Congratulations to this year’s state swimming and diving qualifiers, senior captains Jordan Muir and Lexi Scharmer, juniors Amanda Jacobsen, Henna McCoy and Jessica Schmeiser, sophomore Hannah Botkin and freshman Sam Jacobsen.
In one of the greatest team efforts in Kennedy history, every swimmer and diver scored points at this year’s Regional competition. The 200 medley relay broke the pool record on their way to the 4th fastest time in the state and then was followed by the Cougars first regional champion, Jess Schmeiser in the 200 free. Every event but one had a Cougar standing on the podium and in two events, the 500 free and the 100 back there were 3 girls on the podium wearing green and gold. The next regional champion was Lexi in the 100 fly. Her time of 59.53 is just 34 hundredths of a second off the oldest team record on the books. Not to be out done, the quartet of Hannah, Jordan, Amanda and Jess set a new team record in the 200 free relay and are seeded 3rd at next weekend’s state meet. The Cougars finished the day winning the 400 free relay by almost half the length of the pool and just missed breaking the 2nd oldest record on the board by 83 hundredths of a second.
Saturday in Marshalltown should end up being a record setting day, so pack the car and we’ll see you at the pool. Come loud, come proud.
The women’s swimming and diving team started their championship season this past weekend competing at the 2011 MVC varsity super meet and came away with a team record 6th straight divisional title. Again the recipe was very much the same, strong relays, 8 top six finishes in individual events and team depth with 13 different Cougars scoring points. Seniors Lexi Scharmer and Jordan Muir, junior Jess Schmeiser and freshman Sam Jacobsen led the way with podium finishes in every event they raced in. The Cougars came into the meet as underdogs to their cross town rivals Linn Mar but were able to retain their title as “Best in the Metro” at MVC varsity. The Cougars are now rated 7th in the state as they prepare for regionals on October 29th here at the JFK natatorium. This coming weekend they also will host the 2011 MVC soph/frosh championships where you can see many of the future Cougar champions.
The 2011 women’s swimming and diving team completed their dual meet season last night at home with a solid performance corralling the Mustangs from Dubuque Hempstead 117 to 69. The 9th ranked Cougars celebrated senior night while running their record to 8 and 2 with dominating relays and strong team depth. Individual event winners were junior Jess Schmeiser in the 200 free, senior captain Jordan Muir in the 50 free and senior captain Lexi Scharmer in the 100 butterfly. Fellow senior Kelsi Carney also swam well last night with 50 percent lifetime swims as she enters her final championship season.
CEDAR FALLS - The Cedar Rapids Kennedy swim team is ranked No. 9 in the state power rankings, but the Cougars were no match for No. 2 Cedar Falls Tuesday night.
Cedar Falls swept all 12 events and drubbed Kennedy, 130-56, at a meet in Cedar Falls.
There were two tight relay races. Cedar Falls nipped Kennedy in the 400 freestyle relay by .16 seconds and the Tigers took the 200 freestyle relay by .40 seconds.
Aftin Phyfe and Kelsey Abbas won two individual events for Cedar Falls.
Vinton-Shellsburg also swam in the meet but did not finish in the top-5 in any individual event or the top-3 in any relay.
CEDAR FALLS - Cedar Rapids Kennedy placed in the top-6 in six events Saturday and finished third at the 33rd Marcussen Invitational girls swimming meet in Cedar Falls.
Lexi Scharmer placed fourth in the 100 butterfly and finished sixth in the 100 backstroke for Kennedy. Jordan Muir placed fifth in the 100 fly. The Cougars finished third in the 200 medley relay, fifth in the 200 freestyle relay and sixth in the 400 freestyle relay.
Jackie Hughes of Cedar Rapids Washington finished second in the 500 freestyle and took fifth in the 200 freestyle. McKenzie Asplund placed sixth in the 100 breaststroke for the Warriors.
Kailey Drake took fifth in the 50 freestyle for Cedar Rapids Jefferson.
Waukesha South won the team championship, nudging Cedar Falls for the top spot. Kennedy was third, Washington sixth and Jefferson 11th.
