DLN swimming roundup: Conestoga duo shines at District 1 diving championships

Conestoga captured two of the top three spots at the PIAA District 1 3A Girls Diving Championships Saturday at North Penn High School.

Pioneer sophomore Avery Hillier finished in first place, and her score for the 12-dive competition was 499.10, ahead of second-place finisher Keira Allison of host North Penn (470.10) and Conestoga teammate Grace Gallagher (third place, 466.75). Hillier had the highest score both in Round 1 (254.25) and Round 2 (244.85).

“I was most proud of Avery’s consistency and focus today, with the new format,” said Conestoga diving coach Megan Hillier. “This year, we had two rounds of six dives instead of an 11-dive round, and I think the (former) format gave top divers like Avery, Grace and Keira more of a chance to showcase their range as a diver — you could show your composure, technique and control. But Avery and Grace kept their focus today.”

Conestoga girls swim head coach Rob Kirkby said, “Avery is a total team player, she recognizes how diving contributes to our total team effort, All of her dives are very clean, all of her fundamentals are amazing and she pushes herself all the time.”

Hillier finished second at Districts last year as a freshman, and placed third at States last winter. She will be heading to States again, as will Gallagher.

Gallagher, a junior, scored 236.75 points in the second round Saturday, which was the second-highest score among the divers in that round.

“Grace is very consistent,” said Hillier. “She’s a beautiful diver, and she made just superclean entries on her best dive, a 105c.”

Kirkby said, “Grace is a great performer, works very hard and brings strength to our team.”

Last winter, as a sophomore, Gallagher finished third at Districts and placed fifth at States. The Conestoga girls swimming and diving team finished second at States last winter, with help from the contributions made by Gallagher and Hillier.

Downingtown East’s Rachel Laraio finished in eighth place at the PIAA District 1 3A Girls Diving Championships with 408.20 points. She scored 204.25 points in the first round, and 203.95 in the second round.

West Chester Rustin’s Ellie Smith finished in 16th place at the PIAA District 1 3A Girls Diving Championships with 364.45 points, tallying 178.70 in the first round, and 185.75 in the second.

Villa Maria Academy had a trio of girls finish among the top 11 divers at the District 1 2A Girls Diving Championships.

Hurricane senior Mary Cate Doughty finished in fourth place with 349.95 points. The first place finisher was Meghan Scott of Nazareth (435.25).

“Mary Cate had a good meet, and it was a strong finish to her season,” said Villa Maria diving coach Michelle Marnie.

The other two Hurricanes who placed in the top 11 divers were Kaleigh Wagner (10th place, 286.20) and Emma Wagner (11th place, 281.40).

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At the two-day 2023 Eastern Interscholastic Swimming & Diving Championships completed Saturday, Malvern Prep finished in seventh place, with 299 points, behind Andover (673), Mercersburg Academy (652.5), Germantown Academy (442), The Haverford School (394.5), Brunswick (383) and Phillips Exeter Academy (379).

Malvern senior Ben Kutufaris finished fifth in the boys 200 free (1:41.46) and seventh in the 100 free (46.36), while Friar senior Tom Moul was fifth in the boys 100 fly (50.31) and eighth in the 100 back (51.81).

Malvern junior Louis DelFra finished 10th in the boys 1-meter diving (212.05), senior Brady Tierney was 11th in the 500 free (4:42.72) and junior Davis Woerner was 13th in the 100 breast (1:00.06).

The Friar foursome of Woerner, Moul, Tierney and Kutufaris finished fourth in the 200 free relay (1:25.67), and the Malvern quartet of freshman Connor Kirby, Kutufaris, Moul and Tierney finished seventh in the 200 medley relay (1:33.89).

Malvern Prep swimming head coach Bethany Dewitt said, “Our swimming and diving team stepped up this weekend to have a great Easterns and end to the high school season. We have a young team this year and it was great to see season best times along with finals swims in many events. Top performances were made by Ben Kutufaris, Tommy Moul, Brady Tierney, Davis Woerner, Alex deVries, Connor Kirby, Miles Conn, Louis DelFra, and Jacob Nowoswiat.”