Grinnell College Athletics

Sheryl Thedford '86 joins the Hall as an all-around athlete who appeared in national competition in two sports. Know mainly for her swimming exploits, Thedford also played field hockey and was a member of a league track championship squad. Sheryl made her presence felt first in track. During her rookie season she placed in four events at the loop championships and set a school record in the high jump at 4'11". As a sophomore Thedford took to the pool during the winter months, winning the 50- and 200-yard breaststroke at the conference meet in times of :32.22 and 2:35.47. She also swam on two title winning relay units. She earned All-America honors by swimming a 1:08.40 in the 100-yard breaststroke to place second at the NCAA Division III national meet. In her second year Thedford set school records in the high jump (5'3/4"), javelin (100'1"), and the heptathlon (4,263 points). At the Division III championships Sheryl scored 3,875 in the heptathlon which was good for 13th place and All-America honors. During her junior season Thedford won the league's 100 breaststroke event and swam on a winning relay team. She clocked a 1:08.73 to finish fourth and win All-America status at nationals. As a senior Sheryl captured both the 100 and 200 breaststroke titles at the conference meet and swam on two winning relay units. She placed third with a time of 1:07.8 in the 100 breaststroke at the national meet, earning All-America honors for the third time. Later that spring Thedford set another javelin school record with a throw of 105'1". A three-time most valuable award winner, Sheryl still holds Grinnell records in the 100 and 200 breaststroke (1:07.8 and 2:33.16) and the heptathlon. After graduation, Thedford was a laboratory assistant at Grinnell for a year before earning a Ph.D. degree in micro-physiology at the University of Florida. She is now conducting research at the University of Maryland medical school under a grant from the American Heart Association.