Cape Central swimmers prepped for looming success

Cape Central freshman Tommy Marriott prepares for a dive in a 3-way meet with Notre Dame and Saxony Lutheran on Wednesday at the Central Municipal Pool.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

In a typical swimming and diving season, perhaps Cape Central, Notre Dame, and Saxony Lutheran would have gone after each other on Wednesday with a touch more fervor.

However, the 2020-21 girl’s swim season has been anything but typical due to having to navigate a global pandemic.

“I wouldn’t use the term chaotic,” veteran Tiger swim coach Dayna Powell said of this season following Wednesday’s meet at the Central Municipal Pool. “It’s been smaller.”

The Tigers, Bulldogs, Crusaders, among other MSHSAA swim teams, typically compete in about 14 meets each season but that number has shrunk considerably this year.

With the SEMO Conference meet looming on Tuesday (also at ‘The Bubble’), each of the teams took advantage of allowing their athletes to race in “off events” on Wednesday.

“Most of the time we get lots of opportunities to swim in different events,” Powell explained, “not this year.”

Cape Central claimed nine first-place swims, including three from freshman Emilie Dickson, and ran away with the team victory, as it scored 162 points to outpace Notre Dame (98) and Saxony Lutheran (31).

“Going into the conference meet,” Powell said, “we didn’t really want to repeat our best events.”

Dickson demonstrated her versatility by winning the 500 free (5:36.7) and 100 back events (1:08.0) individually while swimming the fly leg of the winning 200 medley relay.

She earned consideration times in both of her races and Powell said speed training is going to be a point of emphasis for her squad over the next few weeks leading up to the MSHSAA Class 1 State Finals (Feb. 19) at the St. Peter’s Rec-Plex.

“The good thing about not having more meets is that we have gotten to train more,” Powell said. “But there is something about going to the (bigger meets around the state) and seeing everybody.”

Dickson has already earned consideration times for the state finals and another young Tiger, freshman diver Tommy Marriott will absolutely be competing at that meet.

Marriott overcame the passing of her grandmother early Wednesday to focus on her diving and win with a score of 360.55.

She set the Cape Central school record for 11 dives in a meet Tuesday at LaDue Horton Watkins High School and set the 6-dive mark a week earlier.

Her father and coach, Delbert Marriott, who lost his mother on Tuesday, predicted “she’ll shatter the (6-dive) record” at Tuesday’s conference meet.

Powell has coached numerous state champion swimmers during her career but adding a diver of Marriott’s ability is a bonus that she is enjoying this season.

“I hardly have words for what she adds,” Powell said. “I just don’t want us to start taking her diving for granted because she is so good. We expect her to score 9s and 10s.

“She brings, of course, the points, but also a lot of pride. When you have someone on your team at that level, it elevates everybody.”

Notre Dame junior Lexi Jansen also won three races Wednesday.

She took the top spot in the 100 fly (1:03.41) and 200 free races (2:07.91), both in state meet consideration times but also led-off the winning 200 free relay.