North Allegheny’s Ethan Maravich takes silver at PIAA diving championships

Michael Love TribLive Wed, Mar 11, 2026 • 04:21 PM

The WPIAL medalists from the PIAA Class 3A boys diving championships March 11, 2026, at Bucknell University were, from left, North Allegheny's Anthony Farrah and Ethan Maravich and Upper St. Clair's Carter Wells. (Michael Love | TribLive)

LEWISBURG — A new PIAA Class 3A boys diving champion was guaranteed Wednesday afternoon after last year’s titlist, Governor Mifflin’s Alex Wodehose, graduated and now is diving at Penn State.

North Allegheny’s Ethan Maravich, last year’s third-place finisher, hoped it would be him.

But Freedom senior Cody Smith, an Arizona State commit and last year’s runner-up, didn’t let Maravich reach the top step of the medals podium.

Smith led throughout and won gold with a total of 541.35 points.

Maravich, second after both the five-dive quarterfinals and the three-dive semifinals, earned silver with 509.41 points.

“I felt I did the best I could,” he said. “I am happy with how I did. They score different in each area, and at states, it’s the hardest.

“I tried to concentrate on just myself and my dives. But (Smith) is a great diver. I had fun going against him again. I gave him a run for his money.”

Maravich, a West Point commit, averaged 48.11 points over his five quarterfinal dives and was in second with 240.55 points, 25 behind Smith.

Smith and Maravich remained 1-2 in the standings after the semifinal cut to 16. Maravich scored 44.4 points in the third and final semifinal attempt — a reverse 1½ somersault in the pike position. That gave him 364.15 points heading into the final three dives and cut the deficit to 19 points.

Upper St. Clair junior Carter Wells, sixth in Class 3A last year, returned the medals podium. He was fifth after the quarterfinals, seventh after the semifinals, and remained there after the finals with 446.55 points.

North Allegheny junior Anthony Farrah made the cut to the finals, finishing in 16th (294.15) after eight dives. He averaged 32.48 points over his first eight dives.

But confidence in his three dives in the finals, he said, fueled his rise to eighth overall (440.70) and reach the medals podium in his PIAA debut.

Fox Chapel junior Gosha Pitsov also made his PIAA debut. He reached the semifinals in 20th but was not able to move up enough to make the top 16 for the finals. He finished 19th with 284.50 points.