While the Olympic athletes were competing in Sochi this past weekend, the New Canaan YMCA Whirlwind Diving Team kept busy earning medals at home.
Whirlwind divers once again captured the team first place prize at the annual Whirlwind Winter Weekend Invitational Diving Meet held at the New Canaan YMCA on Feb. 7-9th.
There were 214 registered divers competing for 18 teams at the meet. Although the competition was stiff, Whirlwind easily won in both the boys and the girls team competitions for a total combined score of 483.50 points, besting the 2nd place team, High Dive Champions of Purchase, NY, by over 65 points!
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Local high school All American diver Kirsten Parkinson of Stamford captured the win on both 1 Meter and 3 Meter in the 16-18 girls competition, also with a personal best score on 3M. Other Whirlwind event winners included Timothy Luz (Darien, 14-15 boys) on 1M, high school All American Sean Burston (Stamford, 16-18 boys) on 3M, Allison Courtney (Wilton, 14-15 girls) on 3M, Hannah Craley (Redding, 12-13 girls Novice) on 1M, and Gail Heaslip (Ridgefield, Masters Gold) on 1M
In addition to Timothy Luz, Darien divers Owen Stevens and Wiley Schmidt (both 14-15B) added to the medal count for the Whirlwind team. Owen and Wiley placed 2nd and 3rd in the 1M event and 3rd and 4th in the 3M competition, respectively. Also from Darien, divers Kyla Pech (16-18G) and Kyle O’Donnell (16-18B) competed with Kyla placing 20th on 1M and 8th on 3M, and Kyle finishing 10th on 1M.
The meet on Whirlwind’s home boards was a great success for the Whirlwind team, as the divers gear up to compete at the USA Diving Region 1 Championship Meet on March 14-16.
The New Canaan YMCA will also host this Regional meet, which will include teams from the Mid-Atlantic states and New England.
For additional information about the New Canaan YMCA Whirlwind Diving Team, contact Coach Joe Somma at jsomma@newcanaanymca.org.