NYSPHSAA DIVING: KATCHUK JUST MISSES HIGHER FINISH, WHILE BRINGING HOME THIRD STRAIGHT STATE MEDAL (17 PHOTOS) (2024-11-22)

By Brian Fees
Toga County Sports Report
WEBSTER — When scores are as close as they were at the NYSPHSAA Diving Championships on Friday at the Webster Aquatic Center every little thing can be the difference between multiple spots in the standings.

Owego star Kaelyn Katchuk finished ninth at states, her third straight state medal (top 10 in the state) and fourth straight year she was in the final at states.

However, one little mistake in the middle round may have been the difference between a higher finish.

“It was tight, I think fourth place was only 14 points ahead,” Katchuk said. “It was just really tight scoring. The complexity of dives you are doing if you are off the board even a little bit it comes out on the entry. And, she really missed one in the middle rounds pretty bad and she had to fight back from that.

“Four times in a row she is a state meet finalist. I’m pretty happy with that and I like that she had the ability to come back from adversity and move up in every round.”

Katchuk had a score of 445.65. It was less than 12 points behind fourth-place finisher Madison Morris of Maine-Endwell (458.30).

“In diving lingo we call that kerfuffle (when you have a bad dive). She had a major kerfuffle in the eighth round and what can you do? That’s diving. She does a lot of meets. She dives year round and she has one every once in a while. I’m pretty happy that she came back where she was.”

The Owego senior found herself in 17th place going into the final three dives, and had work to do to get back into the medals.

A 50.40 dive in her second to last dive moved Katchuk up to 10th place, and then she had a 44.25 her final dive to move her up to eighth place.

Katchuk’s dad knows what the difference was in the final three dives.

“Because she got mad,” he said. “That’s what you do, you get mad and you dive well.”

Owego’s Ayla Young made it through the first cut, and then missed making the Final Cut. She finished 23rd at 289.10.

“Ayla did great,” Katchuk said. “She was solid. Good experience for her to be in a state meet.”

Katchuk finishes her career as a five time Class B sectional champion, a four-time state finalist and a three-time state medalist. She holds the Section IV record.

For Roger Katchuk it’s not sinking in quite yet that this was his daughter’s final high school meet.

“It probably will hit me next week,” Katchuk said. ‘Right now, in the middle of it, I’m still trying to analyze what we did.”

And, the diving doesn’t end here for Katchuk as she’ll dive at Boston University in college.

While states ended on Friday it won’t be long before the Owego senior is back in the pool preparing for what’s next in the sport.

“Monday,” Roger Katchuk said of when she’ll be back in the pool.
———
PHOTOS BY BRIAN FEES

Print Friendly Version