Penn-Trafford’s Joey Ference Repeats as WPIAL AAA Diving Champ
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Sunday, February 28, 2016 | 10:57 AM
Second verse, same as the first for Penn-Trafford’s Joey Ference, who came into Saturday’s Boys Class AAA Diving Championships as the favorite, and the senior left with his second straight gold medal posting the only score above 500, as he finished his 11-dive set with 546.90 points. Ference admitted afterwards that he was a little bit disappointed that he didn’t come close to his score of 589.40 from last year, or the WPIAL record of 610.00, but in the end, Ference realized a gold medal is a gold medal and a second consecutive first place finish in the Championship.
Ference was a big part of the story, but freshman were another part, as 2 first time competitors finished in the Top 5 and will head to the PIAA Diving Championships. Jonah Cagley from Fox Chapel finished second with a score of 446.05 to capture the silver medal and Owen Johns frim Mt. Lebanon earned 428.25 points to finish in fourth place. North Allegheny senior Stephen Savchik placed 3rd with 438.00 points to earn the bronze medal while fellow senior Joey Wolff from North Hills finished fifth with a score of 405.15.
For Ference, the gold medal put a finish on a great scholastic career that saw the Pitt-bound diver capture a bronze medal as a sophomore to go with his back-to-back gold medals. Wolff, who qualified for the diving championships all four years of his high school career makes his first trip to the State Championships. The medal for Savchik was his first as he made his second straight appearance in the diving finals.
The Top Five finishers will head to Bucknell University on March 16th to represent the WPIAL/District 7 at the Kinney Natatorium.
Here is the final order of finish:
(The Top 5 divers have qualified for the PIAA Diving Championships at Bucknell University. The top 16 finishers competed in the final round at North Allegheny and the top 20 were in the semifinal round. The final 12 divers did not advance from the preliminary round.)
1. Ference, Joey SR Penn-Trafford 546.90
2. Cagley, Jonah FR Fox Chapel 446.05
3. Savchik, Stephen SR North Allegheny 438.00
4. Johns, Owen FR Mt. Lebanon 428.25
5. Wolff, Joey SR North Hills 405.15
6. Sederholm, Andrew SR Franklin Regional 392.50
7. Paszik, Nathan JR Penn-Trafford 389.95
8. Shaw, Austin SO Pine-Richland 387.95
9. Yawitz, Tate JR Hempfield 374.25
10. Swindal, Joe SO Mt. Lebanon 365.45
11. Ziegler, Jared SR North Allegheny 363.85
12. Loeffler, Magnus FR Fox Chapel 363.30
13. Schmelzer, Mike SR Shaler 355.20
14. Schon, Kevin SR Franklin Regional 351.65
15. Balta, Chris SO Upper St. Clair 350.50
16. Fishell, Mason FR Franklin Regional 346.45
17. Jacobyansky, Nick SR Connellsville 236.10
18. Kelly, Evan JR Shaler 234.80
19. Laslavic, Alexander JR Seneca Valley 227.25
20. Kindt, Zach SR Hempfield 213.00
21. Grunebach, Michael SR Chartiers Valley 142.50
22. Mulaski, Bradley JR Penn Hills 142.50
23. Bumgarner, Lucas SO Mt. Lebanon 136.35
24. Jacob, Nolan FR Central Catholic 135.50
25. Gable, John JR Gateway 134.15
26. Sherwin, Logan FR Penn-Trafford 127.80
27. Fulton, Sarah FR Bethel Park 124.65
28. Plutt, Anthony SO Bethel Park 119.65
29. Fircetz, Devin SO Latrobe 118.25
30. Hansotte, Jon SO Butler 103.00
31. McGill, Domenik SO Seneca Valley 101.15
32. Mears, Jake SO Gateway 87.40
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