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Clearfield divers finish second at District 9 meetc
Friday, February 26, 2010
By Josh Mlot Sports Writer
DUBOIS - There was no top spot on the podium, but it's safe to say the Clearfield diving team made a splash at the District 9 League Diving Championship on the 1-meter board Thursday night in DuBois.
Jessica Shomo and Elliot Lauder took runner-up for the girls and boys, respectively, while all four of the male divers medaled for the Bisons.
Shomo, just a freshman, couldn't surpass Brookville's Jamie Hays, the reigning champ, who won the competition with a 347.90.
Shomo upset Hays during the dual meet season, but the 11-dive championship meet was a different animal.
"An 11-dive meet is completely different," Clearfield diving coach Chad Gearhart said. "We don't have much experience in 11-dive meets.
"It takes a bigger toll on them. The big thing is if you do mess up a dive during an 11-dive meet, you have to let it go. You've got a bunch of dives coming up, and you just have to have selective amnesia and just focus on the next dive."
Shomo finished with a 308.50, starting strong and leading the standings after five dives, but she faded as the event wore on, and ultimately slid behind Hays, who got a big score on her ninth leap.
The Lady Bison leader was a longshot heading into her final jump, but an exception dive would have made things interesting. Instead, Shomo came up short with a failed dive and had to settle for second.
Another Clearfield freshman, Misty Knapik, was a pleasant surprise for the Lady Bisons, as her first-ever 11-dive meet turned into a fifth-place result thanks to a 258.10 score.
"Misty Knapik, for the dives she did tonight, she did absolutely fantastic," Gearhart said. "She showed a lot of poise."
Sophomore Sarah Lowder, the most experienced of the group, reeled in a 250.25 for a seventh-place finish.
"Sarah Lowder just stumbled on a dive or two," Gearhart said, "but overall she did a really good job.
"The girls did a great job. They actually exceeded some of my expectations."
The boys showed some signs of fading a little bit over the longer effort as well, but still turned in a well-rounded performance.
Elliot Lauder, a senior, was within striking distance of leader Justin Huey, of St. Marys, with three dives left to go, as he sat only five points back. But Huey sealed the deal with his finish, taking the top spot with a 333.60. Lauder finished with 282.90.
Teammate Jason Maines was right there the whole time as well, landing in third with a 273.30. Garrett Lauder (242.95) was fifth while Nathan Brzezinski finished in sixth, the final medal spot.
"The boys gave a very solid performance tonight," Gearhart said. "There are a few little things we're going to work on for regionals, but overall they did their dives pretty solid. I think we're going to work on some technique coming up."
Rounding out the medal spots for the girls, St. Marys' Maria Holm finished third, fourth went to Brookville's Sarah Hetrick, and DuBois' Brooklyn Ishman took sixth.
On the boys side, St. Marys sandwiched the top two Bison finishers, with Huey on top and Jake Burns in fourth.
The most difficult dive of the night went to Shomo, whose second trip to the board featured a 3.2 degree of difficulty that dwarfed anything else attempted on the night.
Two of her best jumps, however, came on her fourth and ninth dives, the first of which was a 403C inward dive with 1½ somersaults in the tuck position, a 2.2 degree-of-difficulty leap which she nailed for scores of 5.5, 7, 6, 5.5 and 5.5.
The latter dive was a 2.3 degree-of-difficulty 104B forward dive with two somersaults in the pike position.
Knapik went big early, with her second dive earning a 2.2 degree-of-difficulty mark, but her best scores came later in the event, when she picked up a 7, 6, 6, 5.5 and 6.5 on her penultimate jump.
Lowder's best marks came on her seventh dive - a 401B inward dive in the pike position - as she earned 6.5, 7, 6.5, 6.5 and 7.5 on the 1.5 degree-of-difficulty attempt.
Elliot Lauder remained in contention for the boys with solid marks on a 2.2 DD 403C inward dive with 1½ somersaults in the tuck position for his ninth effort, and then a 2.4 DD 10th dive earned even better.
But his marks didn't hold up on his big final dive, a 2.4 degree-of-difficulty 5232D reverse one somersault, 1½ twists in the free position.
Maines was good early, with solid marks on his second dive - a 2.3 DD 104B forward dive with two somersaults in the pike position.
He maintained consistency through the middle part of the competition, earning marks between 5 and 6, but his final two dives of 2.2 degree-of-difficulty or greater didn't hit the mark.
Brzezinski, a senior, attempted the same closing dive as Maines and fared similarly, but his best scores came on his ninth dive - a 401B inward dive in the pike position. The judges rewarded his strong effort with marks of 5, 5.5, 5.5, 5 and his meet-high individual mark of 7.
Sophomore Garrett Lauder saved his best for last, going for his toughest dive of the night with a 5223D backward dive with one somersault and 1½ twists from the free position for a 2.3 degree of difficulty. He nailed the effort, earning scores of 5.5, 5, 5, 4.5 and 6.
The divers will now prepare for the District 6-9 Regional Championships, set to take place March 5-6 at Penn State's McCoy Natatorium.
"Now we know what to expect from regionals coming up," Gearhart said. "We know what dives to work on, and we have some goals to set."
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