THORNTON | Maya Kriz and Sarah Mann did big things for the Regis Jesuit girls swim team in the Class 5A state 1-meter diving competition with top podium finishes.
The senior duo finished second (Kriz) and third (Mann) Wednesday afternoon after 11 dives at the Veterans’ Memorial Aquatic Center to give coach Nick Frasersmith’s Raiders a great start on their quest to win the 5A state championship with swim prelims ahead Thursday and finals on Friday.
Kriz had a 0.15-point lead over Fossil Ridge’s Sydney Oveson going into the final round of three dives and finished 3.20 behind Oveson at the conclusion with a final score of 503.25 points, while Mann closed strong to leapfrog two divers into third at 485.55.
Both Regis Jesuit divers greatly improved on their scores from the 2023 5A state competition, as Kriz blew away her total of 424.10 that put her seventh in that event. Mann — who edged her teammate for the Continental “A” League championship last week — finished in third place for a second straight season, but scored 485.55 this time as opposed to 439.10 in 2023.
Kriz continued a rise that saw her place 18th as a sophomore, move up to seventh last season and end her career in second, while Mann had three career top-10 finishes as she was ninth as a sophomore and third the past two seasons. Both were coached by Kim Hagger, who said the strength of both were their consistency.
Two Grandview teammates also earned points from the competition, as junior Addison Campbell made the medal podium with a ninth-place finish, while senior Tanvi Jitta came in 12th.
Campbell scored 22.45 points more than she had in a fourth-place showing in 2023, but in this season’s more tightly-packed results, ended up ninth. She made the final round for the third time in as many years, as she was 11th as a freshman in 2022.
Jitta qualified for state last season, but missed the cut, and she thrived as a senior with a score of 440.50 points.
Overland senior Maya Richman made it through the first cut of the field, but fell three points short of making it into the final round of 20 divers.
Awards for 5A Diver of the Year went to Chatfield’s Emma Lence, while 5A Dive Coach of the Year was Kevin Sage, who coaches the divers in Denver Public Schools.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2024 CLASS 5A GIRLS STATE SWIM MEET (DIVING)
Feb. 7 at VMAC
1-meter diving: A Final — 1. Sydney Oveson (Fossil Ridge), 506.45 points; 2. MAYA KRIZ (REGIS JESUIT), 503.25; 3. SARAH MANN (REGIS JESUIT), 485.55; 4. Elle Gray (Fort Collins), 478.30; 5. Emma Lence (Chatfield), 478.30; 6. Cayla Jaffe (Heritage), 472.55; 7. Ruthie Spiegel (Cherry Creek), 467.35; 8. Layla Petz (Arvada West), 466.15; 9. ADDISON CAMPBELL (GRANDVIEW), 461.00; 10. Samantha Zakhem (Columbine), 456.30; 11. Madina Schebler (Valor Christian), 447.75; 12. TANVI JITTA (GRANDVIEW), 440.50; 13. Claire Coddington (Rocky Mountain), 437.75; 14. Erin Byrnes (Lewis-Palmer), 428.00; 15. Sophia Hineline (Ralston Valley), 425.15; 16. Olivia Ice (Legend), 419.65; 17. Halle Travis (Arapahoe), 411.00; 18. Delaney Price (Cherry Creek), 403.15; 19. Linnea Kropp (Denver East), 400.75; 20. Jordan Blankenship (Valor Christian), 392.25
Other Aurora result: 21. Maya Richman (Overland), 291.90