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Heartland Will Be Well Represented At Swimming Regionals

Chris Hoffman/Highlands Today

Lake Placid’s Danielle Rivers leaps from the starting block during the 400-freestyle relay at the Class 1A-District 5 swim meet. The Green Dragons placed fourth in the race.

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By Christopher  Hoffman | Highlands Today

Published: October 17, 2007

WINTER HAVEN — Eat My Bubbles.
That was a slogan written on the back of a Lakeland Christian swimmer, but it really should be a rallying cry for the Highlands County participants in the Class 1A-District 5 tournament.

Avon Park and Lake Placid swim teams combined to qualify 36 swimmers for the upcoming Region 2 finals in the preliminary heats at Rowdy Gaines Pool on Tuesday.

"This group really came together and cares about each other," said LP head coach Cindy Rivers after learning that 24 of her swimmers qualified for the regional meet. "What really made this possible was so many of our newcomers far exceeding expectations. Lots of kids were dropping times during this meet."

What looked to be a rebuilding year for the Lake Placid Green Dragons is turning into a watershed of talent — young talent that has yet to fully blossom.
"We didn't have to rebuild this year, just reloaded," LP swimmer Danielle Rivers said. "This is the best team I have ever been around, and I've been swimming since I was little. This group listens and is dedicated."

Rivers, who qualified for two events (50 and 100-yard freestyle) outright, got things going, anchoring the Green Dragon 200-yard medley relay event, which LP took second (2:12.51), while the Avon Park squad, consisting of Brittany Murphy, Heather Barnes, Lindsey Allen and Megan Richardson, took fourth place (2:20.05).

In the relay events, the top 16 teams from three districts (Districts 4, 5, 6) advance to regionals, so more swimmers will have to wait to see if their ticket has been punched for the big show.
Some familiar names in Highlands County swimming did what they do best and advanced to regionals.
Lake Placid's Tammi Beach took fourth in the 200-yard freestyle (2:22.65), while Green Dragon senior Chelsea McGuire placed second in the 200-yard individual medley (2:41.02) and fourth in the 100-yard butterfly (1:10.72).

McGuire returned to the pool for her senior year after a two-year absence from competition and hasn't skipped a beat.
"I really wish I had swam all my four years," McGuire, who left the swim team after her freshman year for personal reasons. "I'm really happy to be back and really surprised about my times being so low. I know it has been a struggle, but I really want to make state my senior year."

Coach Rivers sighed when asked about McGuire's return to the Green Dragon squad this season.
"I wish I would have had her all four years," LP coach said. "She has such natural ability and I tell you now that if she had been with us for all that time, her name would have been all over the Lake Placid record books.
"I am really glad she came back and I can't tell you how much we missed having her around."

On the boys side, Lake Placid's Zach Lavoy was a model of consistency, placing third in the 200-yard individual medley (2:34.89), with teammates Kevin Smit (2:36.00) and Shaney Stayer (2:50.39), finishing fourth and seventh, respectively. Lavoy also finished first in the 100-yard breast stroke (1:11.84), followed by teammate Michael Trujillo (1:13.19) in second and Avon Park's Marcos Rivera (1:16.68), who came in fifth.

Avon Park's Drew Sedlock showed in the 500-yard freestyle relay that it's not only always about speed, but strategy, in the pool.
Sedlock was lagging behind a pair of swimmers midway thought the race using the scissor kick, instead of the traditional swimmer's kick. That strategy paid off, allowing Sedlock the burst of energy needed to pass the other swimmers for a second-place finish (6:41.35), followed by Lake Placid's Eduardo Queveduo (6:50.26) and Dylan Weber-Callahan (7:00.45).

One of the closest races came in the boy's 50-yard freestyle, when Tyler Robertson of Hardee and Lake Placid's Michael Wilkes were neck-and-neck for most of the race, but Robertson touched the wall first for the win (23.78), .07 of a second ahead of Wilkes (23.85).

Wilkes would finish second to Robertson in the 100-yard freestyle as well, with the Hardee swimmer taking first with a time of 52.64, while Wilkes took the silver with a time of 53.00. Lake Placid's Robert Greene placed seventh (58.78), while William Odham of Avon Park finished eighth (59.27) for a spot in the regionals.

With the regional spots for the individual races already in the books, the swimmers were back in the pool for the finals Tuesday night. These races determine district champions in each event.
"Some swimmers save their best race for the finals," AP coach Quinlan Wolfe said. "I tell all my athletes to be consistent. Give it all you've got in every race."

Results from the finals were not available at press time. Full district results will appear in Thursday's edition.
Next up is the Region 2 meet, which begins at 9 a.m. on Oct. 27 at Lake Highland Prep in Orlando.

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