TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Durant Diver Wins Medal

ADVERTISEMENT

By DAREK SHARP, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 10, 2007

PLANT CITY - The region championships were fine but when it came time to really make her mark, Kaylee Doback would, well, miss her mark.

But in her last chance, Doback nailed it.

Doback, Durant High's four-year diving standout, earned a bronze medal with her third-place performance at the state Class 3A swimming and diving championships in Orlando.

"Ninth, eighth, eighth," Doback quickly recited her past state finishes. "I just couldn't get into the top few. And to do it against the competition I faced, the top 10 girls were all incredible."

Also posting a best-ever finish was her Cougar teammate Chris Plante, who came in fourth in the boys competition.

Plante has secured a scholarship at Dartmouth while Doback is planning to attend the University of Florida. Doback felt plenty of pressure to finish her high school career with a standout performance, and she did it.

That pressure did not hinder Doback's effort Nov. 3, something she said was a problem in the past.

"My maturity level was a big difference this year," Doback said. "Something about being 18 and working harder than I've ever worked, I'm more mature. I used to freak out before a big meet."

Having her diving coach, Jill Greenwell of the Brandon Swim and Aquatic Center, present also helped, she said.

The dive that catapulted Doback into medal contention, she said, was a front 2 1/2 pike.

"I cried after that one, I was so happy," she said.

A freshman, Cherie Hamond of West Orange High School, won the competition with 476.50 points. Brooke George of Boone High School in Orlando was second with 447.35 points and Doback's total score was 434.55. That put her less than a half-point ahead of fourth-place Kelly Darin of Orlando's Olympia High School. The state meets were held at Orlando's Central Florida YMCA Aquatic Center.

Two of the top three boys finishers were from Olympia High.

Also reaching the state meet were Plant City High swimmers Stephanie Barker and Anna Palermo. Barker had a frustrating end to her Raider career; she was seeded fourth in the 100-yard butterfly after the morning preliminary races but finished seventh in the finals. Palermo, in her first trip to a state meet, came in last in the 100-yard breast stroke.

Reporter Darek Sharp can be reached at dsharp@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT