Stiff competition often brings out the best in an athlete.

Kristen Jerich and Aryanna Napora don't have to look far to get it.

A senior and junior, respectively, both are star divers at Knoch High School and preparing to compete in the WPIAL Class AA championship meet, scheduled for Friday at South Park High School.

The top six divers will clinch berths in the state championship.

Jerich enters the event with a season-best score of 202, while Napora has achieved a 209.

“It pushes them both,” said Knoch coach Ken Bedford, who starred in high school at Butler. “I had good divers around me and it made me better.”

“We've gotten to be pretty close friends over the last few years,” said Napora of her relationship with Jerich. “It's a good, healthy competition between us.”

Napora placed sixth at WPIALs as a freshman in 2017 and was fourth last year, but has had her share of adversity this season.

She missed all of January after being diagnosed with vertigo.

“It's migraine-induced,” Napora said. “My head starts spinning. It's a challenge, trying to dive. When it hits me, I take a break and drink water and that helps. But I'm not entering WPIALs with as much confidence as in the past because of it.”

But Napora's 209 was earned recently, which bodes well for her chances.

“This is the time you want to start peaking,” Bedford said, “and Aryanna has turned in her best dives all season over the last two weeks.”

Jerich has had her own issue to deal with. As a freshman, she qualified for the district meet, but dislocated her right shoulder in warm-ups and was unable to compete.

Her entire sophomore season was wiped out after the same injury occurred prior to the first meet. She returned last year and placed fifth at WPIALs and 11th at states.

“I still have pain, but I fight through it,” said Jerich, who has benefitted from Bedford's expertise. “When I started diving four years ago, I had a terrific fear of reverse dives. Ken has helped me get over that mental block.”

“Kristen has been pretty steady all season and she's been injury-free,” said Bedford. “That has certainly helped.”

While most divers are hoping to improve their finish from last season, North Catholic's Kyle Maziarz is striving for a repeat performance.

As a sophomore last February, he won the WPIAL Class AA Boys championship with a score of 427.0. Just weeks later, he added a state title to his resume.

“I am nervous, just because I won last year and there are expectations that come with that,” said Maziarz. “But I also know that I have been training nearly every day for the last few months. I couldn't have trained any harder.”

Maziarz put up his best score this season last week against Pine-Richland, a 323, but is not seeded first entering the district meet. That honor goes to Beaver senior Andrew Cestra, while Maziarz is No. 2.

But pre-meet rankings do not bother Maziarz. Cestra was also No. 1 entering last year's competition and finished third. Last year's runner-up, Laurel Highlands' John Ek, graduated last spring.

“I train with Andrew and he has improved so much,” said Maziarz. “The competition between us is pretty high.

“My season has gone extremely well,” added Maziarz. “I have confidence that I can repeat as WPIAL champion.”

Class AAA

Seneca Valley will be well-represented in the girls' championship meet, to be held Saturday at North Allegheny High School.

Four Raiders — Katelyn Caccamo, Mackenzie Clark, Meghan Keppler and Maddie Montalbano — will all be competing.

Two other SV divers — Ashley Felitsky and Rylie Smith — qualified for the meet, but schools are not permitted to enter more than four divers.

That left SV coach Nancy Laslavic with a difficult decision to make.

“It's not based just on scores,” she said. “We take different things into account, like attendance at practices and meets. We don't take it lightly.”

The top five WPIAL divers will qualify for the state event, something Caccamo did last year by placing fourth.

Keppler and Montalbano finished seventh and eighth, respectively, at districts a year ago.

Following are the Butler County divers who will be competing at the WPIAL championship meet.Class AAFriday at South ParkGirls: Knoch - Aryanna Napora, Kristen JerichBoys: Knoch - Kevin Golden; North Catholic - Kyle MaziarzClass AAASaturday at North AlleghenyGirls: Butler - Dalayne Waterbec, Maura Szebalskie; Seneca Valley - Katelyn Caccamo, Meghan Keppler, Maddie Montalbano, Mackenzie Clark; Mars - Maddie MuellerBoys: Seneca Valley - Matthew Laslavic, Trevor Elliott