Cyclones stretch win streak to five against Mountaineers
Emily Blobaum/Iowa State Daily
Iowa State fans cheer on the Cyclones during their 200 freestyle relay Jan. 21. The Cyclones defeated the West Virginia Mountaineers 153-147.
January 21, 2017
In a similar fashion to last year’s meet, the Iowa State and West Virginia swim meet came down to the last relay to determine the winner.
The Cyclones stretched their four-year win streak against the Mountaineers to five with a final score of 153-147.
The first relay of the morning came down to the last half second but West Virginia touched the pad first, taking the first 11 points and the lead. It wasn’t long before Iowa State got their first place win when freshman Keely Soellner touched the pad first in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:52.80.
In the 100-yard breaststroke junior Kasey Roberts took 11 more points and a first place finish with a time of 1:04.98.
The first place finishes were back and forth between the Mountaineers and the Cyclones. Iowa State swept in the 50-yard freestyle, taking the top three spots in the race. Junior Laura Miksch, senior Maddie Rastall, and senior Savanna Townsend took first, second, and third, respectively.
Into the first diving break, the Mountaineers were up 67-64.
Senior Julie Dickinson took the top spot in 3-meter diving with a score of 309.15.
The Cyclones swept the Mountaineers again in the 100-yard freestyle. Rastall took first with a time of 52.88, senior Brooke Evensen took second at 53.50, and junior Silqi Luo took third at 53.95. The Cyclones took the lead 91-78.
In the 500-yard freestyle, the Cyclones took second, third, and fourth place finishes, but the Mountaineers slowly widened the point gap.
Dickinson took first place again for the Cyclones on the 1-meter diving board with a score of 290.95.
In the 200-yard Individual Medley, Roberts started out following West Virginia’s Morgan Bullock, but pulled ahead in the final stretch of the relay. She took first with a time of 2:06.81.
The Cyclones were trailing 145-138 before the final race of the day.
It was a neck and neck 200-yard freestyle relay race between the two schools but relay A consisting of Townsend, Rastall, junior Harper Emswiler, and Miksch took first with a time of 1:36.17, and secured the win.
