Twin Titles
SOUTH PARK — Kyle Maziarz decided to compete against himself — and the WPIAL Class AA diving record.
Neither proved to be much of a match.
The North Catholic senior and Cranberry Township resident shattered the previous district mark in scoring a 558.05 while winning his second WPIAL crown in three years Friday at South Park High School. The previous record of 522.20 was set by Beaver's Andrew Cestra last year. Cestra graduated last spring.
North Catholic swept the AA diving championships as Trojanette freshman Maggie Foley claimed the girls title.
“We got 'em both,” North Catholic diving coach T.J. Barry said. “This was a special day for our program.
“Andrew and Kyle both broke the boys record last year, only Andrew won the (WPIAL) meet. Andrew and Kyle train together and are good friends, so Kyle wasn't too upset to see him do well.”
Maziarz was motivated, nonetheless.
“The number 522 was on my mind all day,” he said. “I knew what I had to do to break that record and I was constantly focused on it.
“In the past, I would watch the other divers in the competition to see how they were doing. This time, I was totally focused and concentrating on myself.”
Maziarz won the WPIAL title easily. Simon Iwanonkiw of Quaker Valley finished second with a 422.
“I competed against the record and myself,” Maziarz said. “Going into my final three dives, I knew I had to hit them perfect. When I completed the first two that way, I was confident I'd finish strong and that's how it worked out.”
Kevin Golden of Knoch placed sixth in the AA meet and will join Maziarz at the PIAA meet March 13 at Bucknell University.
Maziarz will be looking for another record there. He will enter that meet as a two-time state champion.
“I've been told that no one has ever won the PIAA title three times,” he said. “I want to leave a legacy in PIAA diving, not just the WPIAL, and I have a chance to do that.”
Foley never allowed herself to get too comfortable during the girls competition. Maybe that helped her maintain the focus to dominate the field.
Her score of 440.45 was 41.40 points better than runner-up Taylor Weyrich of Seton-La Salle.
“I was on edge the entire time,” Foley said. “I wasn't sure how things were going to play out and didn't want to get too confident.”
Entering the 11th and final round, Foley's lead over Weyrich was 31.5 points, a nearly insurmountable margin.
Still, her focus remained steady and she put the finishing touches on North's first-ever district girls diving title by nailing an inward double somersault.
“I took a deep breath before I dove,” she said. “When I was underwater, I knew it was a good dive and that I was going to win.
“On the podium, they started awarding the medals and I started to get emotional.”
Foley will allow herself a very small break. The state meet is just three weeks away.
“I'm taking Saturday off, then getting back in the pool Sunday to start working again,” she said. “It means a lot that I will go to states as a district champion, but it is also going to add some pressure. People are going to expect more from me.”
Also qualifying for the state meet was Knoch senior Aryanna Napora, who placed fourth with a score of 329.95.
Her teammate, Krystle Ekas, earned a medal with an eighth-place finish with a 286.25.
