Hailey Kessler was golden this past weekend.
Competing in her second Washington State Girls Swimming and Diving Championships at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, the Auburn senior captured the Class 4A diving title – posting a 387.30-point total to edge Skyline senior Erin Taylor who had 373.40 points.
“She probably wasn’t the best athlete or diver out there, but she was by far the best competitor,” said Trojans diving coach James Southerland. “She pulled it out when she needed to.”
Not bad for someone who has only been diving for three years.
Kessler first took to the 1-meter springboard as a sophomore.
“I started as a swimmer and when I found out they needed divers, I thought I’d give it a try,” Kessler sais “I thought it would be fun and I’d done dance and gymnastics for a few years, so I knew how to point my toes.”
Kessler said most of her sophomore year was spent just picking up the basics.
“At the beginning it was pretty easy,” she said. “I finished the year 12th at districts. I was very happy with that at the time.”
Coming into her junior year, however, Kessler said she got serious about her training.
“Last year, I had to start learning real dives and how to execute them correctly,” she said.
She joined the Southerland-coached Pacific Northwest Diving club team and ratcheted up her training.
The hard work paid off at last year’s state meet with an eighth-place finish with 309.10 points. The finish inspired her to step up even more.
“After last season I started diving four days a week and practiced all summer,” Kessler said. “Coming into this season I felt a lot more confident about where I’d be at the end of the year and about my diving abilities in general.”
During the regular season Kessler swept through the South Puget Sound League North 4A and punched her ticket to state with a first-place finish at districts.
During the two-week break between districts and the state meet, Kessler said she ramped up her training even further, adding a difficult reverse one-and-a-half twist dive to her repertoire.
“The key is the takeoff, if you don’t get a good takeoff it’s hard to make,” she said.
Kessler credits her gymnastics experience with helping her nail the dive.
“I think it was very crucial,” she said. “It gave me body awareness and it taught me where I am spatially when I’m in the air and flipping. It all contributed.”
Southerland said he figured Kessler would do well at the state meet, pegging her among the top three or four divers in the competition.
“I put her in the top group, as one of the ones that could win it” he said. “She just kept her attitude and I think it was her attitude that won it for her.”
Kessler, who is a Running Start student at Green River Community College and hopes to dive collegiately while pursuing a degree in nutrition and exercise science, credits her work with Southerland for her success.
“He’s one of the best coaches I’ve had in any of the sports I’ve done,” Kessler said. “He always believed in me and he keeps me positive and on the right track. I would have done miserable without him.”
