BY MATT VAN STONE

The Wyoming Valley Conference once again dominated the District 2 Class AA Diving Championships on Sunday at the Wyoming Valley CYC. Four divers from the conference earned trips to the PIAA Championships.

Dallas’ Mariel Adams and Sara Skammer qualified for the girls while Tunkhannock’s Tom Kolodzieski and Ken Alguire qualified for the boys.

“It’s great to have two girls in states,” Dallas coach Kim Kuzma said. “I’m really proud of the girls that are going.”

Three Dallas divers were competing for the two state tournament bids until Erica Lisses failed her 10th dive to knock her down to an eventual fourth-place finish. Adams took home the gold and Skammer finished second.

“Competing with teammates was kind of stressful, but it was kind of exciting at the same time,” said Adams, a junior. “I just tried to stay as focused as I could. I used states as my motivation.”

Adams jumped out to a commanding lead after the semifinals with her teammates Skammer and Lisses separated by less than two points. The final round of three dives proved to be the difference as Adams finished with a score of 404, while Skammer finished at 382.50 giving Dallas both state tournament berths.

“All they have to do is come to practice, stay consistent and they will be fine going into states,” Kuzma said.

“I’m so glad I’m going with one of my teammates,” Adams said.

For the boys, the Tunkhannock duo of Kolodzieski and Alguire dominated throughout the competition. Kolodzieski led after each round, but Alguire was on his heels the entire time.

Kolodzieski was consistent throughout posting sixes with ease on virtually every dive on his way to a final score of 434.25 bettering Alguire’s score of 418.70.

“These two said they would do it and they stepped up to the plate, started focusing on what they had to do and made it happen,” Tunkhannock coach Krista Truesdale said.

The two rivaling divers fed off each other’s success throughout the night. According to Truesdale, at one point the Alguire was more concerned with beating Kolodzieski than he was with the other competitors.

“They perform well under pressure,” Truesdale said right before her two stars dragged her into the pool in celebration.

The WVC dominance continued down the standings with eight of the top 10 girls finishers haling from the conference while seven of the boys top 10 came from the WVC.

Kenny Brydenof Wyoming Area finished third for the boys with a score of 366.60. Laura Panzitta of Holy Redeemer rounded out the top three for the girls with a score of 357.15.

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