Competitions have been few and far between this season for North Catholic sophomore Maggie Foley.

When she has tested her skills against other divers, however, she has not tasted defeat.

Foley, the defending WPIAL Class 2A girls champion, has competed in just five of North's 12 meets this winter, winning them all.

“Some of the schools we dive against don't have a diving board,” she said. “I was supposed to compete at North Allegheny recently and that meet was canceled because of COVID.”

Even practice time has been unusually hard to find, with venues allowing only a certain number of people these days. Because of this, Foley has practiced a few times in Ohio.

“It's been so stressful,” she added.

Entering the WPIAL championship meet Friday at North Allegheny, Foley is ranked first in the district with a score of 272.40. Central Valley senior Alexa Gonczi is right behind her at 269.32.

The latter was No. 1 entering last year's competition and placed third behind runner-up Taylor Weyrich of Seton-LaSalle and Foley, who earned the title with a score of 440.45.

Weyrich graduated last spring.

Adding to the sense of urgency for Saturday's competitors is that moving on to the state meet means winning the district title. In years past, multiple divers from the WPIAL advanced.

Foley is attempting to block all of that out.

“I've definitely gotten better, but a lot of the other girls have gotten better, too,” Foley said. “I just want to go out and have fun. As long as I do my best, that's all I can ask for.”

North coach Joella Baker believes Foley is mentally strong and that usually leads to a solid effort from divers with the most talent.

“She's got a great head on her shoulders,” Baker said. “She's been working on things the last few weeks and her dives are looking really good. I'm confident she will do really well.”

The only diver from Butler County competing in Saturday's Class 2A boys meet is Mars junior Kevin Butler.

He placed 13th last year with a score of 261.10.

“It was pretty good for my first WPIAL meet, but my goal this year is to break 400 and medal (top eight),” said Butler, whose best score this season is 206 and has him ranked sixth in the district.

Unlike regular season meets, which include six dives for each diver, WPIALs features 11 dives for those good enough to make the finals.