NCMP finishes second in Bobcat Swimming Relays
Dec. 12—MARSHALLTOWN — The Newton-Colfax-Mingo-Pella boys swim team won three events and placed in the top three eight times at the Marshalltown Bobcat Swimming Relays on Saturday.
The Cardinals were good enough for second place in the five-team field, but the host Bobcats won eight events and cruised to the team championship.
"Overall, it was a good meet," NCMP head boys swim coach Sarah Patterson said. "We had so many good swims. We are training well and have big goals in front of us."
Marshalltown won the meet with 91 points, while NCMP was second with 62. Cedar Rapids Kennedy (57), Spencer (43) and Atlantic (26) completed the field.
Finn Martin was part of two relay wins, while Eli Eekhoff, Clay Lamb, Brady Comer and Ethan Comer each registered a victory, too.
Martin teamed up with Eekhoff and Lamb to win a pair of two-person relay races.
Martin and Eekhoff won the 2x50-yard freestyle relay with a time of 46.12 seconds. Martin and Lamb combined to win the 2x100 butterfly in 1 minute, 54.28 seconds.
"Finn Martin continues to throw down blazing fast times, leading off the winning 2x50 free relay in a 22.55," Patterson said. "In addition, he and Clay Lamb won the 2x100 fly with Clay nearing his season best and Finn splitting a 53.83 with a time placing him in the top 10 in the state."
The Comer brothers teamed up to win the 2x100 breaststroke. They finished the race in 2:18.44.
The other top-three finishes in two-person relay events came in the 2x200 medley relay and the 2x500 freestyle relay.
In the 2x200 medley relay, Drew Fuller and Jonah Brown teamed up to place third in 5:07.77.
Fuller and MacK Copeland joined forces to place third in the 2x500 relay. They finished in 12:19.7.
NCMP placed second in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays and third in the 200 medley relay.
In the 200 freestyle relay, the team of Eekhoff, Lamb, Brady Comer and Martin finished in 1:36.37. Marshalltown won the relay in 1:36.03
The foursome of Eekhoff, Lamb, Copeland and Martin completed the 400 freestyle relay in 3:31.46. Marshalltown's winning time was clocked in 3:30.07.
"We were second but not without a fight," Patterson said about the 200 and 400 freestyle relays. "We were close in both races. And both relay times are in the top 20 in the state right now. I know getting to the state meet is a huge goal for the athletes and for the coaches."
In the 200 medley relay, Fuller, Brady Comer, Brown and Ethan Comer were third in 1:57.8.
Notes: The Newton junior varsity squad scored 35 points. Brady Comer and Ethan Comer combined to win the JV 2x50 freestyle relay in 53.16 seconds. In the 2x100 freestyle relay, Collin Buchli and Kenny Skinner-Havens finished second in 2:14.68. The NCMP JV 400 freestyle relay team of Brown, Buchli, Skinner-Havens and Fuller placed second in 4:19.06. "Ethan and Brady Comer made for a formidable pair — winning the varsity 2x100 breaststroke and winning the JV 2x50 freestyle," Patterson said. "Brady's 100 breast split of 1:04.35 ranks him in the top 20 in the state right now and Ethan had a personal best 100 time."