Iowa City West swimming for more relay state records

MARSHALLTOWN – After Iowa City West broke two relay state records and claimed a second-consecutive boys' swimming state championship last season, Coach Rob Miecznikowski sat down with his returners to lay out the 2016 goals.

Do the Trojans spread their lineup to focus on a third team title, or stack the freestyle relays and claim a third state record?

The response was unanimous – chase the 200-yard freestyle relay state record of 1:23.99 and re-break their own 400 free relay record.

'The guys worked really hard and we discussed it long and hard and they're really chomping at the bit,” Miecznikowski said. 'It's not every year, it's every 10 years maybe, or 20 years that you get a chance to break a state record.”

The state championships begin Saturday at noon at the Marshalltown YMCA.

West seniors Aidan Keen and Mark McGlaughlin have the opportunity to stand alone atop the list of gold medal winners. In Iowa state history, no swimmer has won more than 11 events in their prep career.

Keen and McGlaughlin each possess eight entering Saturday.

Keen is seeded second in the 500 freestyle and the 200, while McGlaughlin is the top seed in the 100-yard freestyle and is second in the 200 individual medley. Together, they form a dynamic 200 and 400 free relay quartet with Oliver Martin and Will Scott.

'That'd be fantastic for me and the whole team,” McGlaughlin said. 'One of the best memories I have is winning state that first time, and so to be able to do it again and accomplish more than what we've already accomplished so far would be fantastic.”

The sacrifice of team points in pursuit of the record books provides an opportunity for deep teams like Waukee and Cedar Rapids Washington to jump up and snare that team championship.

Washington – state runner-up to West in each of the past two seasons – is led by senior Nick Saulnier, the top seed in both the 100 backstroke and 200 IM. Junior Cameron Kelley heads the field in the 200 freestyle and the 500.

'He's very motivated right now,” Washington Coach Chris Cruise said of Kelley. 'He's someone who's very, very self-driven, very motivated and he wants to be the best. He's working very, very hard towards that end. He'll have a tough battle against Aidan, I'm sure.”

Washington sophomore Kaleb Donels is seeded third in the backstroke, while West's Scott is the top seed in the 50 freestyle and second in the 100. Metro swimmers Paul Hummell (Cedar Rapids Jefferson) and Stefan Kitsos (Kennedy) are seeded second and fourth, respectively, in the 100 breaststroke.

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