SOUTH PARK — A newcomer stole the show at the WPIAL Class 2A diving championships.

Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic sophomore Kyle Maziarz won the boys title with a score of 427.0 Friday afternoon at South Park High School.

Maziarz competed in swimming events for the Trojans last year, but made his first venture into diving in the district this season.

Laurel Highlands' John Ek placed second (417.1) and Beaver's Andrew Cestra was third (380.95).

It was the third straight runner-up finish for Ek.

“I know Andrew because I dove against him in the regular season, but I wasn't familiar with John,” Maziarz said. “I thank my coach (T.J. Barry). He set my dives up so that I went from my easiest dives to my harder ones. The other divers had their more difficult dives scattered throughout the competition.”

That increased degree of difficulty, and Maziarz's ability to nail each challenge, allowed him to vault from third place after the first round to first place by the end of the semifinal round.

In all, Maziarz executed 11 dives, with none of them scoring below 34.

“I have actually dove better in practice, but there's always been one or two dives that I knew I could have done better with,” he said. “Today, I was pleased with all my dives. I was really consistent.

“The last few days and this morning were nerve-racking, but once I got a few dives in, I knew I could do it.”

CWNC's entire boys team includes just nine swimmers/divers. Barry is excited about what Maziarz's district title means to the program.

“A win like this can only bolster our popularity, not just at our school, but also in the region,” he said. “Kids come to North Catholic to, number one, get an education. But we also want to provide them with quality extracurricular activities to take part in.”

Maziarz will next compete at the state championship meet, scheduled March 16 at Bucknell University's Kinney Natatorium.

In the girls meet, Knoch advanced a pair of divers in sophomore Aryanna Napora and junior Kristen Jerich. They placed fourth and fifth, respectively.

The top six finishers advance to the state meet.

“With Ary's experience coming in, I'm not surprised she got through,” Knoch diving coach Ken Bedford said. “I'm a little surprised about Kristen because she's had the shoulder issues.

“This is the first year she could actually compete in the WPIAL meet.”

Jerich injured her shoulder during the WPIAL meet her freshman year. She's had two surgeries on it since.

Knoch's Isebella West placed 12th in Class AA and teammate Vanessa Robb was 15th.

Anna Vogt of Ringgold won the girls Class AA title with a 354.70, followed by Jamie Elia of Blackhawk and Jordan Vasko of Elizabeth-Forward.

The girls state championship meet will be March 17, also at Bucknell.

“If we stay consistent with our dives, we can compete out there,” Bedford said.

Sports editor John Enrietto contributed to this report.