Mars Taylor Hockenberry Sets Record in Girls AA Diving Finals

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, February 19, 2015 | 12:29 AM

Taylor Hockenberry of Mars set a new scoring record in capturing the WPIAL Class AA girls’ diving championship on Wednesday at Moon Area High School. Hockenberry, who finished second as a freshman last year, compiled a score of 506.05, eclipsing the previous mark of 505.45, set by Brittany Garza in 1998.

{Left:  Taylor Hockenberry of Mars stand tall with the top finishers in WPIAL Girls AA Diving}

The Mars sophomore took control of the event in the early going, as she held a 28 point lead through the first five dives, known as the preliminary rounds. In the semi-final rounds, which included dives six through eight, she increased her advantage to nearly 30 points.

With the gold medal in her sights, Hockenberry finished strong, notching scores of 55.20, 45.15 and 50.00 in her final three dives to secure the championship. She edged the second-place finisher, Brittany Hart of Riverside, by more than 45 points.

With nine of the top 11 scorers from last year returning to the board in 2015, the competition was tight for the six PIAA qualifying spots. In addition to Hart, Allison Brownlee of Derry Area, Reilly Diggins of Quaker Valley, Morgan Elrick of Derry Area and Tiffany Melani of South Park also qualified for the state event.

Hockenberry will next aim to improve upon her 2014 sixth-place finish in the PIAA Championships, which will be held at Bucknell University next month.

1. Taylor Hockenberry (Mars) – 506.05
2. Brittany Hart (Riverside) – 460.60
3. Allison Brownlee (Derry Area) – 452.60
4. Reilly Diggins (Quaker Valley) – 439.35
5. Morgan Elrick (Derry Area) – 424.30
6. Tiffany Melani (South Park) – 398.20
7. Madison Weaver (New Brighton) – 378.80
8. Rebecca Kirby (Quaker Valley) – 367.90
9. Isabel Wroblewski (Mars) – 314.55
10. Maddie Zombek (South Fayette) – 291.05
11. Maeve Carei (Uniontown) – 283.00
12. Mikayla Tiller (Mars) – 278.10
13. Jordan Vasko (Elizabeth Forward) – 265.60
14. Madison Caruso (Mars) – 237.60
15. Elizabeth Bigley (Blackhawk) – 208.05