The countdown of Norwalk’s top 10 sports stories from the 2023-24 school year continues today with No. 9: junior Emma Sizemore qualifying two events for the Iowa Girls State Swimming & Diving Meet in Marshalltown.

Sizemore is one of seven Norwalk girls that competed for the Des Moines Lincoln girls swim team last fall, and she has now qualified multiple events for state in each of her first three years. 

Sizemore placed 19th out of 32 state qualifiers in the 500-yard freestyle, clocking a personal-best time of 5:22.97. She finished five spots above her qualifying seed and cut more than three seconds off her previous PR, placing 19th at state for the second straight season. Sizemore also swam the second leg of the Rails’ 200 freestyle relay, which finished 31st at state in 1:46.24.

Sizemore embraces the endurance challenges of the 500 freestyle, telling KNIA Sports that it is her favorite event. “It’s definitely a marathon, definitely a long (race), but I think the feeling at the end of it just beats everything,” she said. “I like finding a pace and just not having to get out there and sprint right away, which is what I do in the 50, but that’s OK too.”

Sizemore swam the 200 freestyle relay with teammates Haylee Shaffer, Paola Santiago and Samantha Douds.