No spectators were on hand to witness it, but the Perry girls swimmers opened their 2020 season with a 90-72 victory over visiting Algona at the McCreary Community Building pool Thursday.
The Jayettes placed first in all 11 events, with several won in impressive early-season times. Along the way, freshman Sophia McDevitt reset a 21-year old school record by winning the 500 freestyle in 5 minutes, 50.59 seconds, erasing the 5:51.56 posted by Janae Weiser in 1999.
McDeviit, Gracie Phillips, Amanda Holwegner, and Zoe Hibbert teamed to win the 200 medley relay in 2:12.06, with McDevitt, Holwegner, Hibbert and Jaylene Karolus winning the 400 free relay in 4:22.15 while the win in the 200 free relay (2:02.75) went to Karolus, Holwegner, Emily Dowd, and Jenna Nelson.
Nelson was first (2:36.03), Dowd second (2:47) and Rhylan Agan fifth (3:26.39) in the 200 free while McDevitt posted a winning 2:24.75 in the 200 Individual Medley. Hibbert won the 50 free (28.18) and 100 free (1:05.25), with Phillips third (31.96) in the former while Nelson was second (1:11) and Dowd fourth (1:14.37) in the latter.
Karolus touched first in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:12.69, with Phillips second in 1:16.44. Phillips’ effort was a drop of 1.92 seconds off of her previous personal best. Holwegner won the 100 breastroke in 1:29.43, with Karolus shaving 3.29 ticks off her previous personal best in the 100 butterfly with a clocking of 1:04.09.
Holwegner is the lone senior on the team. She was honored during the meet. Along with junior Phillips, she is one of two long-time Panorama students who have been swimming with Perry as part of a sharing arrangement.
Perry visits Indianola Tuesday before hosting Des Moines North and Hoover Thursday. Both Tuesday’s meet at Indianola and the Sept. 10 visit to Indianola have been slightly altered, as Oskaloosa (Sept. 3) and Des Moines Roosevelt (Sept. 10) have opted out for those respective meets.
Indianola meets are held at the local YMCA, with a limited number of ticket vouchers being sent to Perry. Fans without vouchers will not be allowed to purchase walk-up tickets.
