Boys’ state swimming preview: Iowa City High’s John Weigel motivated for last high school meet

IOWA CITY — For John Weigel, one sentence has encapsulated his senior swim season.

“Motivation stems from discipline.”

As the Iowa City High sprint freestyler prepares for his final meet as a high school swimmer, that focus has not wavered.

“Just yesterday, he addressed the group as some did not do what was prescribed,” said Little Hawks Coach Mandi Kowal. “It wasn't anything awful, yet it made a statement to all the guys. I love seeing this kind of development in the athletes.”

Weigel's final act comes this weekend when he and his Little Hawk teammates compete in the state meet at the University of Iowa's Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Pool. Preliminaries are set for Friday at 5 p.m. with event finals set to begin on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

Defending champion and top-ranked Waukee is a favorite to defend its team title with No. 2 West Des Moines Valley and No. 3 Pleasant Valley among the contenders. The top area schools are No. 4 Iowa City West, No. 6 Cedar Rapids Washington and No. 7 Linn-Mar.

Although the Little Hawks do not have the depth, they have the top individual qualifiers in Joe Polyak (second in the 200-yard individual medley) and Weigel (second in the 100 freestyle).

At the start of the season, Polyak was expected to be a contender for top honors after two top-six finishes at state last year. Weigel's best result was a 10th-place finish in the 100 freestyle.

“I strongly feel that he got motivated after state last year and then started lifting a lot,” Kowal said. “He kept swimming but lifting made a huge difference for John. I remember running into him last spring and he was super happy, incredibly motivated and psyched to see the gains he was making in the weight room.

“There is also the senior effect, you know you have one year to make the best of it. I've seen this across the board on so many teams. Athletes present an unmatched motivation to imprint their legacy. It's always fun to see.”

That discipline has driven Weigel through to this weekend.

“Well especially as I head into this weekend, it’s all I think about,” he said about his prep finale. “I make sure to hydrate well, get plenty of sleep and limit screen time, study the sport by watching and learning from the pros, and eating right.

“I’m willing to succeed, but I recognize I have to be willing to put in the authentic work, making the sacrifice to do that.”

Weigel also had two strong role models in his own family. Sister Carly and brother Isaac were both outstanding swimmers during their prep careers and both are now swimming in college, Carly at the University of Chicago and Isaac at Dartmouth. John plans on following his siblings’ lead and swimming in college, as well

“He went from following great role models to having to be a leader himself,” Kowal said. “Even within this season, he has improved immeasurably.”

The youngest Weigel has a chance to accomplish something that eluded his siblings, winning an individual state title. However, the odds are long as the top seed in the 100 freestyle is Waukee's multiple-time state champion AJ Abram. Weigel also has the No. 5 qualifying time in the 50 freestyle.

“With proper confidence I would say there’s a chance of anything, but the guys I’m racing in the 100 and 50 are fast,” he said. “I want to enjoy my last state meet on the high school team and have fun with everyone I’m swimming with, but at the same time I feel pressure to do well.”

Iowa high school boys’ state swimming

When: Friday, 5 p.m. preliminaries; Saturday, noon finals

Where: University of Iowa’s Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Pool.

TV: Locally, on KCRG 9.2. Outside of 9.2 viewing via NFHS Network, a subscription-based video service serving member schools and select IHSAA postseason events.

State qualifier

Top qualifier plus Gazette-area qualifiers

200-yard medley relay: 1. Pleasant Valley 1:34.92, 2. Linn-Mar 1:35.09, 4. Cedar Rapids Washington 1:35.46, 6. Iowa City West 1:35.76, 17. Decorah 1:41.63, 21. Vinton-Shellsburg 1:42.42, 24. Iowa City High 1:43.59.

200 para freestyle: 1. Nathanaiel Crow (Williamsburg) 4:18.18.

200 freestyle: 1. Jacob Pins (West Des Moines Valley) 1:39.40, 4. Max Gerke (Iowa City West) 1:42.74, 9. Lukas Swanson (Iowa City West) 1:44.44, 21. Sheppard West (Cedar Rapids Jefferson) 1:47.47, 31. Owen Sieren (Linn-Mar) 1:49.58.

