Stars will take center stage at MVC boys’ swimming meet

MARION — The Mississippi Valley Conference boys’ swimming meet will be loaded with stars.

It also features the state's top-ranked team.

The interesting thing? The stars and the No. 1 team do not exactly align.

Make no mistake about it, top-ranked Cedar Falls has a number of talented athletes. Coach Clif Paulsen's team is favored to take the title in Saturday's meet, set for noon at the Linn-Mar Aquatic Center, based on its superior depth.

The Tigers have just one swimmer, junior Sam Weaver, ranked among the Top 5 in any of the eight individual events. However, the Tigers are ranked among the state's best in all three relays.

"It's the second and third swimmers that win the conference meet,“ Linn-Mar co-coach Tom Belin said. ”Cedar Falls has those swimmers who can amass points."

Paulsen said his team will rely on the same formula it has used all season.

"We will approach this meet like any other," he said. "As a team knowing that we need to rely on each other if we want success at the end of the day."

Cedar Falls swimming has been building up steadily over the past couple of years. The girls’ program finished third at state last fall and the boys could end up on the podium as well next month in Iowa City.

"Consistency in our message and mission across both teams," Paulsen said. "While the coaching staffs are different, our message and expectations are the same. Preaching that we are a team that understands success and greets it with hard work and integrity."

As for the stars, there will be several on display.

Iowa City West's Hayden Hakes is the current state leader in three events. Linn-Mar's Parker Macho leads in two. Macho's teammate, Hudson Huberg, and Cedar Rapids Washington's Andrew Seifert each top the charts in an event as well. The Lions also have the top times in two of the three relays.

It came down to the final relay in last year's conference meet. Linn-Mar outswam the Tigers to claim the title. Belin expects another great meet on Saturday. Linn-Mar is ranked fifth and Iowa City West is seventh in the latest power rankings.

"Our boys love competition, and this meet has it," he said. "It'll be great to test ourselves against some of the best swimmers in the state."

This meet begins the final stretch of the season for the teams. The district meets are in two weeks with the state meet the following weekend in Iowa City.

"The conference meet helps us to build," Belin said. "It's another opportunity to play with our lineup to pull together our best team for the state run."