The women’s swimming and diving team hit the road last night as they traveled to Iowa City West to take on the 4th rated Trojans. The Cougars managed only two victories as the ladies of Troy dominated them with a final score of 120 to 65. JFK’s lone individual winner was senior captain Lexi Scharmer in the 100 butterfly. The foursome of Hannah Botkin, Jordan Muir, Amanda Jacobsen and Jess Schmeiser also brought home gold in the 200 free relay. The Cougars now stand 6 and 1 in dual meets this year and will travel to Cedar Falls on Saturday to compete in the 33rd annual Marcussen Invitational. Diving begins at 9:00 AM followed by swimming at 1:00 PM.
The Cougar Invitational featured five of the top 13 girls swimming teams in the state, and it was Cedar Falls that showed why it is top-ranked Saturday at the Kennedy pool.
Cedar Falls cruised to first place with 580 points and fifth-ranked Johnston easily took second with 470 points in a star-studded field of teams and individuals.
The real fun came from two Metro teams. No. 7 Linn-Mar and No. 9 Kennedy battled for third throughout the day. Linn-Mar had a 12-point lead going into the final event of the day, the 400 freestyle relay. Despite finishing fifth in the event, the Lions were able to hang onto third place by two points over the Cougars, who finished third in the relay.
The teams gave an indication of how close it would be when Linn-Mar took second to Kennedy’s third in the first event of the day, the 200 medley relay.
The event was one of three top three finishes for Kennedy senior Lexi Scharmer, who got the only individual win for a Metro individual by besting teammate Jordan Muir in the 100 butterfly. Scharmer anchored an intense 400 freestyle relay to close out the day.
“I usually don’t anchor that race,” Scharmer said. “I am good friends with Linn-Mar’s anchor (Alex Dunn) so I wanted to beat her.”
Scharmer was able to beat Dunn and the Lions in the final race of the day, but it was not enough to overcome what the Lions and Dunn had done earlier in the day.
“We swam terrific, I was real pleased with the effort to be so close to a great team like Linn-Mar,” Kennedy Coach John Ross said. “It should be fun at the end of the year.”
Dunn led the Lions with a third-place finish in the 200 freestyle, second-place finish in the 100 freestyle, and led off the Lions' victorious 200 freestyle relay.
The Lions had top six finishes in nine of the 11 events. Freshman Lizzie Adams was second in the 50 freestyle, and senior Emilie Berg was third in the 100 backstroke and sixth in the 100 butterfly. The Lions' consistency racked up enough points to capture third place.
“The competition was great, our team swam well,” Linn-Mar Coach Chad Derlein said. “We had good, we had bad. Third is good but it is not what I wanted.”
Jefferson also was entered in the nine-team field. The stacked field of ranked teams was too much for the J-Hawks to make a splash and they finished seventh.
“It was a good meet overall,” Jefferson Coach Ryan York said. “The competition creates challenges along the way.”
Jefferson managed just one top six finish. Senior Kailey Drake took sixth in the 50 freestyle. The meet gave the J-Hawks a chance to see what they need to work on for next month's stretch run.
“(Our) starts and turns will be a huge focus over the next couple weeks,” York said.
Kennedy's Ross didn't put a whole lot of stock in what happened Saturday. The are still six weeks until the state meet is held Nov. 5 at Marshallltown.
“Swimming is unique in that everything we do is geared for the last meet,” Ross said. “Today was a glorified practice.”
The 8th ranked women’s swimming and diving team
continued their season of excellence with a 132 to
41 victory on Tuesday over the visiting Golden
Eagles of Dubuque Wahlert.
The Cougars now stand 6
and 0 midway thru their dual meet season, using not
only team depth to dominate the opposition but are
now posting some of the top times in the state. The
medley relay currently has the 7th fastest time,
the 400 free relay has the 5th fastest and last
night the quartet of Hannah Botkin, Lexi Scharmer,
Megan Berst and Jess Schmeiser swam the 5th fastest
time in the 200 free relay.
