Girls state diving crown settled in record-breaking duel; Ryle diver rallies for boys title
For the second year in a row both the boys and girls state diving competitions went down to the final dive.
And just like last year, Thursday’s battle between Cooper’s Peytton Moore and Madison Southern’s Reagan Patterson shattered a state record. In the boys championship, Ryle’s Landon Isler edged Covington Catholic’s Jacob Larkin for the title.
Thursday’s 1-meter springboard diving competitions kicked off the 2024 Kentucky High School Athletic Association Swimming and Diving State Championships, a three-day event at the University of Kentucky’s Lancaster Aquatic Center. The event continued with boys swimming on Friday and girls swimming on Saturday.
Record-breaking duel
Moore’s forward 1½ somersault with two twists on her 11th and final dive of the afternoon gave the senior New Mexico State commit a score of 44.20 and her third state championship in four years — this one by a margin of 0.50. — 537.70-537.25 — over Madison Southern’s Patterson, the defending champion.
“I was working for it all year. I wanted it bad,” Moore said. “It’s crazy. Everyone is so good. It’s crazy that they could be separated by that little amount.”
Both divers obliterated Patterson’s record of 512.50 set last year when Moore came up short of her rival by 0.20.
Going ahead in the order, but consistently trailing Moore after each round, Patterson’s final dive, a forward 2½-somersault tuck, scored a 61.20 from the judges and put the pressure on her rival. Any slip by Moore would have meant back-to-back titles for the Madison Southern standout. Patterson took the narrow loss in stride.
“It really was just fun because it’s my last high school meet ever, so I was just really trying to stay focused and have fun and be relaxed,” said Patterson, who will continue her diving career at South Carolina. “I was still trying to nail every dive. But as I nailed one, she nailed one. I think it was good for the both of us because we both go off each other.”
Lexington Catholic’s Sydney Leslie finished third with an overall score of 470.70 in her first state meet. That matched the effort of her twin brother Graham Leslie who finished third in the boys event earlier in the day.
“It was a good freshman experience for me for my first state,” Sydney Leslie said. “It felt really good. I expected this place and I’m really happy with it.
Henry Clay’s Claire Nicholas, a junior, also ranked among the top eight medalists with a score of 390.20 for seventh place.
Ryle diver saves best for last
Stepping up for his final attempt, Ryle’s Landon Isler knew he’d have to pull off his best dive of the day to have a chance at first place.
He bounced off the 1-meter springboard and ripped through the water to an enormous cheer after executing an inward 2½-somersault tuck.
Seconds later the score went up: 71.30.
It was not only his best score of the day, it was the best score of the day and the only one to top 70 points.
“I thought it was really good, but I didn’t think it was a 70-point dive,” Isler admitted. “I thought it was going to cut it really close. Just to see my name pop up at the top … It was surreal.”
After trailing through each of the earlier rounds, Isler’s overall score of 554.15 overtook the 546.15 of Covington Catholic’s Jacob Larkin to claim the state championship.
“At regionals, I got my head worrying about other people and it ended in me getting my butt kicked,” said Isler, who lost the region meet to Larkin by more than 70 points. “Then at this meet it was all about ‘I just have to get my personal record.’ I have to beat myself. And I did that.”
Isler finished runner-up to Lexington Catholic’s Miles Buchart at last year’s state diving meet by 1.5 points.
This year, Buchart, a senior Kentucky commit, suffered a failed attempt on his final dive of the preliminary round and had to scramble to stay in medal contention the rest of the day. He climbed three spots after the mistake to finish fifth overall.
“Doing 11 dives, it’s hard to be consistent. Sometimes things happen. I’m still happy for all the people that won,” said Buchart, who made a comeback from multiple leg fractures to win state as a junior last season.
Compared to what else he’s faced during his career, a missed dive isn’t an “ordeal,” Buchart said. “I’m excited for college because I’ll be diving again then. I’m really excited. This is just the beginning.”
Buchart’s teammate, freshman Graham Leslie, finished third in his first statewide high school competition. Leslie battled nerves early.
“I did a lot better in the meet than I did in the warm-ups,” Leslie said. “It feels really good. This is probably the best meet I’ve had this year.”
Bryan Station’s Tyler Bobadilla finished fourth, one spot higher than his finish as a sophomore a year ago and an overall improvement of more than 150 points in the scoring column.
“Coming in this week I was kind of a mess,” Bobadilla said. “I didn’t think I’d do very good. I felt like I couldn’t hit anything, but I’m pretty happy about my day.”
Jaime Pulumbo coaches the LexCath divers and Bobadilla, giving him three of the top eight divers and four of the top 16 with 14th-place LexCath finisher Jett Vanderhorst.
“Perseverance. I’d say that’s the word of our day,” Palumbo said. “Stuff’s going to happen — trials, tribulations, but I am ecstatic with how they dealt with that, had a positive attitude and moved on. And then we just celebrated. We worked hard and finished strong.”
2024 KHSAA State Diving Championships
Complete results at khsaa.org
BOYS MEDALISTS
1. Landon Isler, Ryle, 554.15; 2. Jacob Larkin, Covington Catholic, 546.15; 3. Graham Leslie, Lexington Catholic, 494.45; 4. Tyler Bobadilla, Bryan Station, 484.3; 5. Miles Buchart, Lexington Catholic, 478.15; 6. James Lackner, Oldham County, 425.25; 7. Sam Baker, St. Henry, 408.65; 8. Carter Lackner, Oldham County, 402.25.
GIRLS MEDALISTS
1. Peytton Moore, Cooper, 537.7; 2. Reagan Patterson, Madison Southern, 537.25; 3. Sydney Leslie, Lexington Catholic, 470.7; 4. Brooke Ronan, Oldham County, 424.05; 5. Grace Hedger, Campbell County, 416.9; 6. Kasia Korzeniowski, Oldham County, 412.1; 7. Claire Nicholas, Henry Clay, 390.2; 8. Chris Nowak, Cooper, 380.55.
