Washington Boys Swimming

Barnes, Ford post 2 wins at Ames Invitational

AMES - Cedar Rapids Washington seniors Morgan Barnes and Ian Ford each posted a pair of wins Saturday at the Ames Invitational boys swimming meet.

Barnes won the 200 freestyle in 1:47.98 and the 500 free in 4:54.89. The Warriors' Josh Hughes was runnerup in both events.

Ford won the 200 individual medley in 2:02.34 and the 100 backstroke in 54.31.

Washington finished third with 196.5 points. Johnston won all three relays and claimed first-place in the team race with 298 points. Ankeny was second with 217.

The meet featured six of the state's top teams in Washington, Johnston, Ankeny, Cedar Falls, Ames and Des Moines Roosevelt.

AMES INVITATIONAL

Teams - 1. Johnston 298, 2. Ankeny 217, 3. CR Washington 196.5, 4. Ames 181, 5. Cedar Falls 173.5, 6. DM Roosevelt 90, 7. Mason City 42, 8. DM Hoover 34.

200 Medley Relay
1.  Johnston (Winget, Winnett, Molander, Ross)  1:40.66
2.  Ankeny (L Klinker, Braadt, Settle, Burr)  1:41.85
3.  Cedar Falls (Clements, Sund, Stern, Michels)  1:42.89
4.  CRW (M Barnes, Ford, L Barnes, Allison) 1:44.34

200 Free
1.  Morgan Barnes (CRW) 1:47.98
2.  Josh Hughes (CRW) 1:48.61
3.  Wieland (John) 1:49.86
16.  Roush (CRW)  2:02.19

200 IM
1.  Ian Ford (CRW)  2:02.34
2.  Braadt (Ank) 2:04.71
3.  Winnett (John) 2:05.08
7.  Thorson (CRW)  2:11.65
18. Kopec (CRW)  2:25.26

50 Free
1.  Ross (John) 22.14
2.  Burr (Ank)  22.69
3.  Stark (Ames)  22.96
9.  Allison (CRW)  23.83
11. Scheetz (CRW)  24.29
15. Nassif (CRW)  24.66

100 Fly
1.  Ward (Des Moines Roosevelt)  55.29
2.  Molander (John)  56.14
3.  Pyle (Ames)  56.23
11.  Durin (CRW)  59.05
13  Thorson (CRW)  59.35
14  L Barnes (CRW)  59.86

100 Free
1.  Cracraft (John)  48.95
2.  J Klinker (Ank)  49.52
3.  Wieland (John)  49.66
12.  Allison (CRW)  54.54
16.  Nassif (CRW)  55.45
19.  Roush (CRW)  56.05

500 Free
1.  M Barnes (CRW)  4:54.89
2.  Hughes (CRW)  4:55.22
3.  Cox (Ank)  5:03.08
19.  Weston (CRW)  5:56.88

200 Free Relay
1.  Johnston (Wieland, Rieck, Johnson, Cracraft)  1:30.65
2.  Ankeny (Burr, Settle, Dieters, J Klinker)  1:30.98
3.  Ames (Mart, Lelonek, Merchant, Stark)  1:32.97
4.  CRW (Thorson, Ford, Allison, Hughes)  1:33.70

100 Back
1.  Ford (CRW)  54.31
2.  Clements (CF)  54.69
3.   L Klinker (Ank)  54.71
11.  L Barnes (CRW)  1:02.16
19.  Kehoe (CRW)  1:10.61

100 Breast
1.  Winnett (John)  1:00.87
2.  Sund (CF)  1:03.61
3.  Carlson (John)  1:04.80
4.  Durin (CRW)  1:07.02
6.  Scheetz (CRW)  1:08.05
9.  Kopec (CRW)  1:09.03

400 Free Relay
1.  Johnston (Wieland, Rieck, Cracraft, Ross)  3:19.74
2.  Ankeny (L Klinker, Settle, Cox, J Klinker)  3:22.58
3.  Ames (Merchant, Tringides, Pyle, Stark)  3:24.05
4.  CRW (Hughes, L Barnes, Thorson, M Barnes)  3:25.15

Washington swimmers hope to make big splash

Cedar Rapids Washington Coach Chris Cruise used the word "struggle" a few times while talking about his boys swimming team.

He talked about how the Warriors "struggled" last year and might continue to "struggle" again this season if they don't improve in a couple of key events.

Keep in mind, Washington finished fourth at the state meet last year and has an excellent chance of competing for high honors again this season.

A lot of schools would like to "struggle" like that, but Washington has established a level of excellence with 27 state team championships and 48 straight district crowns. Sometimes, fourth in the state meet is not quite good enough.

"The guys have set some really high goals for themselves this year, as we always do around here," Cruise said. "I think we have a good chance to realistically achieve those goals."

