There were some anxious moments and furrowed brows at the Cedar Rapids Washington pool Saturday afternoon, but the boys district swim meet had a happy ending for the Warriors.

As usual.

Washington handled a stiff challenge from Iowa City High and captured its 48th straight district title, an incredible streak that began way back in 1964.

"Longer than I've been alive," noted Washington Coach Chris Cruise, who was born in 1970.

Iowa City High led Washington in the team standings, 245-233, with only three events remaining, putting the streak in jeopardy, but the Warriors finished strong.

Ian Ford, Josh Kehoe and Logan Barnes finished 1-4-6 in the 100 backstroke to put the Warriors in front by 10 points, then Nick Durin, John Kopec and Trent Greif placed 2-3-5 in the 100 breaststroke to clinch the district crown with one race remaining.

"It wasn't really until after the breaststroke that I knew we had it in the bag," said Ford.

Washington finished with 330 points, topping Iowa City High (293) by 37 markers. Linn-Mar placed third in the seven-team meet with 155 points, followed by Iowa City West (151), Kennedy (118), Jefferson (106) and Vinton-Shellsburg (59).

It came down to depth. Washington and Iowa City High both won four events, but the Warriors had a stronger overall showing.

"Top to bottom, a great team victory for us today," said Cruise. "I couldn't be prouder of our kids.

"It was our third kid who was a little better than theirs," he said. "That really helped us out today."

Ford captured the 100 backstroke and 200 individual medley, swam the opening leg of the triumphant 200 medley relay and helped the Warriors finish second in the 400 relay. Afterward, he reflected on a district streak that began nearly a half-century ago.

"It's a great honor to be part of something that's lasted this long," Ford said. "It's a proud tradition. It's a nice thing to know you can keep it going.

"There's a little pressure," he added. "You don't want to let any of the former swimmers down."

Mo Green claimed the 100 butterfly and helped the Warriors win the 200 medley relay. He also swam on the 200 free relay that placed third.

Scott Allison had a big day for the Warriors, swimming anchor on the 200 medley relay,placing second in the 50 free and 100 free, and a third-place finish in the 200 free relay. "Scott had a fantastic meet," said Cruise.

Morgan Barnes, Josh Hughes, Durin, Brian Kopec, Kehoe, Logan Barnes, John Kopec, Greif, Luke Herny, Gene Nassif, Jacob Meyer and other Warriors also played major roles in the district title.

"It's a great thing for our kids," said Cruise. "It's something we take a lot of pride in as a team."

Washington, ranked fourth in Iowa, will be seeking a high finish at the state meet in Marshalltown next Saturday. The Warriors have won 27 state titles, most recently in 2008.

"I'm looking forward to next week," said Cruise.

Nathan Greve won the 100 breaststroke for Linn-Mar in 1:02.23, beating Durin by more than a second. The Lions also got fourth-place showings from Sam Raiche (100 fly) and Alec Belin (100 back).

Kristian Anderson had a pair of third-place finishes for Jefferson in the 50 free and 100 free. Alex Kleinheinz took sixth in the 200 free for the J-Hawks.

Chandler Heisler of Kennedy placed fourth in the 50 free and sixth in the 100 free.

The top 24 finishers (by time) at Saturday's six district meets qualified for the state meet.

TEAM STANDINGS

1. Washington 330, 2. Iowa City High 293, 3. Linn-Mar 155, 4. Iowa City West 151, 5. Kennedy 118, 6. Jefferson 106, 7. Vinton-Shellsburg 59.

200 MEDLEY RELAY

1. Washington (Ian Ford, Nick Durin, Mo Green, Scott Allison) 1:39.38; 2. City High (Ben Weideman, James Davis, Stuart McMillin, Brady St. John) 1:42.47; 3. Iowa City West (Kaisen Yao, James Riley, Dan Dai, Anthony Lehnertz) 1:42.84; 4. Linn-Mar (Alec Belin, Nathan Greve, Sam Raiche, Drew Bloom) 1:43.23; 5. Kennedy (Christian McKee, Jack Green, Alex Boomershine, Harrison Moore) 1:52.57; 6. Jefferson (Shawn Pidima, Lucas Klein, Colin Lynch, Colten Jourdan) 1:53.72.

