Notre Dame dominates three-team swimming meet

Monday's high school swim meet at the SEMO Aquatic Center may have lacked competition, but the coaches involved used the triangular meet as a springboard toward late-season success.

Notre Dame dominated the meet, winning 10 of 12 events on its way to 144 team points. Jackson was second with 81, followed by Saxony Lutheran with 11.

Senior Zach Smith earned two individual first place finishes for Notre Dame, and later admitted to having state-qualifying times on his mind.

Smith won the 200 individual medley in 2 minutes, 10.80 seconds and the 500 freestyle in 5:18.56, and was a member of the Bulldogs' winning 200 medley relay.

"It's one of my better events," Smith said of the 200 IM. "I've gone faster. I did better earlier in the season."

Notre Dame’s Ethan Pobst swims in the 100-yard backstroke Monday at the SEMO Aquatic Center.

Smith has already qualified for the state meet in the event after swimming a 2:06 and is working toward shaving even more time off that mark.

"I'm looking for at least a 2:02," he said, noting better turns at the walls will help him reach his goal. "The walls are the trickiest part to get in the IM. They're not specific to any style. You have to get the walls down before anything else."

Senior teammate Ethan Pobst won the 100 freestyle in 53.66 and also swam in the 200 medley relay.

"I've gone faster," Pobst said, noting a time of 51 seconds earlier this season. "This is a slower pool. There's not as much competition as there is in the bigger meets like in St. Louis."

Pobst said he's nearing his goal of 50.5 in the event, which would qualify him for the state meet.

"I'm at a much better place now that I was at this time last year, so it's very promising," he said.

Jackson's Alex Snyder won the 100 breaststroke in 1:09.79 and needs to shave some five seconds off that time to qualify for the state meet.

"It's actually my best event," he said. "Today I didn't get my best time, but by the end of the year I think I can get pretty close to the state cut."

Although Notre Dame coach Jameson Kuper was pleased with his team's win, the number of disqualifications the Bulldogs had irked him.

Jackson’s Alex Snyder swims in the 100-yard breaststroke Monday at the SEMO Aquatic Center. Snyder finished first in the event. (Fred Lynch)

"Those kind of eat at me," he said, noting one DQ wiped out a first-place finish in the 200 freestyle. "I would much rather get a fifth place than no points."

Although the DQs didn't hurt Notre Dame on Monday, they most certainly would in larger, more competitive meets. It's something Kuper wants his squad to work on.

"We really haven't spent enough time with the blocks," Kuper said. "But the boys were racing well. With this being Monday, I wasn't really expecting any glamorous times. Later in the week we should really be flying."

Jackson coach Carole Baugh has had to restructure her squad after losing several swimmers for various unspecified reasons.

"I had to move some boys around," she said. "We've got a very young team, and with the swimmers we're experimenting with, we're pretty limited as to what events we can swim."

Baugh admitted some of her top swimmers did not swim in their signature event.

"We have to keep working on getting more depth in the team," she said. "We won't have that problem forever."

Saxony Lutheran coach Dan Rau brought just two swimmers to the meet. He was pleased with the performance of Sam Unger, who had fifth-place finishes in both the 50 and 100 freestyle.

"He's developed good technique for the freestyle, but we have to build endurance into that technique," Rau said. "His technique's not falling apart late in the race, which is a good sign."

Team scores: Notre Dame 144, Jackson 81, Saxony Lutheran 11

Individual results

200 medley relay -- 1. Notre Dame (Ethan Pobst, Ben Tlapek, Zach Smith, Jackson Voss) 1:49.65; 2. Notre Dame 2:02.39; 3. Jackson 2:07.77. 200 freestyle -- 1. Matthew Snyder J 2:14.28; 2. Bruce Nguyen ND 2:15.09; 3. Tylon Chiles J 2:25.78. 200 individual medley -- 1. Smith ND 2:10.80; 2. Alex Snyder J 2:18.13; 3. Ian Cameron SL 2:29.01. 50 freestyle -- 1. Caleb Heisserer ND 24.58; 2. Jack Gard J 26.02; 3. Bill Kapp ND 27.10. 100 butterfly -- 1. Jackson Voss ND 58.55; 2. Gard ND 1:08.58; 3. David Carman ND 1:09.17. 100 freestyle -- 1. Pobst ND 53.66; 2. Heisserer ND 4.01; 3. Rex McNeeley J 1:01.96. 500 Freestyle -- 1. Smith ND 5:18.56; 2. Mitchell Heisserer ND 6:07.42; 3. Trevor Smith J 6:51.10. 200 freestyle relay -- 1. Notre Dame (Tlapek, Nguyen, Kapp, C. Heisserer) 1:45.24; 2. Notre Dame 1:51.97; 3. Jackson 2:13.46. 100 backstroke -- 1. Voss ND 1:02.01; 2. Pobst ND 1:04.07; 3. M. Snyder J 1:15.39. 100 breaststroke -- 1. A. Snyder J 1:09.79; 2. Tlapek J 1:14.71; 3. Lucas Hurley ND 1:16.02. 400 freestyle relay -- 1. Notre Dame (Voss, Pobst, Kapp, Carman) 4:03.15; 2. Jackson 4:17.78.