FORT PIERCE, Fla. - The Iowa Central swim team has been gearing up for this week for quite some time now.
The Tritons will be well represented on both the men's and women's sides at the NJCAA Swimming and Diving Championships hosted by Indian River State beginning here on Wednesday.
"After this crazy year, we're very excited to get down to Florida and get to racing," Plane said. "The swimmers have done such a great job of staying focused all year. Now, all their hard work will pay off."
Iowa Central enters the meet ranked second on the men's side and third on the women's. Indian Rivers State is first with the Southwestern Oregon women just ahead of the Tritons.
Kyle McKenzie enters the meet with Top-5 times in four events including the second-fastest 400 individual medley this year at 4:03.60. Tjeerd Van Stein is in the Top-7 in four events, Drew Giles in the Top-8 in four and Andrew Iverson, Gerard Ijspeert and Ramiro Liceaga in the Top-10 in four.
Van Stein is third in the 200 backstroke, Iverson fourth in the 500 freestyle and Johnathon Turner fourth in both the 50 freestyle and 100 individual medley. Dylan Jones, Javier Santiago, Brady Ferguson, Dalton Hammel, Spencer Ehrenhard and Owen Gordon also have Top-10 times coming in.
Lily Wright has the second-best 100 individual medley at 1:01.91 and Magali Mouton the second-fastest 100 breaststroke in 1:08.50. Wright is also third in the 200 breaststroke and sixth in the 100 butterfly, with Mouton fourth in both the 50 breaststroke and 200 breaststroke.
Shannon Murphy has Top-7 times in four events, Saige Knight, Lexi Mast, Haley Snawerdt and Emily Small have three in the Top-9. Anna Ridnour boasts two and Penny Lawrence one in the Top-10.
Indian River State has won each and every national team title, claiming the men's trophy every season since 1975 and the women's since 1983. As a program, they have won 244 out of the last 285 individual races and 96 of the 100 relay crowns since 2001.
Iowa Central claimed its first national title in 2019 and has won four individual and two relays since.
"We have some really big goals for both teams and each individual," Plane said. "The work is all done; now, it's time to swim fast."
Events will begin Wednesday and continue through Saturday.
-By Dana Becker