Pine-Richland Divers Sweep Boys and Girls WPIAL AAA Championships

By: Bruce Markey
Saturday, February 25, 2012 | 10:11 PM

For the second straight year, Pine-Richland senior Lauren Lamendola captured the WPIAL Class AAA Girls diving crown. For the second straight year, she was in a dogfight for the championship. And for the second straight year, Lamendola saved her best efforts for the final three dives to grab the title.

The South Carolina bound Lamendola had to climb back from an admittedly poor dive in the preliminary round. She made it back to fourth after the first five dives. After the next three dives, Lamendola had climbed into second place behind Bethel Park junior Ashley Sams. Lamendola grabbed control of the final session by scoring 57.20 points on her “McDonald’s Dive of the Match”, her first of three dives in the final round. Sams, Lamendola and Pine-Richland teammate Tiana Broen, Moon’s Heather Lonkert and Alexis Rectenwald from Penn Hills played leapfrog among the top 5 spots throughout the entire competition.

Lamendola, who won gold, last year with a total of 421.65 points, took the top spot this year with a score of 431.65. Sams finished second at 415.50, Lonkert placed third with a score of 398.90, beating Broen’s mark of 393.75 on her final dive. Those four divers will represent the WPIAL in the state diving competition.

Rectenwald, who was strong throughout the preliminary and semi-final rounds, faded in the finals and finished 5th with 353.20 points. 

For the boys, with Connor Kuremsky graduated, there was opportunity at the WPIAL Boys AAA Diving Championships at North Allegheny High School on Saturday. Kuremsky, who had won 4 straight gold medals, has moved on to Stanford. 

Pine-Richland junior Dominic Giordano, who was considered the favorite coming in, grabbed hold of the opportunity and captured his first gold medal with a score of 544.50. Giordano, who won bronze as a sophomore and finished 5th as a freshman, was nearly flawless on the afternoon, winning the championship by 115.80 points. 

Tim Cengia, a senior from Latrobe won the silver medal with a score of 428.70. A pair of North Hills teammates capped off a strong performance for the Indians by finishing third and fourth. 

Sophomore Noah Bostick grabbed the bronze medal at 417.40. Bostick, making his first championship appearance, edged junior Ryan Kennedy by 3.35 points. Kennedy finished in 4th place with a score of 414.05. The top four competitors qualified for the PIAA Championships, which are scheduled for Thursday March 15th at Bucknell University.

WPIAL GIRLS CLASS AAA DIVING RESULTS:

1. Lauren Lamendola – Pine-Richland (431.65)

2. Ashley Sams – Bethel Park (415.50)

3. Heather Lonkert – Moon (398.90)

4. Tiana Broen – Pine-Richland (393.75)

5. Alexis Rectenwald – Penn Hills (353.20)

6. Ericka Culp – Kiski Area (343.30)

7. Taylor Clayton – Hempfield (338.40)

8. Jackie Mickledge – Baldwin (326.45)

9. Candace Hall – Latrobe (313.80)

10. Miranda Simon – Fox Chapel (303.00)

11. Carrie Bookheimer – North Allegheny (294.30)
12. Julia Vespoli – Franklin Regional (293.85)
13. Caitlyn Kaufman – Butler (286.85)
14. Kait Nedrow – Connellsville (285.05)
15. Aubree Culp – Kiski Area (271.90)
16. Fallon Ferrari – Baldwin (262.60)
17. Madison Lehman – Seneca Valley (195.45)
18. Alison Perry – Gateway (193.25)
19. Lindsay McGivern – Hampton (180.85)
20. Alex Fawcett – Penn Hills (168.10)
21. Shannon Bossart – Latrobe (121.60)
22. Amber Zanella – Butler (121.55)
23. Olivia Weiers – North Allegheny (121.40)
24. Kalin Marino – Hempfield (120.35)
25. Desiree Kline – Canon-McMillan (118.85)
26. Renae Bollibon – Franklin Regional (118.40)
27. Bailey Grimm – Peters Township (114.45)
28. Rena Gerber – Franklin Regional (113.10)
29. Kristen McCarthy – North Hills (109.90)
30. Emily Eames – Fox Chapel (108.55)

WPIAL BOYS CLASS AAA DIVING RESULTS:

1. Dominic Giordano – Pine-Richland (544.50)

2. Tim Cengia – Latrobe (428.70)

3. Noah Bostick – North Hills (417.40)

4. Ryan Kennedy – North Hills (414.05)

5. Levi Cetti – Butler (413.85)

6. Joe Mautino – Pittsburgh Central Catholic (386.15)

7. Nathan Cox – Kiski Area (296.65)

8. Max Mook – Butler (281.30)

9. Zach Murray – Baldwin (280.60)

10. Scotty Guzik – Latrobe (255.10)

11. Tanner O’Black – Kiski Area (244.95)
12. Nathan Kern – Pine-Richland (240.20)
13. Cody Pyles – Peters Township (236.35)
14. Paul Stock – Penn-Trafford (235.90
15. Adam Grosse – Baldwin (232.85)
16. Tyler Wolford – Butler (228.70)
17. Devon Crowell – Franklin Regional (164.05)
18. Christian Schratz – Peters Township (162.80)
19. Addison Lynch – Fox Chapel (159.15)
20. Gage Fremer – Peters Township (159.05)
21. Nicholas McClure – North Allegheny (105.85)