-Messenger photo by Britt KudlaFort Dodge graduate Mitch Emery compete in the Men 400 Yard Medley Relay during Midwest Cup on Friday inside Dodgers Pool

FORT PIERCE, Fla. — Fort Dodge graduate Mitchell Emery proved he is one of the fastest swimmers in the nation.

Emery earned a bronze medal in the 100 butterfly, just hours after swimming the fastest time in prelims.

In the finals, Emery finished in 49.98. Ruben Van Leeuwen of Indian River State College won the event in 48.07. Teammate Gabriele Sasia was second (49.36).

During the prelims, Emery swam his fastest time of the season, ending in 49.76. Sasia was second (50.26) and Van Leeuwen (50.27) was third.

“It was pretty awesome for Mitch,” said Iowa Central head coach Joe Plane. “It was his best time ever (in the prelims). It was exciting for him to qualify for the finals.

“He was a little slower (in the finals), but he was still under the 50-mark. His accomplishment as a freshman was huge.”

The women’s quartet of Jana Burner, Grace Nordquist, Kailie Valentine and Sandra Alonso Rivas earned a silver medal in the 200 freestyle relay.

The Tritons hit the wall in 1:40.61. Indian Rivers won the event in 1:32.77.

“That was huge,” Plane said. “We were seeded third and they stepped up and swam a fantastic race. They missed the school record by .04 seconds.

“They’re excited to beat the team seeded ahead of them.”

Burner turned in a Top-5 finish, earning second in the 100 butterfly (1:00.89). She was third in the prelims (1:00.81).

“She had some big goals coming in,” Plane said. “She had a tough prelim, but swam a more controlled race in the finals.”

The women turned in six Top-10 finishes while the men had four. The women (180) are in fifth place, two points behind Iowa Lakes (182). Indian Rivers is in the lead (590).

The men (162) are seventh, a half a point behind Lincoln College (162.5). Indian Rivers is in first place (630).

The Triton women had two Top-10s in the 100 butterfly to go along with Burner. Nordquist (1:02.60) and Valentine (1:02.22) were eighth and 10th respectively. Jordyn Dubois (1:03.81) was 12th.

Alonso Rivas was seventh in the 200 freestyle (2:02.15). Ashley Wille (2:21.25) and Maria Havlik (2:26.60) were 23rd and 24th respectively.

The 400 medley team of Dubois, Lexi Quigley, Valentine and Wille were seventh (4:26.27).

Quigley was 21st in the 50-yard backstroke (33.66).

Lasse Jorgenson capped off the men’s strong run in the 100 butterfly with a sixth place showing (51.71).

The 200 freestyle team of Emery, Karter Shimon, Joshua Sunberg and Jorgenson were fifth in 1:27.46.

Shimon was ninth in the 200 freestyle (1:49.60) and Sunberg (1:52.98) was 12th. Fort Dodge graduates Ian Crown (2:09.16) and Cayden Taylor (2:13.29) were 24th and 25th respectively.

Ian Hilbrant grabbed a 13th place in the 400 individual medley in 4:37.18.

The Tritons are back in action at 9:30 a.m. this morning.