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Savannah Gorski capped off her illustrious Chisago Lakes diving career with one last go-around in the state tournament on Wednesday, November 14.

Gorski hit a few tough dives early to put her high in the rankings, but as the talented divers around her upped their challenges, some were able to pass her. It put Gorski in 18th place with 145 points after the preliminaries, which moved her on to the semis. “There were some very high diving scores around her, but she stayed focused on hitting her spots,” Head Coach Ellen Heath said.

In the semifinals, she was passed by a pair of divers from Detroit Lakes, but was able to squeeze by Zibby Hanifl of Northfield. She moved down one spot to 19th, and only the top 16 qualify for the finals, so her career ended in the semifinals just five points short of 16th place Megan Nelson of Dassel-Cokato.

She had been a letter winner in swimming and diving since 2014 and she’s been to the state tournament and an All-Mississippi 8 Conference diver for the past two years.

“In all her years of participation, diving has been a highlight of our competitions scoring team points,” Heath noted. “Savannah didn’t suddenly arrive at greatness. Her success is the result of continuous effort and hard work but her value to this team cannot be measured by just stats.  She pushed herself to her full potential and always encouraged her teammates to do the same. As a team captain, her leadership was invaluable.   She helped coach young divers and was always positive and cheered throughout meets. She willingly swam events when needed by her team, she organized team activities and helped out whenever was asked.     She was an excellent role model with her hard work and dedication that extended beyond the physical challenges of diving.”

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