Photo Gallery: Lake Isle Hosts County Diving Competition

The top boys and girls divers from all over Westchester County flocked to the Lake Isle Country Club earlier this week, competing in the 86th annual Westchester County Diving Championships.

Competitors aged between 10 and 13 years old competed on Tuesday, while the competition for the 14-17 division was held on Wednesday. Local teams in action included the Lake Isle Swimming and Diving Team and the team from the Bronxville Field Club.

In the girls 14-17 division, it was 17-year-old Grace Connors of the Bronxville Club who stole the show, finishing second with a score of 189.25, only a little over three points behind eventual winner Elena Poppas of the Larchmont Yacht Club. Bronxville Diving Coach Gina Papicco, who is also the head diving coach at Pace University, said Connors went into the county meet very confident and overall came out very pleased with her performance.

“Grace did very well Wednesday,” Papicco said. “She hit all her dives. She’s a very hard worker and dedicated to diving. I knew she’d definitely make top three at the meet.”

In the girls 10-13 division, Gizzo Angela and Amy Calandro of Lake Isle both finished in the top 20, placing fourteenth and seventeenth respectively.

On the boys side of the 14-17 division, the diving team from Lake Isle had a strong showing, placing three competitors in the top 25 and two in the top 10. Christopher Lazzaro, 14, placed 25th, while teammate Billy Quintano, 15, placed 10th with a score of 130.70. 14-year-old Brendan McLoughlin placed seventh overall in the division, posting a score of 138.15.

With a score of 200.55, Alec De Caprio of the Briarcliff Manor Club set a new county record in the 10-13 diving event, winning the competition by over 60 points and smashing the previous county-best mark of 188.75 set by Orienta’s Theo Bodor in 2007.

Lake Isle does not usually host the diving sessions of the county meet, but volunteered to do so after the usual venue – Sprain Ridge pool – was closed and not available. For team coaches and athletes, hosting the county competition was truly a once in a lifetime experience, and gave the young group of divers that extra bit of confidence needed going into the highly competitive meet.

“Hosting this historic meet was an honor,” said Lake Isle Diving Coach JJ Rogener. “To my knowledge, it is the first time a club team has hosted county diving, so it really an honor to do so. As a young team, and going into a tough meet against a lot of very talented and experienced competitors, being comfortable with the diving boards and the general atmosphere provided a bit of an advantage and helped us have strong personal performances.” 

Each competitor is scored on five dives at the County Championships. The swimming portion of the 2011 County meet – which will feature swimmers from such local teams as Lake Isle, Bronxville, Leewood Golf Club and Siwanoy Country Club – will be held August 1-4 at the Playland pools. This may be the last year the meet is held at this venue.

For full results, more pictures and more information of the 2011 Westchester County Swimming and Diving Championships, visit the Westchester County Swimming Association website.