OTTUMWA — Pound for pound — the Ottumwa boys swim team packs a wallop of a punch.
The red and white Bulldogs are low on numbers — high on talent.
If you’re looking for a darkhorse to cross the finish line strong at the state swim meet in two weeks — bet on red.
First things first as Ottumwa will bring all of 13 swimmers to the district meet held at Des Moines Roosevelt this Saturday in attempt qualify for state. That might seem like a light load, but the Bulldogs proved at the conference meet last Saturday that dynamite comes in small packages.
The Bulldogs won eight of the 11 events at the CIML Metro swim meet last week. The Bulldogs finished second to a much larger Des Moines Roosevelt squad, but just by eight points.
The host Roughriders — along with Ames, Ankeny and Ottumwa — will be four of the top teams at the district meet that will vie to send as many as possible to state. Des Moines Lincoln, Newton and Southeast Polk are other teams in attendance at the meet.
Ottumwa took five swimmers to state last year and finished 10th. Ottumwa head coach Justin Crouch feels he can send eight this season.
It’s not uncommon for teams with few swimmers to finish among the elite at state. Crouch’s dad, Mark Crouch, who is the current Dowling Catholic head coach, sent three swimmers to state one season and wound up third.
“They had the national swimmer of the year on that squad, though, also,” said Justin.
Ottumwa won’t have a swimmer along the lines of that caliber, but the Bulldogs have some of the best talent in the state.
It’s that simple fact that has Crouch thinking big.
“We want to contend for a state championship,” said Crouch.
Why not?, as he’ll have the fastest swimmer in the state in the breaststroke in senior Jesse Lawrence and super soph Dustin Rhoads shattering school records in his quest for a state title.
Rhoads and Lawrence also are half of the 200 medley relay, which holds the OHS pool record in a time of 1:40.28. The squad has the third-fastest time in the state according to the power rankings posted by the Iowa High School Swim Coaches Association on late Wednesday.
“They have put themselves in a position where the state knows about them,” said the Ottumwa head coach.
Lawrence is the school record holder in the breaststroke (1:00.01) and finished third at state in ’07.
The chances this season for a state title to end Lawrence’s prep career are good according to Crouch.
“I wouldn’t bet against him, that’s for sure,” said Crouch.
Rhoads broke the school record last week in the butterfly (51.87).
“To do that before the state meet is pretty impressive,” said Crouch.
Rhoads finished ninth at state last year in the butterfly and placed sixth at state in the backstroke. Rhoads currently sports the second-fastest times headed into districts in each event.
The 200 medley relay also consists of senior Mark Pettit and OHS senior foreign-exchange student Philipp Gampe, who hails from Germany. Gampe is eying top-six state finishes in the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle.
“To do what we’re doing, it’s exciting,” said Crouch.
Pettit should qualify in the backstroke. Drew Ruggles is aiming for a qualifying position at state in the 50 freestyle and the butterfly. Renato Ferraz, a senior foreign-exchange student from Brazil, will take his crack at state in the 500 freestyle and the butterfly. Tim Harned has a shot to make state in the breaststroke.
Ottumwa’s 200 freestyle relay sports the sixth-fastest time in the state and is comprised of Gampe, Rhoads, Ruggles and Lawrence. The Bulldogs’ 400 freestyle relay is made up of Ruggles, Max Zimmerman, Ferraz and Pettit.
“When the state times come in Saturday night, we want to show that Ottumwa is a force to be reckoned with,” said Crouch.
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