Bainbridge High School Lady Cats sophomore swimmer Tara Stevens turned in strong performances in the 100-yard back stroke and the 200-yard individual medley at the State Class AAAA Swim Meet Saturday at Georgia Tech in Atlanta.

She finished 20th in a time of 1:00.54 in the 100-yard backstroke and 2:12.05 in the 200-yard individual medley. She bettered her  times she had at the Region 1-AAAA Meet in Albany.

She qualified for state with a 100-yard backstroke time of 1:00.47 and a 200-yard individual medley time of 2:15.68 at the region meet. At the state meet she was 20th in a field of 50 in the 100-yard backstroke and 15th in a field of 50 in the 200-yard individual medley.

Stevens expressed her appreciation to coach Conner, coach Tracy Poppel and her parents, Edie and Teresa Stevens, for their strong support.

“My coaches and my parents are always there to encourage me to work hard and do my best,” she said.

Coach Conner said Stevens is a very hard worker who she is very proud of.

“Tara constantly works to improve her times and I could not be prouder of her,” she said. She actually qualified for state in five events, but she was only allowed to compete in two at the state meet. In addition to the 100-yard back stroke and the 200-yard individual medley, she qualified for state in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:02.81, the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:24.33 and the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:00.47.