Evans eyes title

LYNN HAVEN - Sara Evans is an accomplished student-athlete.

The Mosley senior has excelled on the basketball court and in the swimming pool at the Lynn Haven school. She's a top student and may attend Vanderbilt University upon graduation. And if that's not enough, she's also a concert pianist and can entertain on the violin as well.

This weekend she's hoping to accomplish something missing on her resume: becoming a state champion.

Her quest for individual glory begins Saturday in the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 2A state swimming championships. Evans won regional titles in both her events, the 100-yard breaststroke and the 200 individual medley. She qualified in the events last year, finishing eighth and 12th, respectively.

She's one of six individuals and four relays from Mosley heading to the 2A meet. Arnold is sending two individuals and one boys relay team to the 1A meet on Friday.

Evans credits a life choice for helping her concentrate on swimming full time.

"I gave up basketball," she said.

Evans competed in both sports as a junior. But her preparation for swimming had to wait until last spring due to the length of the basketball season. Summer was fast approaching, and her decision to quit basketball freed up her worries about competing in both sports over the break and delaying her progress in the water.

"I love basketball and I love to play basketball," Evans said. "But I couldn't handle two sports."

Evans swam with the Panama City Swim Team, an organization headed by Jonathan Kaplan. His philosophy at PCST is one of serious swimming, with the goal to develop athletes to challenge for top spots in the state.

Evans has moved to the point of being a contender, having shaved more than three seconds off her time as a junior. She currently is seeded fifth in the breaststroke and sixth in the I.M. Her breaststroke qualifying time of 1 minute, 8.76 seconds is a little more than 2 seconds behind top seed Jessie Holley of Dwyer.

Mosley coach Sue Cottrill said Evans is tapering for state, which means a swimmer has worked hard early in preparation, then scaled back yardage and time in the pool to concentrate on more focused swimming. The aim is to be fresh and mentally charged for the big meet.

This is the first time Evans has been tapered for an event this season. Cottrill said it's possible Evans can cut more than two seconds off her time and compete for a breaststroke championship.

"Honestly we have not seen what she's capable of," Cottrill said. "Two seconds might seem like a lot in the 100. But she hasn't pulled out the stops yet. It's not unusual to see a kid that tapers drop a bunch of time in one race."

Cottrill said Evans' natural athletic ability has turned her into one of the best swimmers to come out of Bay County. She said there's plenty more to come, but it all depended on whether or not Evans wanted to swim at the next level.

She does.

"For a while I wanted to go on and play basketball in college," Evans said. "Now it's swimming, and that really started to be the goal last year."

Evans understands that a state championship is a realistic goal. She maintained that if she swims her best race she has a chance. But she's level-headed enough to know that mistakes can happen, like slipping on the wall in a final last year.

"I'm not worried about that, if I slip on the wall I slip on the wall," Evans said. "There's nothing I can do about it."

What she can do is remain focused on the task and not get caught up in what other swimmers do. Swimming isn't necessarily about beating someone else, Evans said. It's about beating yourself, as in besting your own time and hoping it's good enough to land on the podium.

"I have the opportunity to win," Evans said. "It's just me and the clock.

"I'm not racing against anyone. There's no pressure."

Area swimmers competing in state swimming and diving championships:

• Class 1A - Friday
  Arnold
  Girls
  Kate Branham, 50 freestyle
  Boys
  Cody Bronnenberg, 100 backstroke; 200 individual medley
  400 freestyle relay of Bronnenberg, Troy Vonblankenburg, Josh Teague and Chris Minor
• Class 2A - Saturday
  Mosley
  Girls
  Sara Evans, 100 breaststroke; 200 IM
  Victoria Hove, 200 IM
  Kyle Olstad, 100 breaststroke
  200 medley relay of Hove, Olstad, Brielle Seaman and Candice Hilton
  400 freestyle relay of Hilton, Olstad, Evans and Mary McDermott
  Boys
  Kurt Fuhrmann, diving
  Matt Bryant, 100 fly
  Matt Reece, 100 breaststroke
  200 medley relay of Reece, Bryant, Kyler Hast and Nathan Williams
  200 freestyle relay of Hast, Jordan Newman, Sammy Reyes and Michael Perdomo