On July 25, the Westchester County Swimming Association kicked off its 91st annual County Championships at Lake Isle Country Club in Eastchester. Over the next two weeks, swim and dive teams from all across the area will vie for a county championship, but in the first two days of the competition, girls’ diving records in both the 10 to 13 and 14 to 17 age divisions fell, thanks to a number of terrific performances on the boards.
Devon Ott, 13, diving for the Shenorock Shore Club, scored an impressive 214.30 on July 25, which was enough for a first-place finish in the 13U division and shattered the previous record of 205.25, which was set by Westchester Country Club’s Carolina Sculti in 2012.
The Shenorock diver has been competing at Counties for the past three years.
“I’m really happy, I expected to make it, but I didn’t expect to get first,” Ott said. “I felt like I had a good chance, but I wasn’t quite sure.”
According to the 13U champ, it was especially important to execute correctly on Monday because of the stiff competition. Ott’s Shenorock teammate Riley Vincent took fourth place with a score of 150.80, Yasmin Hill from the Briarcliff Country Club placed third with a score 153.20, and Scarsdale’s Madelyn Seltzer took Ott right to the limit, scoring 212.60.
“Maddy and I both dive at the Greenwich YMCA and we’ve both been diving competitively for three years now,” Ott said. “We’re close friends too, and we’ve been so supportive of each other, so it’s been really fun.”
The following day, during the 14 to 17 competition, three divers, led by first-place finisher Chloe Best from the Larchmont Yacht Club, also shattered a 9-year-old record of 218.85, that was set by Kelly McCauley, who also dove for the Larchmont club, in 2007.
Best, 15, finished with a score of 236.25, edging Pelham Country Club’s Jennifer Bell (233.20) and Rye’s Katie Laverty (229.40) to win the County Championship.
“I think I dove pretty well,” Best said. “But so did Jen and Katie, which was great to see.”
In a field of 18 divers, Best drew the first lineup spot; something she believes helped her, especially late in the tight competition. According to the rising sophomore at the Ursuline School, the ability to set the tone for a round can be a bonus in meets such as this one.
“I kind of like to be first because you don’t have to see anyone else in the competition and you’re just focusing on yourself,” she said. “I kind of like that, and I feel like it’s less pressure.”
Laverty, 14, who dove right after Best, admits that her mindset is a little different than her opponent’s. Especially in hotly contested events, the Rye native prefers to ignore scores all together and simply focus on her next dive.
“I didn’t know (how close it was), because I have this superstition where I can’t look at my scores until after the last dive,” Laverty said. “Otherwise, I feel like if I’m doing well, I’m going to mess up.”
According to both Laverty and Best, the trio, who compete both alongside and against each other in the wintertime, all relished the opportunity to square off at the 91st annual County Championships this year.
“They’re great to dive with,” Laverty said. “We are on a bunch of teams and dive against each other a lot in the winter.”
“I think it makes it more [exciting] to see each other in the offseason,” Best added. “We just went out and had a really good time.”
