On Friday afternoon, for the first time in team history, the Milford High School swim team entered the diving portion of a swim meet. Four MHS students, trained as gymnasts and with just six diving practices under their belts, matched up against Lake Forest, one of the few Delaware schools outside of New Castle that keeps divers on the roster. To say they did well would be an understatement.
Junior Kyle Rogers scored 135 points, beating the 125 necessary to qualify for the state championships in his first-ever competitive dive. He also beat out Lake Forest's Brain Misciwojewsk to win first place in the event.
"I can't believe it," Rogers said. "I didn't think I did that well when I was diving. I was speechless when they told me."
Nikki Parsley, Ivana Rivera and Alexandra Henderson dove for the girls, taking second, third and fourth places against Lake Forest's Harbour Boots. Parsley and Rivera both nearly qualified for states - Rivera scored 122.5 points, just 2.5 off from the qualifying mark, while Parsley had 115 despite getting no credit for one of her dives because of a mistake on her entry form.
"It was fantastic," said assistant coach Kate Lynch, who oversees the Bucs' diving program. "None of them had ever dived before, and they came out and nailed it. And they're only going to get better."
Most Delaware swim teams, including the Bucs, use pools that aren't set up for diving meets. But DIAA allows diving squads to compete in the diving events of meets between other teams, with the hosts' permission. If they set it up ahead of time, the Bucs could dive at one or more of Lake Forest's upcoming home meets, as well as the conference championships in February, giving them more chances to qualify for states.
Overall, the girls' team walked away with a 133-52 win in the meet, improving to 8-0 on the season, while the boys fell, 106-74, thanks in part to close losses in the medley and 400-meter freestyle relays. The Bucs' next meet is at home against Indian River on Tuesday.
