ADAMS TWP — The more things change, the more they stay the same.

At least that has been the case for Mars diver Taylor Hockenberry.

The current senior captured the WPIAL Class AA title the last two years, followed up by a state crown both times.

This season, Hockenberry found herself going up against divers more numerous and with a different level of talent as the Planets were bumped up to Class AAA.

But the University of North Carolina recruit’s dominance has continued. Hockenberry enters the district championship event Saturday at North Allegheny High School as the No. 1 seed with a score of 355.06.

“She has been hitting 300 consistently the last few weeks,” said Mars coach Maria Misenhelter. “The competition in Triple-A is much improved and there is a bigger curve this year. We went up against some very good teams this season, North Allegheny, Pine-Richland ... and she still managed to take first in every meet.”

“In Double-A, there’s usually about 15 divers who make it to WPIALs,” added Misenhelter. “In Triple-A, there’s about 30. The WPIAL Triple-A record score is 100 points higher than Double-A.”

Hockenberry welcomed the stiffer competition.

“I knew I was going to be diving against more and higher-caliber divers,” she said. “I was excited about it.”

Hockenberry placed second at the district meet and fifth in the state as a freshman.

“Once she came to the varsity team, you could see her intelligence and the drive that she had,” Misenhelter said, “but the improvement she made with board control in between her freshman and sophomore year, I knew she was set up for success.”

Hockenberry said of her motivation to improve, “Naturally, I am competitive, but that doesn’t get you anywhere unless you apply it to yourself.”

Her top competition should include Pine-Richland’s Maddie Huitt and Mallory Charles, Latrobe’s Taylor Miller and Penn-Trafford’s Paige Kalik, among others.

The top five finishers will advance to next month’s state meet.

Though Hockenberry is the favorite to best the Triple-A field this weekend, she has a simple approach when taking the board.

“I don’t identify myself as a champion,” she said. “Diving is not who I am, it’s something I do. I just want to do my best and wherever that gets me, it gets me.”