FORT COLLINS • Whether it’s in the pool or at a buffet, Sarah James never stops going back.

A day after devouring eight plates of food while dining with her team at Cinzzetti’s Italian Market, the Doherty freshman qualified for the finals of the 100-yard backstroke at the Class 5A state swimming championships.

“She can swim fast, but she eats a lot,” Spartans coach Nicole Hart said.

Food isn’t the only thing that James is hungry for this weekend.

“I want to try to get top five in the 100 back,” said James, the daughter of Colorado College swimming and diving coach Anne Goodman James. “I’m just really motivated.”

In order to reach that goal, James must improve on her performance in preliminaries where she finished seventh in 58.60 seconds.

The top qualifier was Regis freshman Missy Franklin, who finished in 53.43 to break the class and state record of 54.77.

James, who qualified for the consolation finals in the 200 individual medley, is the only freshman from the Pikes Peak region who advanced to the finals in an individual event.

“I think Sarah is by far the most talented one around that we have at the freshman level right now,” Hart said. “… I think you’ll see her swim better tomorrow, because she’s a competitor and she doesn’t like to lose.”

Sarah James of Doherty High School swims the 100 Backstroke preliminaries at the Colorado State High School 5A Swim Meet in Fort Collins, Colo. Friday, Feb. 12, 2010. Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS