Mars' Eric Crowley is taking a laid-back approach to defending his WPIAL Class AA boys diving title.

Judging on his performance last year, no one is about to argue his philosophy as the senior dominated the field with a score of 435.25.

"I'm not really thinking about repeating as champion," said Crowley, who will be the diver to beat at today's competition, which begins at 11 a.m. at Pine-Richland High School. "I'm just going to focus on my dives and, hopefully, if I do that, I can win again."

Crowley enters the meet with a WPIAL-best score of 311.20.

His nearest competitor at the district finals last season was Pine-Richland's Jesse Marweg, who is currently seeded fourth as a junior.

"I train with (Marweg) and he's gotten better," said Crowley. "I expect him to be at least in the top three when it's all over."

Making his first appearance at the WPIAL diving championships was a big deal to Ken Bedford.Now the coach at Butler High School, Bedford gets to watch two of his divers enjoy that same experience.Juniors Jake Pflugh and Pat Kaiser will take part in the Class AAA boys meet, which begins at 10 a.m. Saturday at Pine-Richland High School.Bedford, a 1994 graduate of Butler, qualified for the WPIAL meet all four years of high school. But he admits that the first time is always special."I qualified for WPIALs in the last meet of my freshman year, so I was just excited to be there," said Bedford. "I didn't have any expectations going in and that's how (Kaiser and Pflugh) should feel."They should just go out, do their best and be proud of where their hard work has taken them."It is a mind-set that Kaiser has taken to heart."No matter what happens at WPIALs, I'm going to look at this as my best season," he said. "And I'm going to use the experience to get even better next year."Kaiser enters the meet with a career-best score of 191."He's probably the hardest worker I've ever coached," Bedford said of Kaiser. "He gives 110 percent every time he steps on the board."As for Pflugh, he has made the district championships in his first year of diving."I didn't want to be just sitting around the house every day after school and figured I'd give diving a shot," said Pflugh, whose best showing this season was a score of 174. "The hardest part was learning the techniques, but I became comfortable with it all after about a week of practice."But I didn't think about making WPIALs at the beginning of the season," he added. "I really didn't know what to expect."Above all else, it is Pflugh's natural ability that has him still diving this late in the season."He's a pretty athletic kid," said Bedford. "Diving is a tough sport to pick up just like that, but I think he's done a good job of it."Joining Kaiser and Pflugh in the boys competition will be Butler's John Rhodaberger, who is ranked sixth in the WPIAL at 220.05.Also a junior, Rhodaberger will be making his third appearance at the WPIAL meet. His best finish was 12th place last season.With two such meets already under his belt, Rhodaberger doesn't expect to contend with nerves this weekend."I try not to get too nervous," he said. "I'm pretty confident because I've been practicing hard," he added.Butler's best chance at getting a diver to the state meet could be Jessica Schnur, who enters the girls meet at 2 p.m. Saturday at Pine-Richland ranked No. 1 in the district with a score of 265.5.This will be the senior's fourth and final chance at WPIAL gold. She finished fifth last season."I'm not looking at this any differently than when I went as a freshman," she said. "I'm just looking to dive my best meet."Also competing in the girls Class AAA field will be Seneca Valley sophomore Diana Rocco, who looks to improve on her 25th-place finish last season.She is currently seeded third in the WPIAL (240.55)."I began training at (the University of Pittsburgh) this season and I go down there two days every week," said Rocco. "My goal is to finish in the top five and make it to states.""Diana came in as a freshman with virtually no diving experience," said Rocco's coach Maria Misenhelter. "Young divers often have to make a few adjustments with the positioning of their head and whatnot. Diana has been able to do that."Notes:All competitors will perform 11 dives, five of them required and six more of the divers' choosing. … The Class AA girls meet will take place at 2 p.m. today at Pine-Richland High School. … The top five finishers in all classes will move on to the state championships.