200 individual medley: 1. Owen Chiles (Pleasant Valley) 1:51.47 2. Joe Polyak (Iowa City High) 1:52.34, 5. Blake Behrens (Linn-Mar) 1:55.47, 12. Winston Fan (Iowa City West) 1:58.38, 26. Brian Forester (Cedar Rapids Washington) 2:04.57.

50 para freestyle: 1. Isaiah Picard (Indianola) 43.04, 2. Nathanaiel Crow (Williamsburg) 54.52.

50 freestyle: 1. Lance Swanepoel (Ankeny) 21.00, 2 Hudson Huberg (Linn-Mar) 21.36, 5. John Weigel (Iowa City High) 21.56 8. Ian Caballero (Iowa City West) 21.71, 9. Marcus Seifert (Cedar Rapids Washington) 21.72, 10. Ian Lucas (Cedar Rapids Washington) 21.76, 13. Ryan Horsey (Linn-Mar) 21.81, 19. Christian Janis (Iowa City West) 22.23,

100 butterfly: 1. Lance Swanepoel (Ankeny) 48.75, 3. Holden Carter (Iowa City West) 49.89, 8. Parker Macho (Linn-Mar) 51.76, 14. Caio Carvalho (Cedar Rapids Washington) 52.89, 27. Seth Williams (Cedar Rapids Washington) 55.21,

100 para freestyle: 1. Isaiah Picard (Indianola) 1:41.07

100 freestyle: 1. AJ Abram (Waukee) 45.82, 2. John Weigel (Iowa City High) 46.58, 4. Hudson Huberg (Linn-Mar) 46.82, 6. Ian Lucas (Cedar Rapids Washington) 47.12, 16. Ryan Horsey (Linn-Mar) 48.58, 18. Ian Allsup (Vinton-Shellsburg) 48.78, 24. Isaac Knaack (Decorah) 49.27, 28. Ian Caballero (Iowa City West) 49.53, 31. Colin Taylor (Linn-Mar) 49.91, 32. Josiah Wickum (Cedar Rapids Washington) 50.13.

500 freestyle: 1. Jacob Pins (West Des Moines Valley) 4:34.44, 5. Max Gerke (Iowa City West) 4:41.27, 6. Lukas Swanson (Iowa City West) 4:41.30, 14. Sheppard West (Cedar Rapids Washington) 4:52.71, 24. Owen Sieren (Linn-Mar) 4:56.68, 26. Andrew Seifert (Cedar Rapids Washington) 4:58.11, 27. Will Bowden (Cedar Rapids Kennedy) 4:58.20,

200 freestyle relay: 1. Waukee 1:25.12, 3. Linn-Mar 1:26.38, 7. Iowa City West 1:28.08, 8. Iowa City High 1:28.52, 13. Cedar Rapids Washington 1:30.83, 20. Decorah 1:31.51, 22. Cedar Rapids Jefferson 1:32.44, 24. Vinton-Shellsburg 1:32.69

100 backstroke: 1. Asher Havenhill (Waukee) 49.60, 5. Holden Carter (Iowa City West) 51.53, 6. Parker Macho (Linn-Mar) 52.34, 7. Caio Carvalho (Cedar Rapids Washington) 52.47, 24. Gavin Lucas (Cedar Rapids Washington) 55.73, 26. Seth Williams (Cedar Rapids Washington) 56.10, 27. Ian Allsup (Vinton-Shellsburg) 56.18

100 breaststroke: 1. Joshua Chen (Ames) 55.51, 3. Joe Polyak (Iowa City High) 57.66, 5. Blake Behrens (Linn-Mar) 58.90, 7. Winston Fan (Iowa City West) 59.22, 11. Kento Yahashiri (Iowa City High) 59.96, 16. Brian Forester (Cedar Rapids Washington) 1:00.35, 26. Jack Colvin (Williamsburg) 1:01.59, 30. Brennen Westphal (Iowa City West) 1:02.32

400 freestyle relay: 1. Pleasant Valley 3:08.38, 7. Iowa City West 3:13.29, 9. Cedar Rapids Washington 3:13.78, 11. Iowa City High 3:16.57, 14. Linn-Mar 3:18.23, 16. Cedar Rapids Jefferson 3:20.56, 21. Decorah 3:24.59