Even a cursory glance at Thursday’s meet sheet showed the odds of the Perry girls swimmers pulling out a victory over Algona were not great.
The Bulldogs had 23 swimmers competing at the MCB pool as opposed to just seven for the Jayettes, giving the guests a decided edge in scoring points simply by outnumbering their hosts in the number of entries per event.
What the meet sheet did not take into account was the talent and grit shown by the home team, as Perry won 10 of the 11 races they contested and rallied to pull out an 81-75 win in the season opener for both squads.
Perry held a 30-26 lead after the fourth event, the 50 freestyle. A mandatory 10-minute break was held, and when action resumed Algona swept the top three spots in the 100 butterfly, which Perry did not have the roster flexibility to contest. The easy 13 points pushed the guests into a 39-30 lead, forcing the hosts to slowly chip away.[wpedon id=”85410″ align=”left”]
That is precisely what transpired, as Perry closed to within 58-53 with three races left. A 1-2 finish from Jaylene Karolus and Avery Miner in the 100 backstroke tied the meet at 63-all, with a crucial 1-2 finish from Anna Ridnour and Amanda Holwegner in the 100 breaststroke giving Perry a 73-69 lead and the chance to win the meet — provided they won the final event, the 400 freestyle.
Abby Herman, Sarah Vaughn, Jaylene Karolus and Dannah Karolus made sure of the win in emphatic fashion, touching in 4 minutes, 24.59 seconds to win by nearly a length of the pool and assure the team would drive to the high school to ring the victory bell.
Vaughn, Holwegner, Herman and Dannah Karolus won the 200 medley relay in 2:14.1, with Ridnoru winning the 200 free in a personal-best 2:21.8 while Herman claimed the 200 individual medley in a PB of 2:48.28.
Dannah Karolus, Jaylene Karolus and Holwegner were 1-3-5 in the 50 free in 28.33 seconds, 28.89 and 31.46. Dannah Karolus joined Miner in a 1-3 finish in the 100 free, touching in 1:03.46 and 1:10.31 respectively.[wpedon id=”85410″ align=”left”]
Vaughn’s 6:22.13 won the 500 free, with Herman, Holwegner, Ridnour and Jaylene Karolus claiming the 200 free relay in 1:57.56.
Jaylene Karolus and Miner used clockings of 1:14,42 and 1:24.41 for their 1-2 placing in the 100 backstroke, with times of 1:26.47 from Ridnour and of 1:31.91 from Holwegner securing a 1-2 finish for Perry in the 100 breaststroke.
Freshman Jaylene Karolus was celebrating her 14th birthday at the meet, with her mother, Heather, also observing a birthday. Junior Dannah Karolus had personal-best efforts in both the 50 and 100 free.
Perry visits Indianola Tuesday, and will return to the MCB pool Sept. 4 when they host Boone, and Algona, for a double-dual. Home meets begin at 6:30 p.m.
