Three-peat. Three-peat. Three-peat.
Yes, that is three “three-peats.”
Parkland’s Lexi Lehman, Saucon Valley’s Noah Mauro and Emmaus’ Brendan McCourt all captured their third District 11 diving titles during Saturday’s championship meet at Emmaus High School.
Lehman won the Class 3A girls’ title with 422.05 points; Mauro claimed the 2A boys’ crown with 435.30 points; and McCourt, the University of Texas-bound defending state champion, secured the 3A boys’ gold medal with a record 562.70 points.
Those three, along with Class 2A girls’ champ Alexa Fegley of Moravian Academy and the second-place finishers in each classification, qualified for next month’s PIAA Diving Championships at Bucknell University in Lewisburg.
McCourt, one of the top divers to compete in the Lehigh Valley, made his last championship event inside his home natatorium one to remember.
He broke his own 11-dive record with a performance that cements him as the favorite to win another state title. McCourt bested his closest competitor, Ethan Radio of Parkland, by 92 points. Radio finished second with 470.65 points, and Logan Choma of Parkland was third with 448.45.
“I’m glad I went out with a bang and it ended the way it did,” McCourt said. “One of my goals this season was to get all of my records to say 2020 up on the boards. It was my last chance to get that 11-dive pool record. That was my main goal, and obviously to make states. But I knew if I got the record, I’d make it to states too.”
McCourt’s district-championship score as a senior was 46 points better than he posted as a junior.
It’s an indication of the progress he’s made over the past year.
“I feel like I’ve improved my dives a lot,” said McCourt, who placed third at districts as a freshman. “I did the same list [on Saturday] that I did last year at states. But I feel like I’ve improved my technique and the way I do those dives.”
As a team, Parkland took four of the top six spots and earned 61 district points for the boys’ squad.
Lehman, the 3A girls’ three-time champion, overcame an uneven first four dives to capture her title by a 12-plus point margin over teammate Alexa Brinker, who won the 3A title as a sophomore.
The daughter of Parkland diving coach Cary Lehman more than made up for her slow start when she hit her stride at the mid-point of the program.
“I was a little more tense than at other meets,” Lexi Lehman said. “My scores on my first four dives were pretty low compared to what they usually are. I think it was just district jitters. Once I got rid of those, I figured it out and got into a zone.”
Lehman, as usual, was pushed by her two teammates — Brinker and fourth-place finisher Kate Gottwald, along with Easton up-and-comer Olivia Jacobsen, who took third. Overall, Parkland’s divers amassed an impressive 64 district points for the girls’ team.
While Brinker will again make the trip to the state meet alongside Lehman, it marked a bittersweet end for the seniors at Parkland.
“Bittersweet is the best way to describe it,” said Lehman, a James Madison University commit. “I’ve been diving with Kate since elementary school and with Alexa since eighth grade. We’re closing a chapter in our lives. This one was definitely more emotional because it’s our last one.
“I wish I could take all my teammates with me to states,” she said.
Unlike on the boys’ side, where McCourt and Mauro both improved their championship scores from a year ago, scores for the girls’ meet were down across the board.
Lehman won last year’s title with 479.75 points compared to her 422.05 this season.
Brinker, Gottwald and Jacobsen — along with the Class 2A girls — also scored significantly lower with the judges in 2020.
“I know I didn’t have my best day,” Lehman said, “but I can’t speak for the other girls. I did notice, though, that scoring was low compared to other meets.”
In Class 2A, Mauro continued his three-year domination of the boys’ meet.
He won his title by 137 points over second-place finisher J.T. Heinze of Central Catholic and improved his score from last year by almost 13 points. Mauro wrestled at Wilson as a freshman.
Fegley, meanwhile, was the only underclassmen to claim a district diving title this year. The sophomore at Moravian Academy scored 332.90 points and prevailed by 27.15 points over second-place Anna Petke of Bethlehem Catholic.
DISTRICT 11 DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
(Final scores based on 11 dives)
BOYS
Class 3A
1. Brendan McCourt (Emm) 562.70, 2. Ethan Radio (Par) 470.65, 3. Logan Choma (Par) 448.45, 4. Kole Cannon (Par) 412.65, 5. Brendan Griffiths (Eas) 370.00, 6. Ryan Beltrame (Par) 317.45.
Class 2A
1. Noah Mauro (SV) 435.30, 2. J.T. Heinze (CC) 297.60, 3. Michael Levkulic (BM) 276.95, 4. Owen Golden (Pot) 231.40, 5. Jackson Mabry (BM) 222.55, 6. Aeden Hine (BM) 196.95.
GIRLS
Class 3A
1. Lexi Lehman (Par) 422.05, 2. Alexa Brinker (Par) 409.50, 3. Olivia Jacobsen (Eas) 398.20, 4. Kate Gottwald (Par) 380.70, 5. Sarah Gill (Fre) 369.70, 6. Julianna Sweitzer (Eas) 358.85.
Class 2A
1. Alexa Fegley (MA) 332.90, 2. Anna Petke (BC) 305.75, 3. Ashley Jones (Tam) 263.80, 4. Greta Snukis (Pot) 253.65, 5. Melissa Ellis (SchH) 203.10, 6. Emma Smith (Pot) 190.50.
Michael Blouse is a freelance writer.
