August 18, 2004 at 4:28 p.m.
Rocky Mountain High
CL Diving Club completes successful summer season
Rocky Mountain High
Over the past two months, the Chisago Lakes Diving Club has made its way around the country, making their mark in the process with three meets against the best competition around, and three solid performances.
The CLDC (Chisago Lakes Diving Club) kicked off its summer schedule in June with the Minnesota Star of the North Games, held on the campus of Hamline University.
The Wildcats, who had only been diving for a week leading up to the meet, ventured south, coming out of the meet with three first place finishers. In the 16-17 age bracket, senior to be Brian Willhite won the gold, while Cody Gralish (14-15) and Andy Willhite (12-13) also placed first.
“It’s basically a little mini-Olympics, it’s held over a weekend,” said Lisa Willhite, Wildcats diving coach.” They had only a week of practice to get ready for the meet, none of them dove in the spring, so it was fun to just get out there and do it.
“The kids did really well,” continued Willhite. “I was really pleased because they almost all came back with medals. It was a good showing and a good way to start the summer.”
As it turned out, they were only getting started. At the end of June, the ‘Cats took their talents to a bigger stage, traveling to Denver, Colorado for the first of two U.S Diving Region meets. The top eight qualified for the second Region meet in Milwaukee in July. Then, the top eight from there would advance to Nationals in Atlanta, Georgia.
Needless to say, the competition was tough. With that in mind, Willhite instilled a different mindset for the squad while away; have fun first and dive second. The ‘Cats did just that.
“We wanted to go on a fun trip as kind of a last hurrah for the seniors, for Brian, Adam, Jeremy, and Erica. The trip was way more than just about diving. It was about having a good time and doing some things they’ve never done before.”
They also saw some divers they had never seen before. Divers from across the country packed the arena.
“The kids dove well. Approximately 300 kids at that meet, it was huge. Almost every age group had almost 40 kids in it. Even the little kids, each age group had 20-30 kids. They dove okay. I think there was a little deer in the headlights, looking at all of these kids who were so good.”
A total of nine divers competed from the diving club. With the top 12 medaling, Brian and Andy Willhite both grabbed one with 11 place finishes. However, nobody qualified for the second Region meet in Wisconsin.
“We were hoping but not expecting,” said Lisa Willhite. “It would’ve been an added bonus. We just had a wonderful time. For those older divers, it’s a great chance to look at some really good competition in their age group, what types of dives they are doing, and they found out that they’re right in there with them. It’s just a matter of hitting their dives when they get a chance.”
With two meets down, the Wildcats had one more meet before the summer season came to a close. Held at the end of July and into August, all that was left was the state meet in Anoka.
As expected, Brian Willhite and Andy Willhite stole the show again. Brian, competing in the 16-18 age group, finished third overall.
“These are the top kids in the state, A and AA, and the two kids that beat Brian both graduated,” replied Lisa Willhite. “So again, maybe, he might be able to win state this year if everything goes right.”
As for Andy, diving in the 12-13 age group, he finished first overall. In addition, Adam Sill placed seventh (16-18), Steve Larson took second (14-15), Cody Gralish finished third (14-15), and Easton Gillman came in third (11 and under).
In the girls competition, Kaitelin Rains, a diver from Spring Lake Park who is a member of the diving club, took fourth in the girls 16-18 age bracket. Erica Greene added a ninth place finish, Lauren Trudeau came in 10, and Courtney Langer placed 13. Ana Peltier also had a good showing, coming in second in the girls 12-13 competition.
“Chisago went down there and had a nice strong showing. It was a fun way to end the summer. I thought the kids did great. They can always do a little better, but for us, the summer is all about learning new dives. We want them to learn it and practice it so when the season starts, they’ll have it down,” commented Willhite. “We just had a great summer. Hopefully that success will carry over into the school year. They worked so hard and they deserved everything they got.”
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