Lillie Ray swims season-best to qualify for 50 freestyle final

MARSHALLTOWN — Senior Lillie Ray hit the wall and saw her time at the end of her heat in the 50-yard freestyle on Friday and thought there was no way she made the finals.

Ray swam faster than 25 seconds at last year’s state meet and settled for 23rd overall. So one can’t blame the Aquagirl veteran for thinking a season-best time of 25.02 seconds wouldn’t be enough.

It turned out to be more than she needed to advance to tomorrow’s final round. And Ray will get one more individual swim to cap her career at the Iowa High School Girls State Swimming Championships.

“It’s surreal. After I touched and saw my time, I thought there was no way I made finals,” Ray said. “That time usually isn’t good enough. It felt really good and it felt fast though.”

The season-best time was easily fast enough for the top 16 and she will be in the fastest lane for tomorrow’s consolation final after placing ninth in the preliminary round at the Marshalltown YMCA in Marshalltown.

The eighth qualifier finished in 24.98.

“She’s a fierce competitor and doesn’t get rattled. The bigger the stage the better she swims,” Newton-Colfax-Mingo-Pella head swim coach Sarah Patterson said about Ray. “Lillie had a great race. We just need to tweak one thing for tomorrow. She’s in the best place to be for a short event though.”

Ray was the only NCMP swimmer to qualify for Saturday’s final round. Freshman Harper Barton placed 18th in the 100 breaststroke and Peyton Ray was 30th in the 100 freestyle.

Lillie Ray is locked into a finish of no better than ninth, but that’s what she will aim for Saturday along with another time in the 24s.

“I really wanted to get in the 24s,” Lillie Ray said. “The only time I have done that in my career was last year at state.”

Barton turned in a career-best time of 1 minute, 7.93 seconds in the 100 breaststroke. It took a 1:07.61 to advance to the final round.

“I’m happy with it. I felt fast,” Barton said. “I tried to stay with the girl to my left. I gave it all I had on the first 75 and I was coasting on adrenaline the rest of the way.

“I wanted to be in the 1:07s. It feels great. I think I’ve put in the work. I have been swimming all my life and all the practices I have done in my life have worked me up to this day. I hope this can set me up for the future.”

Patterson said Barton dropped a full second from her qualifying time. And she was 6 seconds faster on Friday than she was in her first high school race this season.

“The average person may not understand, but a full second time drop at this point in the year is massive,” Patterson said. “She started the season with a 1:13 so that’s a huge time drop. She’s got a few things to tweak, but she’s got such a great career ahead of her.”

Peyton Ray was the most disappointed of the NCMP trio. It’s natural to want to drop time and move up in placement. She came in 30th and finished 30th after completing the race in 56.34.

“It wasn’t the time I was looking for. I tightened up at the end,” Peyton Ray said.

Patterson thought Peyton Ray lost her rhythm on the last length of the race but expects her to bounce back for the relays on Saturday.

“She’s a fighter. She’ll come back tomorrow and work her strokes in her final two races,” Patterson said. “This is her first time swimming in an individual event. Of course you want to drop time. If you don’t care it means you’re not a competitor.”

This is the final weekend of Lillie Ray’s career, but both Peyton Ray and Barton will return next season. And reaching state individually this early in their careers will hopefully pave the way for other Aquagirls to follow in their footsteps.

“It’s a big stage and when you can manage your energy and swim well, which they all did, I’m just incredibly proud of all three of them,” Patterson said. “When you get young people like that qualifying, it paves the way for the others to know it’s possible. It can ignite their teammates.”

The state swim meet begins at noon on Saturday. The schedule includes all three relays and the final round of individual events.