LEWISBURG — The WPIAL was well represented on the medals podium at the PIAA Class 3A girls diving championship meet Friday afternoon at Bucknell’s Kinney Natatorium.
North Allegheny senior Juliet Hood led the way with a bronze medal (450.95), Seneca Valley junior Ali Waters took fourth (384.50), Mars senior Mya Lee placed sixth (376.75), and North Allegheny junior Maggie Lapina ended her state meet in seventh (375.05).
“All of us are really powerful divers,” Waters said. “We’re all really close, so it’s a fun time when we’re all together and all are competing. For all of us to get top eight, that is amazing. I think we all had confidence in ourselves and each other that we could do what we did. We have a strong bond, and it really carries us through.”
Hood, who also took bronze at the WPIAL championships Feb. 22 at North Allegheny High School, was third with 204.20 points, just five points behind the leaders, after the preliminary round of five dives.
She remained in third after the semifinals but had closed the gap on second to just two points.
Avery Hillier, a senior from Conestoga High School in District 1, won her second straight gold with 480.35 points, while Hayden Taylor from Freedom in District 11 finished runner-up with 467.45 points, 17 clear of Hood.
The bronze was Hood’s third medal in as many years. She was runner-up to Hiller last year and seventh in 2023.
“I would definitely say there were some ups and downs with my dives today, but overall, I feel I was pretty consistent,” Hood said.
Waters, who placed fourth at WPIALs, made her PIAA debut and was consistent throughout as she was fourth after the preliminaries and also fourth after the semifinals.
“I wasn’t really nervous at all, honestly, going into it at least,” Waters said.
“I was just trying to stay in my lane and not think about anything else than executing each dive to the best of my ability. I took it one dive at a time and didn’t worry about what anyone else was doing. It was just so much fun, and I am just so happy with how it ended.”
Lee, the WPIAL runner-up who also made her PIAA debut Friday, ticked up the standings ladder after each round.
Upcoming Local Events
She was in medal contention in eighth after the first round and seventh after the semifinals before moving up one more time to seventh.
Lapina, the WPIAL champion, was ninth after the preliminaries, just two points away from eighth. She slipped to 16th after the semifinals.
Entering the three-round finals, the difference between Waters in fourth and Lapina as the 16th and final qualifier was just 27 points. Lapiana (251.20) edged out Wilson’s Ellie Kulp for 16th by just 20 one-hundredths of a point.
With her portfolio of final dives at her disposal, Lapina said she was confident in her ability to make up some ground.
“My last three dives are definitely my favorites and my best dives,” said Lapina who finished 10th at states last year.
“I was confident. I wish I would’ve switched my attitude a little earlier. The last three, I knew they were good and I knew I could hit them for good scores. My coach reminded me how close and competitive it was throughout and that one or two good dives could really change things. I trusted my corrections, and everything turned out OK.”