Linn-Mar Girls Swimming

Freshmen star for Cougars, Lions in pool

Brooke Timmerman, a talented freshman, drives 20 miles every day from Atkins to Cedar Rapids so she can attend Kennedy High School and swim for the Cougars.

Jennifer Jenks, another freshman, has been known as "Stephanie's Little Sister" much of her life, but she's another talented member of the family and a top-notch swimmer for the Linn-Mar Lions.

The two ninth graders grabbed the headlines Tuesday night as Kennedy trimmed Linn-Mar, 110-76, in a Mississippi Valley Conference meet at the Kennedy pool.

Timmerman lives in the Benton Community school district, but the Bobcats do not have a swimming team. She has a school driver's permit and happily commutes to northeast Cedar Rapids every day, although she's still getting accustomed to a bigger school.

"It's scary," she said. "There are so many people and it's hard to get through the halls. I avoid crowds of people and take the back route."

Timmerman took the front route in the pool Tuesday and captured the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke. She also swam on the triumphant 200 medley relay.

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Jennifer Jenks wins 4 titles for Lions

NEWTON - Freshman Jennifer Jenks won four events in her first meet with the Linn-Mar High School swimming team Tuesday in a dual meet at Newton.

Jenks won the 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke. She also swam on the triumphant 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay.

Stephanie Jenks, Samantha Fitzgerald and Kelly Wingerson participated in three victories for Linn-Mar. Paige Broghammer swam on two victorious relay teams.

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Jenks: 'Tough decision' to skip X-C

Sports fans know Stephanie Jenks as an outstanding distance runner and world-class triathlete, but the 15-year-old sophomore at Linn-Mar High School is also a top-notch student.

That's one of the reasons Jenks has decided to skip the 2013 cross country season with the Lions and sacrifice a chance to defend her state title.

Jenks will spend 10 days in London next month while competing for Team USA in the ITU Junior Elite World Triathlon Championships. She is concerned about missing that much time in school and wanted to lighten her load this semester.

Jenks will continue to train and compete with the Linn-Mar swim team, just as she did last year, but she will not run for the Linn-Mar cross country squad.

"It was a really tough decision," Jenks said Tuesday night. "We spent days on it. I knew I had to swim for sure. It was whether I'd run cross country or not."

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New Linn-Mar pool set for Nov. 1

The Linn-Mar girls swimming team got inside the school's new aquatics facility for a preseason photo that's being used on the annual schedule poster.

Unfortunately for the 47-member team, that is likely all it will get to do there this season.

"I was at an event with our board members just the other day and the goal is to have the pool open on Nov. 1," said Linn-Mar Coach Chad Derlein. "That would be just a week before the state meet is scheduled, so it doesn't look like we will get to swim there this season."

It was hoped the facility would be open by Oct. 1 so the girls could swim the back half of their schedule in the pool, but weather delays early in the spring pushed the project back.

Linn-Mar Assistant Superintendent Rick Ironside told the Metro Sports Report in April that the project was running about a month behind. His hope was that if the weather improved, the ground could be made up.

However, heavy rains through much of May and early June made that impossible.

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