2024 IOWA CITY SPRING SECTIONALS
- March 7-11, 2024
- CRWC, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
- LCM (50 meters)
- Live Stream
- Meet Mobile “2024 USA Swimming Speedo Championship Series”
- Day 1 Recap
After taking a dominating win in the 800 free on Thursday, 15-year-old Paige Downey from the Gold Medal Swim Club in Arizona took another won in the 400 free on Friday.
She won in 4:19.41, about a second shy of her personal best, to win by more than four seconds in the event final. It was once again her teammate Ellie Kayser who was 2nd in 4:23.81.
Downey later won in the 200 fly in 2:16.49, a best time by 1.7 seconds, as swimmers from outside of the region dominated the girls’ racing again on night 2 of the meet.
That included a win in the 100 free from pro swimmer Morgan Scott, 23, in 57.14. She trains with Texas Ford Aquatics outside of Dallas. That is Scott’s third long course 100 free of the season and her slowest of the group – she was 56.9 in her last two meets in December and January.
The top junior-aged swimmer in that 100 free was Kenzie Hinrich from the Sioux Falls Swim Team in South Dakota. The 15-year-old swam 57.67 for 4th place, knocking almost a second off her previous best time.
Scott’s Texas Ford teammate, 16-year-old Ava Pape, won the 200 back in 2:14.30. For Pape, a Notre Dame commit (2025), that is a 2.7 second drop in her first long course swim of the calendar year. That’s not entirely a surprise, as during the short course season she improved five seconds in the 200 yard backstroke.
Zuri Ferguson from the Bluefish Swim Club in New England was 2nd in 2:15.42. She actually had a slight lead on Pape at the final turn, but Pape’s monster last 50 split of 33.54 gave her the win.
Texas Ford also stood on a lot of podiums on the boys’ side of racing. Another pro, 28-year-old Jacob Molacek, won the 100 free in 50.10, which is right-on the times he went two months ago at the Pro Swim Series in Knoxville.
Owen Chiles from the host Iowa Flyers was 2nd in 51.53. His teammate Hayden Hakes won the 200 back earlier in the night in 2:04.02.
The rest of the session wins were all Texas Ford. 17-year-old Yochanan Meza won the 200 fly in 2:04.45, about 2.5 seconds shy of his best, while Lukas Vetkoetter finished the session with a 3:54.84 in the 400 free, knocking 3.5 seconds off his previous best time in the event from January.
Vetkoetter, a Georgia Tech commit (2024), was 3:58s at each of his last two long course meets, but throughout his young career he’s made drops like this in big chunks, sticking at a time for a while than knocking four-or-five seconds off in one go.
He used a big final 100 split of 58.87 to hold-off Raymond Hesser from the Gold Medal Swim Club (58.56 en route to a 3:56.44) in the final 100. A day earlier, Hesser won the 800 free ahead of Vetkoetter, using an even-faster final 100 (58.26) to pull away.
Team Scores After Day 2
Combined Top 5:
- Bluefish Swim Club – 421
- Gold Medal Swim Club – 345
- Iowa Flyers Swim Club – 204
- (tie) Chicago Wolfpack Aquatic Club/Sioux Falls Swim Team – 177
Girls’ Top 5:
- Gold Medal Swim Club – 237
- Bluefish Swim Club – 206
- Sioux Falls Swim Team – 148
- Phoenix Swimming – 146
- University of South Dakota – 86
Boys’ Top 5:
- Bluefish Swim Club – 215
- Iowa Flyers Swim Club – 145
- Chicago Wolfpack Aquatic Club – 132
- Gold Medal Swim Club – 108
- Texas Ford Aquatics – 98
