Iowa City West swimmer Hayden Hakes eyes return to state

IOWA CITY — Hayden Hakes has one final shot to join the long list of Iowa City West state swimming champions.

The Trojan senior was on top of the podium last year as a part of a state-record 200-yard medley relay effort, but fell a little short in the 500 freestyle, finishing second behind three-time state champion Jacob Pins of West Des Moines Valley.

The road to a state title for Hakes and all swimmers around the state begins on Saturday with the district meets. Six meets will be held, all beginning at noon, with all district champions and the next best 31 finishers qualifying for the state meet next Saturday in Iowa City.

Hakes and his teammates will be part of the district being held in Dubuque. West Coach Zach Armstrong had several options on how to deploy Hakes' talents for the postseason as he has the top times in the state in three events (200 and 500 freestyles, along with the 100 backstroke) entering the district meet.

"For state this year, the plan is to give Hayden another shot at the 500 and then he will also do the 200 free," Armstrong said. "We hope to break last year's 200 medley record time again, so he will be in the medley relay as well. I also love how he finishes a relay, so having him anchoring one of the free relays makes the most sense."

The Arizona State commit has been a natural in the water from an early age. His dad swam for Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Hakes started taking lessons at age 3 at Cherry Hill pool in Cedar Rapids.

"I knew that swimming was going to be a big part of my life from then on," Hakes said. "When I started competitively swimming for a club team and racing other kids I knew I instantly had the connection with the water unlike some other people.

"I moved to the Iowa Flyers during COVID and started training with Chris Freeman and Jackson Leonard and with their help I truly took off and didn’t look back. Having the coaches' support along with my parents (Brenton and Tonya) are also the real reason I am where I am today."

Armstrong said Hakes has been focused all year after a summer where he swam at the Olympic Trials.

"Hayden has been firing on all cylinders since the Olympic Trials ended," Armstrong said. "Hayden has this drive and hunger for near perfection, that keeps him motivated through hard practices and races to meet his goals. He also really wants to do his best for his teammates, so he will always push himself to his limit."

Ironically, Hakes will be joining Pins next year at Arizona State.

"Committing to ASU is the best thing that has happened to me. I get the opportunity to go swim for the best coaching staff in the NCAA along with the best team in the nation," he said. "When I took my official visit to their campus I instantly felt at home and realized that I wanted to go there more than anything. The team and coaches couldn't have made me feel more at home."

As for Saturday's district meet, Hakes' goals are not surprising.

"My goals for districts are to win and set the fastest times," he said. "There will be a lot of good competition coming up at districts and I can't wait to go face them and work hard to hopefully come out on top."

No. 4 West and No. 2 Dubuque Hempstead are expected to battle for the district title. Iowa City High also is in the Dubuque district.

"It's no secret that Hempstead is a talented team," Armstrong said. "Coach (Rick) Loeffelholz always has really strong teams, and they will be ready to compete this weekend.“

No. 6 Linn-Mar will host a district meet. The Lions are a prohibitive favorite to take the team title. Other area schools in the meet include are the three Cedar Rapids schools — Kennedy, Jefferson and Washington — along with Vinton-Shellsburg.

Decorah will swim at Mason City, where top-ranked Cedar Falls is the favorite. Williamsburg will compete at Johnston.

DISTRICTS

At Linn-Mar: Bettendorf, Burlington, Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Cedar Rapids Washington, Linn-Mar, Pleasant Valley, Vinton-Shellsburg

At Dubuque:: Clinton, Davenport Central, Davenport West, Dubuque Hempstead, Dubuque Senior, Iowa City High, Iowa City West, Muscatine

At Johnston, Ankeny, Des Moines East, Des Moines Hoover/North, Grinnell, Johnston, Ottumwa, Sioux City, Williamsburg

At Ames: Ames, Boone, Indianola, Marshalltown, Newton, Oskaloosa, Valley, Waterloo

At Mason City: Algona Garrigan, Cedar Falls, Decorah, Fort Dodge, Mason City, Southeast Polk, Spencer, WDM Dowling

At Waukee: Atlantic, Carroll, Centerville, CB Lewis Central, Des Moines Lincoln, Des Moines Roosevelt, Waukee, Waukee Northwest