Individually, Lexi
Scharmer swam the 8th fastest time in the state
with a personal best 1:01.11 in the 100 butterfly
and also won the 100 back. Freshman Sam Jacobsen
brought home 2 blue ribbons with eye opening
victories in the 200 IM and the 500 free. Other
individual winners were junior Jess Schmeiser in
the 50 free and sophomore Hannah Botkin in the 100
free. The Cougar JV remain undefeated with a
resounding 132 to 41 victory.
If you’d like to
watch this exciting team in person you’ll be able
to see them compete this weekend as they host the
Cougar Invite. Diving begins at 9:00 AM followed by
the swimmers at 1:00 PM.
IOWA CITY - The Cedar Rapids Kennedy swim team finished fifth in a strong field at the 2011 Little Hawk Invitational in Iowa City Saturday.
Cedar Falls won the meet with 451.5 points, followed by West Des Moines Valley (402.5), Iowa City West (305.5), Dowling Catholic (304), Kennedy (213.5), Ankeny (169), Bettendorf (152) and Iowa City High (102).
Lexi Scharmer placed third in the 100 butterfly in 1:03.01 to lead the Cougars.
The Cougar Swimming and diving team again made a powerful statement last night with a convincing 118 to 65 dual meet victory over Warriors at the Kennedy Natatorium. The meet started with an awesome 1, 2 finish in the 200 medley relay helping the 7th ranked team in the state to their 6th straight dual meet victory over their arch rivals. Individual heat winners were Sr captain Lexi Scharmer in the 100 butterfly, junior Jess Schmeiser in the 100 free, sophomore Hannah Botkin in the 50 free, freshman Sam Jacobsen in the 100 back and having the swim of the night, sophomore Katie Ferguson winning the 500 free in a lifetime best 5:49.54. The Cougars also won both the 200 and 400 free relays, sweeping the Warriors in the relay events. Not to be outdone, the JV team showed everyone that the future is bright for JFK swimming and diving with a dominating 119 to 51 victory. The Cougars travel to Iowa City this weekend to compete in the City High Invitational where they’ll compete against some of the top teams in Iowa. Congratulations ladies and good luck this weekend.
Kennedy won nine of 11 events and rolled past Williamsburg and Vinton-Shellsburg in a triangular girls swimming meet Tuesday night.
Kennedy amassed 313 points to outdistance Williamsburg (156) and Vinton-Shellsburg (125).
Jessica Schmeiser was the only Cougar with two individual event victories. She won the 200 free and 100 free and swam on the winning 200 free relay. Hannah Botkin (50 free), Amanda Jacobsen (500 fee), Lexi Scharmer (100 back) and Sydney Hofferber (100 breast) also won individual events. The Cougars won all three relay events.
Kennedy finished 1-2-3 in five events, including the 400 free relay.
The Jefferson and Prairie swimmers wore the same uniforms Tuesday night, but Kennedy beat them to the finish line. The Cougars won 10 of 12 events in the lopsided victory.
Lexi Scharmer participated in four victories for the Cougars in the 200 medley relay, 200 IM, 100 fly and 400 freestyle relay. Sam Jacobsen, Amanda Jacobsen and Jessica Schmeiser were triple winners for Kennedy. Larkin Aldrich and Hannah Botkin picked up two wins apiece, while Megan Berst and Myah McCoy won events.
The Cougar’s Women’s swimming and diving team began their dual meet season, hosting Iowa City High Tuesday night and dunked the Little Hawks 138- 48. Winning all but one event, the Cougars dominated from the start going 1 – 2 in the 200 medley relay and 1 -2 -3 in the 200 freestyle. Senior captain Lexi Scharmer, junior Jessica Schmeiser and freshman Sam Jacobsen led the way, winning two individual events each. Other event winners included freshman Larkin Aldrich in the 500 free and junior Amanda Jacobsen in the 100 breaststroke. The JV were also impressive with a 100 to 69 victory. Freshman Leah Beman began her Cougar career by winning both the 50 free and the 100 breaststroke. Joining her on the victory stand were fellow freshmen Brooke Harris in the 100 free and Jill Wegemester in the 100 back. Next Tuesday, August 30th the Cougars travel cross town to compete against their metro rival, CR Jefferson . The meet begins at 6:00 PM. Congratulations girls on a streamline start to your new season.