North Penn takes top four spots in District 1-3A Girls Diving
TOWAMENCIN >> North Penn’s four splendid divers — Paige Burrell, Madalyn Freece, Meghan Wenzel and Kianna Yancey — have turned out to be pretty invaluable to one another.
“They use one another as resources,” coach Kyle Goldbacher explained, “so they drive one another. They push one another. They support one another in a very healthy way.
“Sometimes when you get a level of competitiveness like that, it can turn unhealthy, but these four girls are really close knit. So they’re happy for one another.”
The Knights foursome pulled off an unprecedented feat on Saturday, taking the top four spots at the District 1-3A Championships, led by Burrell’s gold-medal performance with a score of 506.20.
“It feels pretty great. It was unexpected. It was really close,” said Burrell, who captured her second district title (2017). “I messed up a couple of dives and I just had to keep my head in the game and focus.
“(North Penn going one through four) is just amazing. There are so many amazing divers here and it was close the whole time. It was up in the air.”
The North Penn foursome goes surging into states and also gives the Knights quite a boost — 68 points worth — in the team scoring heading into next weekend’s swim portion at La Salle University.
Freece earned the silver with a score of 494.55, Wenzel captured the bronze with a 488.30, and Yancey rose to fourth place with a 475.45.
Also punching a ticket to PIAA’s were Marple Newtown’s Alexandra Pastris (431.95), Downingtown West’s Sara Haggerty (428.90), Wissahickon’s Tess Klugherz (405.35) and Lower Merion’s Amari Brown Swint (395.40).
Villa Maria Academy’s Riley Miller won the Class 2A title with a 335.90, with Lower Moreland’s Yuval Levi also earning a states spot with a 314.55.
Burrell, a two-time PIAA Champion, turned it on in the final round on the way to topping the 500-point plateau.
“I was pretty happy with how that went,” the senior said. “I was struggling with my gainer twisters for a while and I got it down. So it felt really good.
“I’m really excited for Bucknell. It’s my last year so I wanna make it count.”
Burrell emerged from a tight race, one that went back and forth through 11 rounds of dives. That’s nothing new for the Knights foursome.
“It’s back and forth in practice,” Goldbacher said. “I thought they all did well. They were steady. No one was perfect but they all showed their strength.”
