CEDAR RAPIDS — The 2023 girls high school swimming and diving season opened Tuesday, August 22 for the Iowa City High School Little Hawks with a dual meet at Cedar Rapids Kennedy. Eight Solon student athletes – Grace Hoeper, Tatum Holtkamp, Claire Leone, Avery Mann, Ella Vernon, Madelyn Elkins, Taryn Anderson, and Paige Anderson, are swimming with City High this season.
Coach Mandi Kowal said, “Great work by the Little Hawks, I’m most pleased with their aggressiveness from every swimmer and diver. A great way to start the season.”
Hoeper wins twice as Cougars slip past the Little Hawks
CR Kennedy 95, City High 91
Grace Hoeper, a junior, was a double-winner for City High as she took the 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly in 1:53.43 and 57.58. Hoeper also anchored the winning 200-yard freestyle relay with Saorise Miller, Ellie Galloway, and Elsa Farber in 1:46.71, and the winning 400-yard freestyle relay with Farber, Miller, and Celeste Miller in 3:58.43.
Holtkamp, a senior, took fifth in the breaststroke (1:27.54) and was second in the 200-medley relay with Celeste Miller, Vidya Kumar, and Margalit Frank (2:12.00).
Mann, a senior, was second in the 500 freestyle (6:00.71), fourth in the 50 freestyle (29.14), anchored the third-place 200 medley relay with Galloway, Riley Polfliet, and Kalea Seaton (2:12.40), and anchored the third-place 400 freestyle relay with Seaton, Adeliade Newton, and Miriam Doval (4:27.54).
Elkins, a freshman, was fifth in the 200 Individual Medley (IM) in 2:58.36.
Vernon wins twice in JV competition
City High 131, CR Kennedy 37
Ella Vernon, a senior, won the JV 200 freestyle in 2:24.66 and the 100 freestyle in 1:07.67, and was in the winning 200 freestyle relay with Mabel Whittenkeller, Elsie Gavin, and Kate Bird (2:05.82) as well as anchoring the winning 400 freestyle relay led off by Elkins, Whittenkeller, and Adel Cilek (4:42.85).
Claire Leone, a senior, won the 100 breaststroke in 1:38.28 and was third in the 200 IM (3:21.79). Leone was in the second-place 400 freestyle relay with Lolita Hurlbutt, Ily Jensen, and Elsie Gavin (5:12.72.
Holtkamp, a senior, was second in the 100 freestyle (1:09.51) and was in the third-place 200 freestyle relay led off by Elkins and with Frank and Newton (1:59.08).
Elkins took second in the 100-yard butterfly in 1:39.81.
Upcoming events
The Little Hawks have a pair of home meets coming up with Dubuque Senior visiting Tuesday, Sept. 5 and CR Washington visiting Tuesday, Sept. 12. Both meets will be held at the Mercer Park Aquatic Center in Iowa City and start at 6:00 p.m.
Grace Hoeper won the varsity 200-yard freestyle (1:53.43) and 100-yard butterfly (57.58) Tuesday, August 22 in City High’s season opening meet at Cedar Rapids Kennedy.