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Judges keep a close eye on Sahuaro diver Miles Nierenhausen during the regional meet at Hillenbrand Aquatic Center. Nierenhausen won the boys Kino championship.
Photos by jill torrance / arizona daily star
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high school sports

high school diving

Having a blast, making a splash

Divers don't let regional competition dampen their platform of having fun
By Tyler Hansen
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 10.11.2007
Diving is not always elegant at the high school level. Dives often end with the someone saying, "Ow."
No sport in Southern Arizona fields fewer competitors, but when it is done right, diving produces more oohs and aahs than anything else.
Nicholas Montaño is part of that elite class. His T-shirt message — "You'd be cooler if you were me" — helped drive home the point Wednesday morning.
The Santa Rita junior won the 4A Gila Region diving meet at the UA's Hillenbrand Aquatic Center without much of a challenge.
He was one of 15 divers from the 4A Gila, Sonoran and Kino regions hoping to qualify for next weekend's state championships.
And after a self-described "disappointing" sixth-place finish at the Class 4A-II state meet last year, Montaño promised a better showing this time.
"I didn't do club training during the high school season last year, and that's what affected me," he said. "I didn't train as hard the last two weeks of the season, so I wasn't ready for state. Now I am."
The diving that took place Wednesday was part quality, part comedy. After performing an incorrect dive in Round 9 of 11, Catalina Foothills junior Steven Wright came through his next time on the 1-meter springboard.
He celebrated after hitting the water by shouting, "I love not failing!"
It is the inherent nature of high school diving, where most kids are there to have fun, and if they happen to score well in the process, that's fine, too.
"When I try to be really competitive, I don't do as well," said Montaño, who started periodic training at age 5 with UA diving coach Michele Mitchell. "Everyone here just has a blast."
Montaño, who defended his region title with a score of 353.25, is often the gauge by which other divers judge themselves. Catalina senior Ray Schumacher said he had little to no chance of beating Montaño, so he instead tries to replicate the champion's actions.
"I do a little bit better than what some people just come out and throw, but there are guys that I try to live up to," said Schumacher, who finished second in the Gila with a 275.80.
"That's the reason I throw a lot of my more dangerous dives. I see 'Nico' doing them and I think, '… I've gotta be able to do that now.' "
Foothills junior Barbara Radford won the girls Sonoran title over teammate Izzy Diamond (293.80 to 272.55) in the closest competition of the day.
Diamond, a freshman, fared better than Radford at Saturday's Nike High School Classic at Hillenbrand, so Radford's added motivation bolstered her confidence going into regionals.
"I wasn't too worried because I knew I had a good chance to win it," she said. "Izzy and I are usually about the same, and I wanted to be able to beat her. We keep each other going."
Sahuaro's Miles Nierenhausen (210.25) won the boys Kino championship, while Zachary Karon of Foothills easily claimed the Sonoran title with the second-best score of the day (322.95) among all divers.
Amphi's Cassie Villafañe was uncontested in winning the girls Gila crown (181.65).
Two divers were disqualified Wednesday, but all others qualified for the state meet.
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