—Messenger photo by Britt Kudla fort dodge’s dylan alt swims in the 200 freestyle on Saturday in the Dodger pool. For more photos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

For most athletes to get to practice after school it’s just a short walk down the hall to the gym.

For Algona freshman Dylan Alt, it’s a nearly one hour drive after the school bell rings.

Alt, who attends high school at Algona, but competes for Fort Dodge, just made the drive worth the time on Saturday, qualifying for state in two events for the Dodgers.

Alt qualified in the 200 freestyle and the 500 freestyle for Fort Dodge.

“I’m extremely happy with the way Dylan competed and qualified for two events,” said Fort Dodge head coach Ashley Beaumont. “He joined ACAC maybe three years ago, looking to be more competitive. He drives to us from Algona everyday.”

Alt was showing signs of competitiveness early on at ACAC and has been climbing the ladder once he hit the varsity pool.

“He was breaking some records for ACAC,” Beaumont said. “We seen great things from him and he’s very motivated to get better each time.”

Alt, placed third in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:47.32, the 21st best qualifying time.

“He had a big time drop in the 200,” Beaumont said. “Going into next week, I think he can have more of a time drop and get around the 1:45 mark.”

Alt placed fifth in the 500 in a time of 4:54.69. It’s the 22nd best time heading into the state tournament.

“In the 500, he was going into it seeded fourth and came out fifth,” Beaumont said. “He dropped four seconds and looked awesome. He stayed consistent and his splits were good. He was catching the fourth swimmer toward the end of the race.

“I can still see him dropping some more time off of the 500.”

Fort Dodge’s quartet of Kevin O’Connor, Braydon Smith, Evan Cooper and Alt were sixth in the 200 freestyle relay.

Kevin O’Connor placed 10th in the 200 IM.

Ames was the team champion with 455 points, while Sioux City North (404.5) was the runner up. The Dodgers tied with Boone and placed ahead of Mason City.

“The guys did great and dropped some times,” Beaumont said. “The guys were competitive and every single member had a best time in something

“We tied with Boone and beat Mason City and that’s the first time we finished ahead of anybody this year.”

The state swim meet will Be Friday and Saturday at the University of Iowa’s Campus Recreation and Wellness Center in Iowa City.