Cedar Rapids Kennedy’s Cade Schoenauer putting in work on the fly

MARION - The butterfly stroke has long drawn the ire of competitive swimmers.

Whether it is the physical toil or the mental hurdles, the grueling combination of kicking and pulling has left many a swimmer searching for other options.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy senior Cade Schoenauer embraced this sizable challenge early and thoroughly.

'I like to focus on butterfly just because it is a hard event,” said Schoenauer, who will attempt to qualify for the boys' swimming state championships in the 100-yard butterfly for the third year in a row Saturday at a district meet at Linn-Mar Aquatic Center.

'Not many people are willing to put the effort in and spend time working on it. Just being able to focus on that really hard stroke and be able to do it is just something that I really like doing; to be able to accomplish something that is shown as to being one of the harder strokes in swimming.”

While Schoenauer ranks 10th in the state in the 100 butterfly (53.68 seconds), he has proven quite versatile for a youthful Kennedy team with just eight seniors. Schoenauer - the only returning captain this season - ranks first on the team in five of eight individual events and swam all three relays at the Jan. 21 Mississippi Valley Conference championships.

'Undeniable work ethic,” Kennedy Coach Shawn Thomsen said. 'He will work and work at a skill until he can mentally see it and feel it in the water. His work ethic and ability to repeat things and visualize what he wants to achieve is second to none.”

Schoenauer did not begin competitive swimming until the eighth grade, but the aforementioned work ethic - both with Kennedy and the Eastern Iowa Swimming Federation club team - have propelled him up the state rankings. As a sophomore, Schoenauer placed 24th out of 24 at the state meet in the butterfly and the 50 free. Last season, he surged to 13th in the butterfly and 19th in the 50.

'If anything, that was a really good moment for me mentally,” Schoenauer said. 'Being able to be at the bottom of the state meet like that in both of those events was able to let me know what I need to achieve to get better in the pool and what I needed to work on out of season so I don't get in that spot again.”

Schoenauer will swim collegiately and study civil engineering for South Dakota State in the fall, which he chose over schools like South Dakota and St. Thomas (Minn.). He credits the bond formed with longtime SDSU men's swimming coach Brad Erickson, who sees Schoenauer contributing to mid-distance, distance butterfly and distance freestyle events.

'They really drew me in,” Schoenauer said. 'They were different from the other programs.”

The district meet begins at noon. Kennedy will be joined at Linn-Mar by fellow Gazette-area schools Decorah, Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Cedar Rapids Washington, Vinton-Shellsburg and the host Lions. Iowa City High, Iowa City West and Williamsburg are at Southeast Polk.

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