Thursday, February 21st, 2019
Division II State Diving
Bulldogs' Cubberley takes 8th
Cavs' Osterfeld 20th; Cards' Niekamp 18th
By Gary R. Rasberry
Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry
After having been knocked out in the preliminaries last season, Celina's Holden Cubberley worked his way to a spot on the podium on Wednesday at the Division II State Diving Championships in Canton.
Cubberley finished eighth after maintaining between seventh and ninth-place throughout the 11 dives of competition.
"It feels like I really worked for (state) and earned my achievements," said Cubberley via telephone after the awards presentation. "I'm proud of myself and want to push myself to being even better."
Cubberley was firmly in seventh after the first round of five dives with a score of 187.60 points as the field was trimmed from 24 to 20. Cubberley's pace continued as he was seventh after the three-dive semifinals with a score of 275.75 points.
"I was just diving my hardest and taking it one dive at a time," said Cubberley. "I was diving for the best I could and it paid off."
With the field trimmed to 16 for the final three dives, Cubberley faced some pressure to stay in the top eight, but came away with a final score of 368 points, a half-point ahead of ninth-place finisher Nathan Cox of Cincinnati Mariemont.
"I was so happy. It was just a feeling I haven't felt much before," said Cubberley after realizing he would be on the podium. "It was such a great improvement from last year (when he finished 21st and did not make the semifinals). It felt so good knowing I would be up there (on the podium)."
Coldwater's Isaac Osterfeld made it through the first round of dives in 19th place but struggled in the semifinals, dropping to 20th overall with a final score of 194.16 and missing the finals.
Wyoming's Ilya Gerasimchuk edged out Beachwood's Spencer Bystrom 452.90 to 451.80 to capture the championship. Charlie Spyker of Shawnee finished 13th overall with a final score of 344.60.
New Bremen's Vivian Niekamp made it through the first round of dives in the Division II girls' competition with 158.40, but was unable to reach the top 16 that advance to the finals. Niekamp placed 18th with an eight-dive score of 252.10.
Pepper Pike Orange's Janie Boyle won the championship with a final score of 483.70 points.
