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Eagles' Barry finishes season with another state appearance

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By CHRIS BERNHARDT JR.

Published: November 21, 2007

Updated: 11/20/2007 06:11 pm

The Springstead High junior advanced to the Nov. 2 Class 2A Finals at the Central Florida YMCA Aquatic Center in the 200-yard IM and 100-yard butterfly.

Barry reached the consolation finals in both events, finishing 13th in the 200-IM in 2:03.88 and winning the consolation final in the 100-fly with a 53.21.

"In prelims I was a little disappointed in my times," Barry said. "I was hoping to go a little faster than I did.

"I admit I was a little discouraged then. When I came back in the finals I tried to take on a better attitude. It was my last race of the season. I ended up doing well in finals."

Last year, Barry reached the championship finals of both the 100-fly and the 50-yard freestyle. He finished seventh in the former (53.39) and eighth in the latter (22.86).

As a freshman he qualified for states in the 200-IM, taking 14th with a time of 2:05.35.

This time he had hoped to exceed his previous performances at states, but got derailed in the morning's preliminary round.

A 2:05.57 in the IM placed him 15th and he came in just 13th in the fly at 54.31. The top eight made the championship final; the next eight made the consolation final.

"Sometimes I get used to swimming at certain times of the day," Barry said. "Sometimes when I swim in the mornings it throws off my swimming schedule. It could be that or maybe nervousness. Or when you're on a taper for a long time it can be kind of hard on your body.

"I've only been swimming with the high school team this season versus swimming with TBAY (club) and/or another other club team like I have in previous years. I wasn't expecting to drop significant time from last year."

Barry rebounded for a solid showing in the night swims, noting that he shaved two seconds off his time in the IM.

Ironically Barry didn't expect to swim the IM during the state series, but first-year Springstead Head Coach Andrew Smith opted to insert him in that event prior to districts.

"He had a tough morning at states but he stuck with it, came out and did very well in consolations," Smith said. "He did a personal best time for the 200-IM and won the consolation heat for the fly and that was nice to see.

"I toyed with the idea of putting him in the 100-free. I saw his IM times during the season, looked at the competition and felt he'd be more competitive in the state series doing the IM. For him to develop as a swimmer, I felt it'd be a confidence builder for him to get ready for next year.

"I'm not disappointed at all. He made a lot of positive strides with the IM. That was my gamble with him and he did a lot better than I expected."

Smith felt that Barry did well overall, especially considering his training suffered from not being able to participate in club swimming.

Barry plans to join another club soon in an effort to prepare for his final prep campaign in 2008.

"I'm enjoying a little break right now but after that passes I want to get back in the pool and start training again," Barry said. "I want to make the same goals for states again. I want to try to place in the top three.

"...I think the encouragement of our coaches and the inspiration from our teammates really brought everything together to give everyone encouragement to perform our best. That's what inspired me throughout the season."

McGeehan returns to states

Central senior Elizabeth McGeehan also reached the 2A State Meet for a second consecutive season, capping a fine prep career.

McGeehan made it in the 100-yard backstroke once again, coming in 22nd with a time of 1:05.93. Last year she swam a 1:05.48 to come in 24th.

"She had a good swim. She beat the Zephyrhills girl (Lindsay Gorgen). That made her happy," Central Head Coach Julie Withington said. "She performed very well.

"...She's performed exceptionally well in her high school career. I think she takes her skills and ability as an athlete, puts them in the water and does her best."

The Lady Bears did not score a team point at states for the first time in five seasons. Rae-Lynn Sheffield, a four-time state finalist, single-handedly earned the team points the previous four years.

Despite her graduation, Central pulled off one of the best seasons in program history, going 8-1 in dual meets and coming in third at districts.

At the 2A, Region II meet at Indian River Community College in Fort Pierce, the Lady Bears finished tenth. Interestingly, they beat Lecanto and Land O' Lakes, the two teams that came in ahead of them at districts.

"I couldn't have asked for anything better," Withington said. "They've done remarkably well representing Central. We had a nice carryover. We had swimmers get stronger from last year and move up and a couple of strong swimmers join."

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