With the diving season coming to an end, Pierce College divers Kevin Kichik and Govanny Gonzalez won big once again as both teammates qualified for the state diving championships after competing in the Western State Conference and Southern California Dive Championship on April 11 to 12.
“Our goal throughout the season was to have both [Kichik and Gonzalez] qualify for the state championships and we succeeded,” dive coach Joshua Foster said.
The WSC/SoCal Diving Championship meet was held at El Camino College in Torrance. Kichik and Gonzalez competed against 13 other schools which included WSC conference rivals and other colleges from the four different conferences in the Southern California area.
On Friday, April 11, the competition began with the diving board at three meters. Kichik began the day on a good note when he scored 184.35 on his first dive. Kichik’s score placed him in sixth place in the SoCal conference and first in the WSC conference.
“Kevin consistently put in his dives, he had a solid performance and was consistent,” Foster said. “ He had his best score of the season on the one meter dive.”
Although Kichik began the day with a high scoring dive for Pierce, Gonzalez was not to be outclassed. Gonzalez placed 12 in the SoCal conference and third in the WSC conference after he scored 150.75 on his three meter dive.
Gonzalez was doing fine until he tried his trademark dive, a three and a half somersault. He came out a split second too early and received a zero for the dive according to Foster.
On April 12, the second day of competition, the dive board was moved down to one meter. Although Kichik stole the show in the three meter dive, Gonzalez had the better score on this dive. Gonzalez placed fifth in the SoCal conference and first in the WSC conference with a score of 200.3 on the one meter dive.
“Govanny rallied back the next day and place first in the WSC conference with a personal best overall score,” Foster said.
Kichik was not far behind his teammate Gonzalez. Kichik placed tenth in the SoCal conference and third in the WSC conference after his one meter dive scored 189.
“It was pretty intense looking at people chuck random dives around,” Kichik said about his experience at the diving championships. “I think I did alright.”
Both Kichik and Gonzalez qualified for the state diving championships, which are scheduled to be held on May 1 to 3 at East Los Angeles College. Only the top eight schools from Northern and Southern California will compete against each other to determine the best of the state.
The dive team is always looking for new members. Those who are interested in joining the dive team are encouraged to visit the Aquatic Center and speak with coach Foster. Foster is there Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to noon or they can drop by and speak to a pool manager about joining.