TOWAMENCIN- “Every year we normally do something that’s never been done before, so we always get to experience something new happening,” junior Meghan Wenzel said.

For the first time ever, the top four divers in the state all came from the same school.  Senior Paige Burrell finished in first to be the state champion. Wenzel was the runner-up as she came in second, followed by senior Kianna Yancey in third and junior Maddie Freece in fourth.

“Going into states, it was our goal for all of us to take top four and we did that at districts so I think we kinda knew we could do that at states, but all of us put together really consistent and solid lists, so it was really cool to see us get that,” Freece said.

The four divers are very close and have been diving together for a long time.

“We all kinda grew up diving together in U.S., so to come together and be able to dive with each other as a team and score points together for the same team is really nice,” Freece said.

This closeness has created an atmosphere of motivation for the diving team.

“Everyone has different skills and it’s like ‘Oh someone learns a new skill’ and then they want to learn something new too, to catch up with them. I feel like it’s a great atmosphere and we all motivate each other,” Burrell said.

For Burrell, she finishes a dominant run at North Penn High and will go down as the one of the best, if not the best, diver in school history.  Including this year, she won three straight state titles and will look to continue her success at the University of North Carolina as she will study nutrition, while diving for the Tar Heels.

“I was never expecting to go this well.  I always trained hard and tried to stay focused but most importantly I’ve just been having fun.  I think that really helped me get to where I am today,” Burrell said.

Yancey has had an interesting diving career because it has been short one at North Penn.  She wanted to focus on gymnastics but this year decided to join the diving team and fit in right away.  Yancey will be attending West Virginia University and will be on the Mountaineers gymnastics team while studying psychology.

“For me it was a really fun experience because I haven’t been a part of this yet, it was my first year, so it was nice to experience that with my best friends,” Yancey said.

As for Wenzel and Freece, they will be looking to continue their individual success, but also turn into senior leaders for the next group of divers to represent the navy and Columbia blue.

“I think we have a lot of potential for next year coming in, there’s a couple good freshman.  Obviously, Maddie Zartman will be able to step into one of [Burrell or Yancey’s] shoes and hopefully do well at states again next year,” Wenzel said.

It’s no secret that Coach Kyle Goldbacher has done an outstanding job with his divers and we’ll wait and see if they can make more history next year.