A new wave of swimmers and a personal best off the diving board lifted Marshalltown girls swimming and diving to a season-opening victory in a dual meet with Mason City at the MHS pool on Tuesday.
The Bobcats won 10 events in a 105-75 triumph over the Riverhawks.
“It was a great meet,” MHS coach Angie Nelson said. “All the girls were able to contribute and everybody looked like they were working hard. … This is a great starting spot for the girls as we build into next week before [Marshalltown] school starts.”
Senior diver Kate Hauser blew past her previous personal best diving score for the 6-dive with a 252.75 score to win the event on Tuesday.
The two-time state qualifier said she’s come to her final go-around with the Bobcats with a fresh mindset.
“This is my senior year and I can just throw in a lot of new dives and be confident,” Hauser said. “I know when I’m happy and positive, I do a lot better and I noticed the girls are swimming a lot better too because we just have a positive and comfortable environment this year.”
Maggie Buseman was the runner-up in the diving event with a 141.85.
“The height she was able to get off the board is just remarkably better than she has in years’ past,” Nelson said. “You can tell that’s really been a growing point, really good focal point for her. She’s going to do some big things this year.”
Hauser admitted it’s different not having her teammate and last year’s state diving champion, Abby Tollefson, at her side after Tollefson graduated last year.
“She was just so positive, she was my hype woman,” Hauser said. “But I’ve got Leia Hernandez to talk to and she’s someone I can talk to. It’s different, but I know it’s going to be a good time.”
Hernandez, a sophomore, won two individual events for the Bobcats in the 50- and 100-meter freestyle and was part of the winning team in both the 200 and 400 free relays.
The other individual wins went to Marshalltown freshmen – Emma Case grabbed gold in the 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly, Drea Ceren won the 100 backstroke and Adele Beek was the champion in the 100 breaststroke.
Beek and Case teamed up with Rachel Case and Libby Meyer to win the 200 medley relay; Beek, Rachel Case, Maisie Gummert and Hernandez were on the winning 200 free quartet, and Case, Hernandez, Ceren and Gummert were the victorious four in the 400 free relay.
“We are super blessed with a great freshman class coming in, not just great swimmers, but great personalities,” Nelson said. “They bring a lot of talent to the team and they had some PRs from beyond their Blue Wave days, and that’s what we want to see from the hard work that we’ve been putting in the last three weeks before their first head-to-head competition.
“We had some phenomenal times not just from our freshmen, but from our returners as well. … This is a great place to start.”
Marshalltown 105, Mason City 75
EVENT RESULTS
(Champion and MHS placewinners)
200 MEDLEY RELAY — 1. MHS (E. Case, Beek, R. Case, Meyer), 2:04.91; 3. MHS (Ceren, Bear, Lasack, Reyes), 2:27.49.
200 FREESTYLE — 1. Mallory Cook, MC, 2:11.13; 2. Maisie Gummert, MHS, 2:12.74; 3. Alex Lasack, MHS, 2:36.25.
200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY — 1. Emma Case, MHS, 2:29.62; 3. Adele Beek, MHS, 2:35.28.
50 FREESTYLE — 1. Leia Hernandez, MHS, 26.28; 3. Rachel Case, MHS, 28.35.
1-METER DIVING — 1. Kate Hauser, MHS, 252.75.
100 BUTTERFLY — 1. E. Case, MHS, 1:08.37; 2. Lasack, MHS, 1:17.94.
100 FREESTYLE — 1. Hernandez, MHS, 58.32; 3. Drea Ceren, MHS, 1:03.01.
500 FREESTYLE — 1. Cook, MC, 5:57.83; 2. Gummert, MHS, 6:05.24; 3. Libby Meyer, MHS, 6:45.33.
200 FREESTYLE RELAY — 1. MHS (Beek, R. Case, Gummert, Hernandez), 1:51.24; 3. MHS (Lasack, Bear, Meyer, Reyes), 2:10.48.
100 BACKSTROKE — 1. Ceren, MHS, 1:16.42; 3. Meyer, MHS, 1:24.92.
100 BREASTSTROKE — 1. Beek, MHS, 1:16.66; 3. R. Case, MHS, 1:24.99.
400 FREESTYLE RELAY — 1. MHS (E. Case, Hernandez, Ceren, Gummert), 4:16.39; 3. MHS (Reyes, Holtsclaw, Boone, Gannaway), 5:57.21.