After winning the MVC Meet Jan. 24, the boys swimming team traveled to Johnston, Iowa Feb. 7 for the IHSAA District Meet to add another win to their near-perfect season. The Trojan Bolts garnered 503 points for a first-place finish, far surpassing second-place Southeast Polk with 365.5 points.
Across 13 events, the Trojan Bolts took numerous podium performances. The 200Y Freestyle Relay, 400Y Freestyle Relay and 200Y Medley Relay each took first. Strong individual performances also contributed to the win, with seniors Hudson Huberg, Winston Fan, Nikolai Paulson, Oliver Mikulski and junior Ethan Landon taking home medals in their respective events. Find more results here.
Despite their near-undefeated record, Gavin Salge ’27 believes the team exceeded expectations.
“We did amazing. I don’t think anyone here was expecting us to do as well as we did,” Salge said. “We had really high hopes going in, but I think we’re leaving with even higher hopes.”
Paulson echoes this, envisaging a win at the state team title.
“Everyone gave it their all, and we’ll give even more next weekend,” Paulson said. “Overall, we have a really good chance of winning both relay and individual points.”
Head Coach Byron Butler agrees that going into this weekend, the Trojan Bolts have one goal: winning the state team title.
“The biggest goal would be to win the state team title,” Butler said. “I think that’s the goal every year. That’s what we’re hoping for.”
To qualify for the IHSAA state meet, athletes must finish among the top 32 individuals or 24 relay teams, or win the district event. In addition to the Trojan Bolts qualified by winning their respective events, Butler hopes to qualify more athletes to fully round out the state team.
“I think we’re in a good position for state,” Butler said. “We’ll see where the chips fall, but I think we’re going to end up qualifying almost everybody that we hope to. Next week, we’ll rest a little harder and go even faster.”
Butler notes how the Trojan Bolts’ hard work has paid off, but — although the team has already exceeded expectations — there is still more to come at the state meet.
“The guys have continually been working hard and improving,” Butler said. “We’ve only started to scratch the surface of what we’re capable of here at the end of the season.”
Going into the state meet, there is a focus on athletes’ performance. But outside the pool, Assistant Coach Cole Phillips emphasizes that the team hasn’t just improved their times; more importantly, they’ve grown closer.
“They’ve really grown a lot as a team,” Phillips said. “A lot of guys have become really good friends that are going to last forever.”
The Trojan Bolts will return to the pool for the final time this season at the state meet Feb. 13-14.
