Baldwin’s Megan Cooper wins Inter-Ac diving title

Baldwin School sophomore Megan Cooper captured first place at the Inter-Ac Girls’ Diving Championships Monday at Germantown Academy. This is the first time a Baldwin athlete won the Inter-Ac diving title. Cooper finished with a score of 257.30, narrowly defeating Episcopal Academy’s Kat Harrar (253.75) and Penn Charter’s Avery Meyers (251.35).
Cooper, who finished first at the competitive Upper Dublin Cardinal Diving Classic, set the new Baldwin diving record at Inter-Ac championships with her 257.30 score for six dives.
Baldwin diving coach Justin Gaudreau said, “I could not have been more proud of Megan yesterday. She and I spoke of a ‘game plan’ and she executed it perfectly. It is truly an honor as a coach to watch your athlete realize the potential that you have seen in them all along. Yesterday was the first of what I am sure will be many spectacular moments/memories of Megan’s high school diving career.

“The key to Megan’s performance Monday was having fun. She enjoyed the moment and relished in the pay off of all her hard work this season. Her ability to focus on one dive at a time allowed her to ‘stay in her zone’ and keep her performance at a high level.”
Germantown Academy’s Lyndea Landmesser and Molly Thompson finished 4-5 at the Inter-Ac Diving Championships, and Agnes Irwin’s Mia Skyman placed sixth, with 179 points. EA took spots 7-9, with Rachel Barber, Elizabeth Campbell and Kathryn Barber.
In the Inter-Ac Boys Diving Championships, Malvern Prep and Episcopal Academy took the top seven spots, with the Friars’ Nick Harris taking the top spot with 319.85 points.
Episcopal Academy’s Vlad Puskovitch and Will Hopkins finished second and third with 249.25 and 231.85 points, respectively, while EA’s Declan Doherty totaled 208.95 points to take sixth place.
Haverford School’s Mickey Fairorth was the top Fords finisher at the Inter-Ac Diving Championships, placing eighth. Teammate Fisher Bond placed 10th.
Malvern Prep placed four in the top seven, with Harris taking home the title, Trevor Henderson placing fourth (230.6), followed by Marshall Beckett in fifth (224.5) and Danny Faunce in seventh (204.55).
In other Main Line high school swimming action (the high school wrapup is compiled from game summaries sent to Main Line Media News and our sister publications):
Baldwin School lost to Gwnedd Mercy, 86-84, Jan. 22. Freshman Anya Mostek took a first place finish in both the 200 free and 100 free, while junior Emily Xiong won the 100 back. Baldwin’s medley relay (Emily Xiong, Taylor Trapp, Christina Cappola and Ava Rosenberger) took second place, while Cappola and Trapp also grabbed second place in the 500 free and 50 free, respectively.
Conestoga (boys) defeated Lower Merion, 99-66, Jan. 25. Conestoga senior Brendan Burns finished first in the 200 IM (1:52.63) and 100 fly (48.98). Other first-place individual finishers for Conestoga were Raymond Welgosh (200 free, 1:48.32). James Hughes (50 free, 23.52), Stanley Kim (100 free, 51.66) and Thomas Noone (500 free, 5:00.58).
Conestoga (girls) defeated Lower Merion, 101-67, Jan. 25. For the Pioneers, senior Sophia Poeta finished first in the 50 free (24.93) and 100 back (59.73). Other first-place individual finishers for Conestoga were Ava Collin (200 free, 2:01.83), Allison Yuan (100 fly, 1:00.40), Louise Hay (100 free, 56.33) and Alex Marlow (100 breast, 1:08.22).
Lower Merion (girls) diver Amari Swint placed first in the Aces’ meet against Ridley Monday with a score of 244.70,and teammates Hannah Shalaby and Sami Vaughan also had strong showings. LM divers Siobhan Daley-Gibson, Nicole Handel and Julia Songer placed first, third, and fourth, respectively, against Springfield Jan. 24, with Daley-Gibson posting a score of 151.30. One day earlier, Swint placed first against Radnor with a score of 239.45.