Sophomore transfer Drake looks to make splash for Linn-Mar swimmers

MARION - Linn-Mar girls' swimming coach Chad Derlein already had plenty of reasons to be excited about the fall season.

But when sophomore transfer Kelsey Drake walked through his door toting a pair of runner-up finishes in last year's state meet, Derlein nearly back-flipped into the deep end.

'It would make any coach be happy to have that add to their team,” said Derlein, whose Lions host their season-opening dual against Newton Tuesday at 5:30. 'For the whole team atmosphere, it brings everybody else up to her level.”

Drake starred as a freshman last year for Cedar Rapids Jefferson and nearly claimed state titles in the 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly. When Brian Ruffles, her club coach from the Cedar Rapids Aquatic Association, took a position with the new Linn-Mar Aquatic Center, Drake followed and began swimming with the Linn-Mar club team in April.

'I've been really successful with him,” Drake said. 'He's gotten me to junior nationals and I didn't want to mess with that.”

It didn't take long for the Drake family to decide to forgo the hour-long, round-trip commute twice a day and move permanently to Marion. While leaving behind friends in a district she had spent her whole life, Drake was emboldened by the sparkling swim facility and a competitive varsity roster at Linn-Mar, which features state qualifiers Jenn Jenks and Stephanie Jenks.

'They're great, we really push each other in practice,” Drake said. 'It's just nice to have someone right there next to you swimming.”

Drake aspires to compete collegiately at the Division I level and has visited UCLA. She also is considering visits to Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Derlein has Drake and the Jenks sisters penciled into the 400 free relay lineup, with the anchor spot still up for grabs. He raved about the development of sophomore Jenn Jenks, who claimed bronze at state in the 100 free.

'I know she had a lot of success last year in high school,” Derlein said. 'This is going to be completely different. ...She is going to be so pumped and ready to go by this coming state (meet), it's going to be night and day.”

Stephanie Jenks, a state qualifier in the 500 free last season, is competing in international triathlons and is expected to re-join the swim team during the first week of September. Her return, plus the emergence of 14 varsity freshman newcomers, gives Linn-Mar the requisite depth to be a player in not just the Mississippi Valley Conference race, but regional and state competition.

'It's just going to make the whole team deep,” Derlein said. 'I think we are going to be a lot stronger from top to bottom...more competitive with the other teams.”

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