Owensboro 7th-grader Georgia Warren was in awe Tuesday after capturing the Region 2 girls’ diving title, making quite a debut in the event for the OHS swim team.
Warren — a 13-year-old who just started diving this season — finished first among 10 divers in the region to earn an automatic bid to the KHSAA Diving State Championships at the University of Kentucky later this month.
“I didn’t expect to get first, that’s for sure,” she said. “I thought I would get a chance to go to state, but not like this. I was just concentrating on my dives because I didn’t want to mess up. I was so excited when I won.”
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For photos of local divers, click here.
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Local diving coach Don Clark said the difficulty of Warren’s dives allowed her to earn higher scores, but he still wasn’t sure that was enough to take the top spot.
“It was a pleasant surprise,” he said. “She had a very good meet. Some of her dives were more difficult, so the multiplier was higher.”
Warren said she’s nervous for state, but she’s ready to start preparing and hopes for a strong showing.
“I’m going to work harder than usual,” she said. “I want to do more and keep learning.”
Four other local divers also competed in the meet. Owensboro sophomore Abby Warren took fourth in the girls’ event. Owensboro Catholic had a trio of boys competing — junior Matthew Murphy (3rd), freshman Nolan Igleheart (6th), and 7th-grader Calvin Padgett (7th).
Warren and Murphy still have decent chances to advance to state, while Igleheart and Padgett have outside shots. The top two divers from each of the nine regional qualifying meets advance to state. The next 22 highest-scoring divers among all regionals combined also qualify as at-large selections.
Full Region 2 results are listed below.
GIRLS
1st – Georgia Warren (Owensboro)
2nd – Rachel Harwood (Bowling Green)
3rd – Raegan Travelsted (Bowling Green)
4th – Abby Warren (Owensboro)
5th – Sloane Priest (Bowling Green)
6th – Taylor Burden (Butler County)
7th – Peyton Steelman (South Warren)
8th – Mia Usinger (Greenwood)
9th – Eliana Stengell (Bowling Green)
10th – Katie Levesque (Greenwood)
BOYS
1st – William Twyman (Bowling Green)
2nd – Andrew Law (Bowling Green)
3rd – Matthew Murphy (Owensboro Catholic)
4th – Egan Copeland (Bowling Green)
5th – Aidan Shey (Bowling Green)
6th – Nolan Igleheart (Owensboro Catholic)
7th – Calvin Padgett (Owensboro Catholic)
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