Central's Sheffield finishes fifth in IM

LOL boys 200-yard freestyle relay team is sixth, and three area divers finish in top 15.

By STEVE LEE
Published November 7, 2004

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GAINESVILLE - Central's Rae-Lynn Sheffield and the Land O'Lakes boys 200-yard freestyle relay team had top-six finishes Saturday at the state swimming and diving meet at the University of Florida's Stephen O'Connell Center.

Sheffield, a sophomore, finished fifth in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2 minutes, 13.35 seconds.

"I'm just glad to have made it this far," said Sheffield, who last year placed fifth in the 100 backstroke and ninth in the 200 IM. "I felt relieved."

Gators coach Barbara Hayes was relieved, not so much with the relay team's sixth-place finish but that four team members got back into the building during an overcrowding fiasco.

Hayes' son Kevin and daughter Laura, along with Anthony Graziani and Laura Quintana, went outside for some fresh air between the boys diving and swimming finals, which began two hours late in the first year that the Florida High School Athletic Association scheduled Classes A, 2A and 3A simultaneously.

"I had to go get them because (school volunteers) wouldn't let them back in," Hayes said.

River Ridge senior diver Shelby Justus, who made state for the first time after a 5-0 regular season followed by conference, district and region titles, placed 10th in 2A.

"It's awesome," said Justus, who had to be persuaded by her mother, Sue, to compete after she sat out last season with a leg injury. "It's good for me. I just wanted to make it to state."

Mitchell's Gregg Strange and Zephyrhills' Glen Switzer also made the diving finals. Strange placed eighth (2A) and Switzer 14th (A).