Keep an eye on Cedar Rapids Washington this boys’ swimming season

It may seem like the high school boys’ swimming season came up faster this year.

With the girls’ state meet moving up one week in the calendar, it left only 10 days between the end of the girls’ season and the first meets of the boys’ season.

For coaches who head up both programs — including Mandi Kowal at Iowa City High, Chad Derlein at Cedar Rapids Kennedy and the co-coaching duo of Kathy Vorhies and Tom Belin at Linn-Mar — it has been a more hectic month than usual, which included having practices for both teams.

With the overlap complete, the boys’ season begins Monday night. Cedar Rapids Jefferson hosts Linn-Mar and Cedar Rapids Washington in a triangular meet while Kennedy will host Decorah.

The season will conclude with district meets on Feb. 8 with the state meet Feb. 14-15 at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center pool at the University of Iowa.

Here are 4 things to watch this season (and in the future):

1. Can C.R. Washington continue to climb?

The lore of Warrior swimming is known across the state. Washington’s 27 state titles are far and away the most won by any school. Even though the school hasn’t won a state title since 2008, the traditions and pride run deep with today’s swimmers.

Matt Sinnott is just the fourth head coach in school history, taking the job four years ago when Chris Cruise stepped aside. Much of last season was spent honoring the memory of Cruise, who died from cancer just before the start of the season.

What may have got lost to those on the outside was the development of young swimmers, which always has been a program staple. The Warriors ended up 11th at state with 87.5 points, led by state placewinners Andrew Seifert, Gavin Lucas and Peter Wittnebel.

"The goal every year is to put together the best team to compete at the state level," Sinnott said. "With that being said, we are looking to improve from the 11th place finish last year. We have a group of swimmers that can make that happen.

"A lot of them have made the commitment this past offseason to train with club programs in the area for us to take that next step towards our goal of bringing back a state title to this proud program. Some of our swimmers are putting some better times in the water now than where they finished last season."

2. Is Seifert among most improved in state?

Seifert, a junior with the Warriors, was not a name known around the state as a freshman. Last year as a sophomore, he made news when he broke Cruise's 35-year old school record in the 100-yard breaststroke.

That continued with a pair of eighth-place state finishes in the breaststroke and 200 IM.

Sinnott said Seifert is just scratching the surface as a swimmer.

"Andrew has been coming on for us for the past two seasons," he said. "He is now getting the attention from others across the state and college coaches. He is challenging himself more and more every day, including competing more at the club meets this past offseason."

3. Who is the best Gazette-area swimmer?

There are several candidates, including Seifert. Iowa City West's Hayden Hakes and Linn-Mar's Parker Macho had runner-up finishes at last year's state meet.

Hakes was second in the 500 freestyle and Macho was second in the 100 butterfly. He backed that up by taking fourth in the 100 breaststroke.

Linn-Mar's Hudson Huberg has become one of the best sprint freestylers in the state, taking third in the 50 freestyle at state and fifth in the 100 freestyle.

"(Any) of those guys have shots at winning state titles," Sinnott said.

4. How will the new Prairie pool change the area landscape in 2026?

For years, swimmers from Cedar Rapids Prairie had to commute to Williamsburg to be part of the Raiders team. Over the past several years, Prairie athletes, boys and girls, have joined forces with Cedar Rapids Jefferson.

There will be a change come the fall of 2026 when the Prairie Summit YMCA opens. It will include competition and recreation pools, which will serve as the home venue for Prairie swim teams.

Current Jefferson girls’ coach and boys’ assistant Jessica Hinke, who teaches at Prairie, said the current plan is for Jefferson and Prairie to have separate programs beginning in the fall of 2026.

Hinke's hope is that both schools see an increase in the number of swimmers so both schools can field competitive teams.