It's too bad they don't have a decathlon for high school swimmers.

If anyone could win 10 events at one meet, it would be Linn-Mar sophomore Kelsey Drake.

Freestyle, butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke. Sprints, middle distances, long distances. It wouldn't matter.

Drake, Drake, Drake, Drake.

"It would be her," Linn-Mar Coach Chad Derlein confirmed Saturday. "It doesn't matter, she can swim it. Whatever event.

"She's probably the most versatile swimmer I know."

Drake starred at the Mississippi Valley Conference meet at Kennedy Saturday. She broke meet records in the 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly, then had a sizzling anchor on the 400 freestyle relay to help Jenn Jenks, Lizzie Adams and Stephanie Jenks shatter another record.

High school swimmers are limited to four events at one meet. The closest Drake ever came to a "decathlon" in swimming was at the 12-and-under state meet a few years back, when she recalls winning nine events.

Drake enjoys all four strokes, although the butterfly is her favorite. "I could swim butterfly and never got bored with it, I love it so much," she remarked.

Drake is ranked first in the state in the 100 fly and 200 IM, she's second in the 500 free and 100 breast, she's ranked fourth in the 200 free, fifth in the 50 free, fifth in the 100 free and sixth in the 100 back. Linn-Mar is ranked first in the 400 free relay, third in the 200 free relay and fifth in the 200 medley relay.

Drake developed her versatility in the pool over the course of time.

"I was a breaststroker when I was younger and then I became a butterflyer," she explained. "I guess I just had all those skills, so I just put it together.

"It really helps with my fly and my freestyle, because it gives me more endurance. It's also a lot more fun, I think, to do that because I get bored swimming one stroke all the time."

Except for the butterfly. She could swim the butterfly all day.

Drake snapped the MVC record in the 200 IM in 2:07.35, breaking the conference meet record of 2:07.90 that had been around since 1996. She topped the MVC standard in the 100 butterfly in 56.16, breaking her old record of 57.19 set last year.

The Lions were clocked in 3:38.95 in the 400 relay, breaking the old mark of 3:39.05 set by Cedar Falls in 1997.

Drake dove into the water for the anchor leg of the 400 relay about a body length behind Cedar Falls star Brittany Moffatt, but she caught Moffatt and won the race by more than a second.

"I wanted to win really bad," said Drake, who flew through the water in that final race. "We really wanted to get that record, so I just went out there and gave it my all. And we did it."

Drake and her teammates were fast Saturday, but they've actually been faster at other times this season. Drake has gone faster in the 200 IM and 100 fly and the Lions have gone faster in the 400 free relay, but you can only set conference records at the conference meet.

"It was an 'average' conference meet for us," said Derlein, who has come to expect fast times from his athletes.

The day got off to a bad start for Linn-Mar when they were disqualified in the 200 medley relay, costing them 40 points for first place. It would not have helped them catch Cedar Falls in the final team standings, but it did cost them second place.

The Cedar Falls Tigers won six events and finished with 446 points. The Kennedy Cougars flashed their depth and placed second with 354, despite not winning any events. Linn-Mar captured five events and finished third at 333.

Jenn Jenks claimed top honors for Linn-Mar in the 200 free and 100 free.

Kennedy Coach John Ross was happy with second place in a strong field that featured No. 3 Cedar Falls and No. 4 Linn-Mar, especially since several of his swimmers are still recovering from walking pneumonia. The Cougars are ranked eighth in the state.

"It's quite an accomplishment for those girls to come together as a team and challenge Cedar Falls," he remarked. "It's truly a team effort. The girls take pride in that."

All four Metro schools that have swimming will compete in the regional meet at Linn-Mar Nov. 1. Cedar Falls has been assigned to the regional in Fort Dodge.

TEAM STANDINGS

1. Cedar Falls 446, 2. Kennedy 354, 3. Linn-Mar 333, 4. Iowa City West 264, 5. Washington 168, 6. Dubuque Senior 153, 7. Wahlert 134, 8. Waterloo West 123, 9. Hempstead 88, 10. Iowa City High 73, 11. Jefferson 56, 12. Waterloo East 43.

WINNERS

200 medley relay - Cedar Falls 1:51.67
200 free - Jenn Jenks, Linn-Mar, 1:55.17
200 IM - Kelsey Drake, Linn-Mar, 2:07.35*
50 free - Madison Hall, Cedar Falls, 25.15
100 fly - Kelsey Drake, Linn-Mar, 56.16*
100 free - Jenn Jenks, Linn-Mar, 53.08
500 free - Brittany Moffatt, Cedar Falls, 5:22.07
200 free relay - Cedar Falls 1:41.04
100 back - Sammi Hall, Cedar Falls, 1:01.73
100 breast - Natalie Shimp, Cedar Falls, 1:10.57
400 free relay - Linn-Mar (Jenn Jenks, Lizzie Adams, Stephanie Jenks, Kelsey Drake) 3:38.95 *

* Conference Meet Record

LINN-MAR PLACEWINNERS

1st - Jenn Jenks, 200 free, 1:55.17
1st - Kelsey Drake, 200 IM, 2:05.11
1st - Kelsey Drake, 100 fly, 56.16
1st - Jenn Jenks, 100 free, 53.08
1st - 400 free relay 3:38.95
2nd - Lizzie Adams, 50 free, 25.34
2nd - Stephanie Jenks, 500 free, 5:30.99
3rd - Stephanie Jenks, 200 free, 2:02.40
3rd - 200 free relay (Stephanie Jenks, Hailey Harms, Paige Broghammer, Kelly Wingerson) 1:45.32
5th - Paige Broghammer, 100 breast, 1:14.31
6th - Kelly Wingerson, 100 free, 57.44
6th - Kelly Wingerson, 500 free, 5:42.07
6th - Lizzie Adams, 100 back, 1:03.40

KENNEDY PLACEWINNERS

2nd - 200 medley relay (Sam Jacobsen, MacKinzee Macho, Taylor Golden, Kirsten Siebenga) 1:54.52
2nd - 200 free relay (Darby Manternach, Maddie Bagby, Lydia Yang, Kirsten Siebenga) 1:41.94
3rd - 400 free relay (Darby Manternach, Maddie Bagby, Sam Jacobsen, Lydia Yang) 3:48.80
4th - Kirsten Siebenga, 50 free, 25.67
4th - MacKinzee Macho, 100 fly, 1:03.05
4th - Maddie Bagby, 100 free, 56.44
4th - Sarah Gannon, 500 free, 5:36.89
4th - Larkyn Aldrich, 100 breast, 1:13.93
5th - Maddie Bagby, 200 free, 2:03.37
5th - Darby Manternach, 50 free, 25.84
5th - Kirsten Siebenga, 100 free, 57.40
5th - Sam Jacobsen, 100 back, 1:02.65
6th - MacKinzee Macho, 200 IM, 2:20.32
6th - Raquel Green, 100 breast, 1:14.43

WASHINGTON PLACEWINNERS

3rd - 200 medley relay (Kaitlyn Nemickas, Caitlin Sievers, Lauren Havertape, Logan Eckhardt) 1:55.44
3rd - Emily Nelson, 500 free, 5:35.01
3rd - Caitlin Sievers, 100 breast, 1:12.19
6th - 200 free relay (Kaitlyn Nemickas, Lucy Ernst, Lauren Havertape, Logan Eckhardt) 1:47.90