200 FREE

1. Colin McAllister (ICH) 1:45.67; 2. Cameron Herting (ICH) 1:45.71; 3. Morgan Barnes (CRW) 1:45.89; 4. Sidney McMillin (ICH) 1:47.95; 5. Brian Kopec (CRW) 1:49.24; 6. (tie) Alex Kleinheinz (CRJ) 1:53.60; Luke Herny (CRW) 1:53.60.

200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY

1. Ian Ford (CRW) 1:59.64; 2. James Davis (ICH) 2:03.22; 3. Josh Hughes (CRW) 2:03.49; 4. Kelly McNeilly (ICH) 2:05.36; 5. Nathan Greve (LM) 2:05.92; 6. Harris Thompson (ICH) 2:11.46.

50 FREE

1. Kaisen Yao (ICW) 21.40; 2. Scott Allison (CRW) 22.47; 3. Kristian Anderson (CRJ) 22.74; 4. Chandler Heisler (CRK) 22.82; 5. Brady St. John (ICH) 22.92; 6. Stuart McMillin (ICH) 22.94.

100 BUTTERFLY

1. Mo Green (CRW) 53.17; 2. Ben Weideman (ICH) 55.81; 3. Josh Kehoe (CRW) 56.55; 4. Sam Raiche (LM) 56.75; 5. Logan Barnes (CRW) 57.39; 6. Stuart McMillin (ICH) 57.51.

100 FREE

1. Sidney McMillin (ICH) 48.97; 2. Scott Allison (CRW) 49.35; 3. Kristian Anderson (CRJ) 49.87; 4. Brady St. John (ICH) 50.04; 5. James Davis (ICH) 50.65; 6. Chandler Heisler (CRK) 50.79.

500 FREE

1. Cameron Herting (ICH) 4:42.04; 2. Colin McAllister (ICH) 4:44.65; 3. Morgan Barnes (CRW) 4:48.33; 4. Josh Hughes (CRW) 4:49.08; 5. Brian Kopec (CRW) 4:59.01; 6. Kelly McNeilly (ICH) 5:05.43.

200 FREE RELAY

1. Iowa City West (Kaisen Yao, Anthony Lehnertz, Thomas Burrill, Collin Kramer) 1:30.22; 2. Iowa City High (Sidney McMillin, Brady St. John, Colin McAllister, Cameron Herting) 1:30.38; 3. Washington (Scott Allison, Mo Green, Josh Hughes, Morgan Barnes) 1:30.51; 4. Linn-Mar (Nathan Greve, Connor Beard, Sam Raiche, Drew Bloom) 1:30.90; 5. Jefferson (Kristian Anderson, Jake Inghram, Scott Wilke, Alex Kleinheinz) 1:32.96; 6. Kennedy (Brandon Holmes, John Richardson, Christian McKee, Chandler Heisler) 1:33.56.

100 BACKSTROKE

1. Ian Ford (CRW) 53.28; 2. Kaisen Yao (ICW) 53.33; 3. Ben Weideman (ICH) 56.62; 4. Josh Kehoe (CRW) 57.26; 5. Alec Belin (LM) 57.98; 6. Logan Barnes (CRW) 58.28.

100 BREASTSTROKE

1. Nathan Greve (LM) 1:02.23; 2. Nick Durin (CRW) 1:03.48; 3. John Kopec (CRW) 1:05.80; 4. Brandon Tharp (VS) 1:07.36; 5. Trent Greif (CRW) 1:07.47; 6. James Riley (ICW) 1:08.90.

400 FREE RELAY

1. Iowa City High (Sidney McMillin, James Davis, Colin McAllister, Cameron Herting) 3:18.26; 2. Washington (Morgan Barnes, Brian Kopec, Josh Hughes, Ian Ford) 3:20.88; 3. Jefferson (Kristian Anderson, Jake Inghram, Scott Wilke, Alex Kleinheinz) 3:23.79; 4. Iowa City West (Collin Kramer, Thomas Burrill, Grant Linden, Anthony Lehnertz) 3:29.00; 5. Linn-Mar (Alec Belin, Matt Ramsey, Connor Beard, Sam Raiche) 3:31.10; 6. Kennedy (Harrison Moore, John Richardson, Grant Batterson, Chandler Heisler) 3:32.66.