Byrnes leads Freedom to 3A title

Freedom's Carol Byrnes led almost the entire series of 11 dives to take the 3A girls portion of the District 11 diving championships Saturday at Emmaus.

Byrne, who finished third in the LVC meet two weeks ago, easily outdistanced her nearest competitor, Amanda Zerphy of Parkland, 406.20 to 387.70. Courtney Fox of Nazareth finished third with a score of 343.50.

On the boys side, Jacob Lenhart of Parkland repeated his triumph in the lVC meet. Like Byrne, he led through the final eight dives after duking it out with Easton's Brandon Roman through the first three. Mitchell Keller of Parkland finished second, 40 points behind his teammate.

Central Catholic swept the 2A competition, with both Nick Crouse and Nicole Sagle handily winning their halves of the meet.

"It was a tough competition," Byrnes said. "I'm usually the one who finishes third or second, but today I came out on top. It's due to all my hard work."

Byrnes qualified for states last year by finishing third in the district meet. Last year three District 11 divers were invited. This year only two in each division qualify.

"Some days you're on and some you're off," she said. "I just practice all the time. I'd better do better at (states at) Bucknell. I'll have to plan my dives better and put all my higher DDs (degree of difficulty) up front so I'll be sure of making it through all three rounds."

Byrnes dives with a brace on her left wrist. "I had surgery on the wrist about a year ago and I wear the brace for absorption when I hit the water."

Zerphy said she thought she had a rougher start in this meet than in the LVC meet. Even still, she led after the first round of dives.

"Carol definitely deserved to win," Zerphy said. "She works really hard. No one trains to come in second, but sometimes you have those days. It wasn't that good a day. I was nervous. This is the first year I actually had a chance to go to states."

"I was pretty happy with my scores," Lenhart said. "I had a couple of off dives, but that happens. I can improve a little bit at Bucknell. I think my experience at Bucknell will help. States was rough last year."

Lenhart scored 427.15 to 380.55 for Keller. Roman finished third with 355.85, after a poor fourth dive dropped him from first place to fourth.

"I'm really happy with how I finished," Keller said. "It wasn't my best score. There were a lot of nerves today and I had trouble getting it together. Jake's a great teammate and he helps me out a lot. I'm happy to have him as a teammate."

On the 2A side, Central Catholic's Nick Crouse could have waved off his final three dives and still won. Crouse led through the entire 11-dive program and also had the best dive in 10 of those dives, ceding to runner-up Dennis Bonner of Salisbury on the penultimate dive.

"Most of my dives were pretty good today," Crouse said. "I think I can improve on them. Hard practice and trying my hardest is probably why my dives were on today."

Crouse scored 410.0 to 284.75 for Bonner. Blue Mountain's Lyle Luckenbill finished third with a score of 200.85.

There was a scare in the eighth round when Schuylkill Haven's Jackson Fleagle hit the board with his legs on a spin. He was forced to withdraw and left the pool area with bandages on his left foot and right ankle.

In girls 2A competition, Central's Nicole Sagl led through the entire 11-dive program, much as Crouse did on the boys' side. She scored 404.85 to 322.75 for second place finished Melody Maclaughlin of Southern Lehigh.

"I was comfortable today," Sagl said. "I had trouble on my reverses, but everything else I thought was really, really good. I' ve never experienced states before, so I'm looking forward to it."

"I was a little off in some of my dives, but I felt comfortable throughout," Maclaughlin said. "I feel good about going back to states and hope I do better than last year. I think I can do a lot better out there than I did today."

John Heilig is a freelance writer

District 11 3A Girls Diving Championship

1: Carol Byrnes, Freedom, 406.20. 2: Amanda Zerphy, Parkland, 387.70. 3: Courtney Fox, Nazareth, 343.50. 4: Tiffany Keiper, Parkland, 340.60. 5: Kelsey Jehls, Easton, 338.80. 6: Julia Molloy, Allen, 307.36. 7: Brooke Fox, Nazareth, 292.40. 8: Maddy Hain, Parkland, 289.20. 9: Serena Speer, Emmaus, 288.20. 10. Meagan Ybarra, Nazareth, 287.55.

District 11 3A Boys Diving Championship

1: Jacob Lenhart, Parkland, 427.15. 2: Mitchell Keller, Parkland, 380.55. 3: Brandon Roman, Easton, 355.85. 4: Andrew Bock, Emmaus, 350.50. 5: Josh Anderson, Parkland, 311.65. 6: Steve Suender, Pottsville, 283.50. 7: Jaylen Banks, Parkland, 280.90. 8: Clint Speer, Emmaus, 247.85.

District 11 2A Girls Diving Championship

1: Nicole Sagl, Central Catholic, 404.85. 2: Melody Maclaughlin, Southern Lehigh, 322.75. 3: Danielle Juritsch, Blue Mountain, 303.00. 4: Emily Marshall, Southern Lehigh, 288.05. 5: Kelsey King, Southern Lehigh 251.10. 6: Lorissa Luckenbill, Blue Mountain, 237.65. 7: Caitlin McGarry, Schuylkill Haven, 218.30.

District 11 2A Boys Diving Championship

1: Nick Crouse, Central Catholic, 410.10. 2: Dennis Bonner, Salisbury, 284.75. 3: Lyle Luckenbill, Blue Mountain, 200.85. 4: JJ Apostolico, Central Catholic, 194.05. DNF: Jackson Fleagle, Schuylkill Haven.

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Byrnes leads Freedom to 3A title