Northern Iowa swimmer, Iowa City West graduate Lily Ernst dies

Dargan Southard, Des Moines Register
·2 min read
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Northern Iowa swimmer Lily Ernst, shown here in 2019 while competing in high school for Iowa City West, died Wednesday.
Northern Iowa swimmer Lily Ernst, shown here in 2019 while competing in high school for Iowa City West, died Wednesday.

Northern Iowa swimmer and Iowa City West graduate Lily Ernst died Wednesday, the university announced in a school release Thursday morning.

"UNI has lost a beloved member of the Panther family with the sudden passing of Lily Ernst," UNI athletics director David Harris said in a school release. "This loss is heartbreaking for our swimming and diving team, our athletic department and the entire UNI campus. We offer our deepest condolences to Lily's family, teammates and friends."

The university did not release a cause of death.

Ernst finished her sophomore season with the Panthers this past winter. As a freshman, she earned first-team all-Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) honors with a second-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly at the MVC Championships.

The former Iowa City West standout earned MVC scholar-athlete team recognition as a sophomore, while also setting a new school record in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:02.97.

From 2017: West's young swimmers bring home state meet honors

"Our team is incredibly saddened by the loss of Lily," Panthers swimming and diving coach Nick Lakin said. "Lily was so filled with kindness and compassion for other people. She was a ferocious competitor in the pool and classroom, but for those that knew her best she was extremely empathetic and cared deeply about everyone in her life. We will all miss her immensely and are praying for everyone that knew her."

At Iowa City West, Ernst qualfied for the state meet in multiple events all four years of high school. Her best performance was a third-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly as a sophomore in 2017. Ernst was also a part of the Trojans' runner-up finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay as both a junior and senior.

Dargan Southard covers Iowa and UNI athletics, recruiting and preps for the Des Moines Register, HawkCentral.com and the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard. 

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: UNI mourning loss of swimmer, Iowa City West graduate Lily Ernst