AHS Girls Swimming & Diving Team awarded National Champion status

On August 18, the Ames High 2017-2018 Girls Swimming & Diving team was awarded National Championship status by the National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association (NISCA).

Coached by Dan Flannery, the Little Cyclone swimmers and divers out paced every other public school in America ranked on class size (enrollment 900-1,400 students) by over 250 points. That is an unprecedented margin and marks the 3rd consecutive year that the Ames High girls team has won this prestigious national title. Ames High girls swim teams have won 7 of the last 8 state team titles, including last year’s competition.

In addition to the girls’ title, the 2018 Boys State Championship team placed 3rd nationally. Iowa is one of two states that does not offer boys’ diving. Based on swim points alone, the Ames High boys team would have competed as well for National Championship honors. When combined, the girls and boys programs had the highest swim scores in the country, a first for the program.

Beyond swimming excellence, the swimmers and divers had an outstanding academic year as well. The varsity girls team earned a gold standard from NISCA with a 3.89 GPA average, and the boys team earned the same gold standard with their 3.78 team GPA.

Coach Flannery said, “I am so proud of these kids and our community should be as well. This is an incredible accomplishment and something we will build upon moving into this season.” The 2018-2019 girls season is already underway with the boys jumping into the pool later this fall.