By BRANDON HURLEY
Sports Editor
BOONE – Four years of hard work and preparation comes down to one day.
The Boone girls swim team, fresh off a second place finish at the North Central Conference meet, travels to Johnston Saturday, Oct. 29 for regionals, as the Toreadors take aim at state.
At this point in the season, success is determined on confidence and the ability to acknowledge the moment, Boone head coach Chris Mann said.
“The girls have to get it in their heads that this is their final chance of the season to show what they can do as a team and to try and make it into the state meet,” the coach said. “We are swimming in a traditionally fast pool, with some fast teams so we should have some great opportunities.”
The Toreadors are matched up against many of the best swimmers in the state, including athletes from Johnston, Ankeny, Carroll, Fairfield, Des Moines Hoover, Lincoln and North. It’s nothing Boone isn’t up to the challenge for.
“The competition Saturday is phenomenal,” Mann said. “Two big teams are Ankeny and Johnston. They will be fighting for the team crown. We are third out of the eight teams going as far as ranking goes, with a lot of great individual and team possibilities.”
The Toreadors will rely on their core of seniors (Ann Marie DeVries, Madelynn Santi and Erin Kokemiller as well as Greene County junior, Haley Hall. The quartet excels in the relays as well as a handful of other individual events. The four powered their way to the state meet a season ago in the medley relay. Greene County athletes Ashley Hunter and Megan Doran have also played vital roles in Boone’s success so far this year.
“I expect very great things,” Mann said. “Our three seniors will be gunning for their last shot into the state meet, so you should see them swim well. We have more experience each year we come to this meet, and that experience in big meets will pay off for those three as well as our juniors.”
The Toreadors have been right in the thick of things all season long, winning several dual meets and placing in the top half of each weekend invite. Mann expects his swimmers to make a return trip to state in 2016, if not in even more events. The hundreds of hours of practice and dedication over the last several years are about to pay off, the coach said.
“Our main event is the medley relay. That is our relay that made state last year, and is currently ranked ninth in the state. I expect us to make state in that relay, as well as potentially making it in the 400 free relay,” Mann said. “There are several individuals scattered throughout the meet that have fantastic opportunities. Erin (Kokemiller) in the individual medley and breaststroke has a great shot. She swam breast at state last year. Anne Marie (DeVries) in the sprints, Haley Hall in the 100 butterfly, and Madelynn (Santi) in the 100 backstroke are all good shots to get into the state meet this year and represent a team they has worked hard for the last three or four years.”
Action gets underway at the Johnston middle school at noon on Saturday.
The state swim meet is set for the following Saturday, Nov. 5 in Marshalltown.
HALL’S THREE TITLES POWER TOREADORS TO SECOND AT CONFERENCE
Green County’s Haley Hall was a force to be reckoned with at the North Central Conference swim meet Saturday, Oct. 22 in Waterloo. The junior sparked the Boone swim team to a second place finish behind three conference titles, helping the Toreadors to six championships in all.
The Toreadors narrowly missed out on the team championship as it turned into a two squad race for the top spot.
Decorah captured the eventual team title with 430 points, barely edging out Boone, which scored 424.
Newton came in third with 229 points while Grinnell (101), Vinton-Shellsburg (84), Oskaloosa (74) and Williamsburg (30) rounded out the top seven.
Hall’s meet started with a bang, as she captured championships in the day’s first two events, including a record-setting performance.
The junior was a member of the first place and school record-setting 200-yard medley relay team that captured first overall, as she swam the third leg of the quartet that included Madelynn Santi, Erin Kokemiller and Anne Marie DeVries.
In securing the title, the relay team set the Boone High School school-record, swimming to an all-time best of of 1:53.37.
Hall’s second straight title came in the 200-yard fresstyle, cruising to a time of 2:02.25.
Her third championship was won in the 100-yard butterfly, jump-starting a one-two with fellow Greene County athlete Megan Doran. Hall swim to a time of 1:02.29 while Doran finished with a split of 1:04.66.
In all, the Toreadors captured six total event titles, including two apiece from Kokemiller, Santi and DeVries, as they each captured one individual title in addition to the medley relay championship.