Girls swim extends state-best regional title streak: 16-straight

Girls swimming and diving extended the program’s active state-best streak of consecutive regional championships, winning the Ames regional at Dan Flannery Pool on Saturday. The Little Cyclones were controlled the team scoring in this grouping, collecting a total of 512 team points, comfortably topping second-place Sioux City with 358.

Ames took home gold in five events; first led by the 200 Medley Relay team in the first swimming event of the day. The team of Elizabeth Powers-Reese Winer-Andra Robertson-Saylor Horras edged the next-best Carroll team by more than a second-and-a-half to claim the 40 team points.

In the 200 Individual Medley, Andra Robertson took home regional gold with a season-best time of 2:09.83. Robertson would take silver in the 100 Breaststroke, but will take the No. 2 overall seed at the state championship prelims after the Ames region posted five of the top nine times in the event.

Saylor Horras (24.47) edged out a victory in the 50 Freestyle, defeating Fort Dodge’s Hailey Vogel at 24.57). Teammate Riley Snakenberg won the longest event of the day, the 500 Freestyle in a time of 5:10.25.

The Little Cyclones would finish their regional gold quest with a victory in the 200 Freestyle Relay, with the Horras-Suri Hanson-Alex Powers-Winer quartet narrowly topping Sioux City’s squad by two hundredths of a second.

The IGHSAU posted the official qualifier list on Saturday evening. The Little Cyclones placed at least an athlete in each individual event and will have a top-10 seeded relay squad in all three relays. Prelims start at 11:00 AM on Friday at the Marshalltown YMCA Aquatic Center. The lone qualified diver from Ames, Lucy York, competes starting at 4:30 PM. The finals start on Saturday at noon. More information on the state championship meet can be found here: IGHSAU State Swimming & Diving Championship Meet Central