Becker had a great trip to the MSHSL class A state meet last weekend at the University of Minnesota.  The diving prelims were on Wednesday, Nov. 14th. 

 

They started with 32 divers (the top four from each of the eight Section meets), and after the five dives, the top twenty athletes were selected.  The top two divers then complete their next three dives after which they then cut sown to the top sixteen divers who would compete in the final on Friday, Nov. 16th - where they would finish their eleven-dive list by completing their final three dives. 

 

In the 2017 state meet, Emi finished in 10th place. This year, the goal was to get her on the podium and win a medal, and she far exceeded that goal by holding on to the top spot for most of the meet. Diving is an event that impacted by each individual dive, where each round could yield different results.  Emi performed her first dive, grabbed the lead and held on to it for the next five rounds, allowing her to control the first. Then, she went in to the semi-finals round in the lead and continued her next three rounds with ease and ended the day still in the lead after eight rounds.  Her dives looked great and her scores reflected that.

 

“On Friday, I watched her and Kayla work out the little kinks in her final 3 dives, I sat back and thought, this could be it, and nervously waited for the competition to begin.  The final rounds were tense as the lead flipped between four girls throughout the rounds.  Going in to the final round, Emi gained the lead and held it until the 2nd to last diver scored 2.75 points higher and took the lead,” shared Coach Tina Tamm.  

 

Tamm says it has been exciting to watch Emi grow between her earlier seasons as a 7th grader to her final year at Becker. Each year she improved and accomplished her goals. This year she crushed her goal and proved that if you set your mind on something and work hard, you can achieve it. 

 

Emi was also named Section 5A Diver of the year and Kayla was named Section 5A Diving Coach of the year. All the coaches in the Section 5A teams voted for these awards.