When Cruise mentioned "really high goals," he was talking primarily about individual and state titles. That's where Morgan Barnes, Ian Ford, Scott Allison and Josh Hughes enter the conversation.

Barnes placed second in the 200 freestyle and third in the 500 freestyle last year, finishing behind seniors both times. Ford grabbed fourth in the 100 backstroke and seventh in the 200 individual medley.

Allison placed seventh in the 50 freestyle and took eighth in the 100 freestyle, while Hughes finished sixth in the 500 freestyle. Ford, Hughes and Allison placed second in the 200 medley relay with Mo Green, an outstanding swimmer who graduated.

Barnes, Ford, Allison and Hughes are the Fab 4 for the Warriors as a new season begins. "I'm sure they'll do very well for themselves," Cruise remarked.

Washington could have another budding star with Jared Thorson, a freshman with talent in the freestyle, butterfly and backstroke events.

"He could be a real strong contributor to our team this year in a variety of places," Cruise said. "I think he'll be considered a force by the end of the year."

Now, back to the "struggle" part for Washington. The Warriors did not place in the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays at the 2011 state meet because they did not have enough sprinters. That's the part Cruise hopes to alter this year.

"That makes it hard to compete for a state title when you don't get any points out of your freestyle relays," he said. "If that develops we could be pretty tought at the end of the year.

"If not, then we'll probably struggle to score points just like we did last year. We have to make sure we do well in those relays."

Muscatine won the state championship with 187.5 points. Dubuque Senior placed second with 141 points, followed by Cedar Falls (135) and Washington (105.5).

Cruise could take his top swimmers and stack the relays, but that might hurt the individual events. And if he stacks the individual events, it could affect the relays.

"That's what we have to sit down and look at," he said.

Barnes, Ford and Allison are seniors, making this a year of opportunity for Washington.

"It sure looks like that," Cruise said. "We'll lose an awful lot after this year. You're talking about three of the top swimmers in the state and they'll be pretty tough to replace."

Barnes and Ford will be teammates at the University of South Dakota next year.

Barnes to sign with South Dakota

Morgan Barnes, one of the top distance freestyle swimmers in the state, will sign a letter of intent with the University of South Dakota on Tuesday.

Barnes will be the second Warrior to sign with the Coyotes. Teammate Ian Ford signed his letter of intent last week.

Barnes finished second in the 200 freestyle and third in the 500 free at last year's state swimming meet. He also swam on the 200 and 400 freestyle relays.

Washington will hold a signing ceremony for Barnes and girls basketball player Kelli Klaus at 2:55 p.m. on Tuesday.

Ian Ford will swim at South Dakota

Cedar Rapids Washington senior Ian Ford participated in lots of sports when he was younger.

"I was kind of a multi-sport kid," he said Wednesday. "I played soccer, lacrosse, basketball, baseball, swimming."

This was on the East Coast, where he grew up.

"When I got around age 9, I knew swimming was really where my heart was," he said. "I begged my mom to put me on a year-round team, and from that point on it's been swimming ever since."

It paid off.

Ford signed a national letter-of-intent Wednesday to swim at the University of South Dakota once he finishes his all-state career with the Warriors.

The Ford family - Nick, Karin and their two sons, Ian and Eric - moved to Iowa from Virginia prior to Ian's freshman year at Washington. Nick Ford is from Cedar Rapids and had been serving on the East Coast in the navy.

Washington Coach Chris Cruise took one look at Ford four years ago and liked what he saw. "We knew he was destined for greatness," Cruise said. "He has far exceeded what we had in mind the first time we saw him in the pool."

Ford helped Washington win the state title in the 200 medley relay and earn All-American honors when he was a freshman, then he placed second in the 100 backstroke and medley relay as a sophomore.

Ford helped the Warriors take second in the medley relay again last year, finished fourth in the 100 backstroke and placed seventh in the 200 individual medley. He did all that after recovering from a dislocated shoulder, suffered at the end of his sophomore year.

"I had a pretty good meet my junior year, and I'm looking forward to a great meet my senior year," he said. "I'd really like to win a state title this year and gain individual All-American status. I also want to help my team."

Washington has won 48 straight district titles and Ford would like to make it 49 before he graduates. He'd also like to see the Warriors nab the state team championship, if possible.

Ford said he plans to concentrate on the backstroke, 200 IM and relays this year, but might switch to the breaststroke at some point. South Dakota might use him in the backstroke, individual medley, medley relay, breaststroke, sprints and sprint relays.

"Pretty much everything. Everything but distances," he said.

Ford grew six inches between his freshman and sophomore years and now stands 6-foot-4 1/2. "Pushing 6-5," he said. He weighs about 190 pounds on a slender frame, and South Dakota would like to see him reach 210 or 215 at some point.

Ford originally wasn't interested in South Dakota, but his father convinced him to take a look. "It was definitely not what I expected going in," he said. "I fell in love with it."