-yard freestyle relays and third in the 200 medley relay. Ethan Landon is West’s top-seeded individual. He is second in the 100 backstroke. The Trojans finished second to Hempstead last year.

Most of the top swimmers from that team returned and the addition of Hudson Huberg, a transfer from Linn-Mar, has provided another key piece, especially in the relays.

"We definitely have a little more depth this year, which our top dogs are excited about," Butler said. "There is always a lot of movement in terms of seeding and final result. We need to get the job done in prelims and give ourselves opportunities to score."

The power rankings spread between Cedar Falls, West and Linn-Mar is only 27 points. The race for the team title could come down to the final event.

"Relays are going to play a huge role in determining who wins," Butler said. "Little details, strategy, and motivation can make a big difference at this stage. Our boys know what's at stake, and they have big goals. Motivation shouldn't be an issue."

Linn-Mar will be led by senior Parker Macho, who will try to defend his titles in the 200 individual medley and the 100 butterfly. He is the top seed in both events. The Lions are the top seed in the 400 freestyle relay and No. 2 in the medley relay.

Cedar Rapids Washington's Andrew Seifert is the top seed in the 100 freestyle and 100 breaststroke.

Friday's preliminaries begin at 5 p.m. with the finals set to begin at noon on Saturday.