Hilltop High School senior Josh Fischer has taken aim at the Mesa League diving championship the past four years. He finally scored his breakthrough moment last Friday when he tallied a league best 196 points in competition at the Parkway pool.
“I’m happy to win; it was long overdue,” admitted Fischer, who also earned honors as the league’s male diver of the year. “It feels pretty good to have a couple wins under my belt. I’ve taken it one meet at a time. I’ve got to give a lot of credit to coach Kyle Kovar for coming back. That helped a lot.”
Fischer also admitted the clock was ticking.
“It was my last year — I knew I had to get it done,” he said.
If Fischer’s attitude was somewhat neutral about finally coming out on top (prom was the next day), he let his diving speak for itself as he flung himself off the board into precise twists and somersaults.
A botched dive in each of the past two years had cost Fischer on the final tally board; he was near flawless his senior year.
The Hilltop diver finished 42.95 points ahead of Eastlake junior Jason Wilder, who recorded 153.05 points in his first year on the board. Olympian’s Xavier Sanchez was third with 150.3 points, followed by Otay Ranch’s Jesus Martin in fourth place with 142.8 points, Eastlake’s Logan Eyer in fifth place with 135.55 points, Hilltop’s Daniel Ryan in sixth place with 126.3 points and Hilltop’s Julian Soto in seventh place with 123.55 points.
With 29.5 points separating six divers, this year’s Mesa League field proved to be very competitive.
Eyer is a first-year diver. His best on the season is the 152.40 points he scored in the dual meet against Hilltop.
“It’s fun,” he said about his first year leaping off the board and tumbling through the air. “It was a great experience. I thought how it might be something good to try.”
Wilder’s best point total on the season was 155.5 recorded in a dual meet against Olympian. Both Titan divers earned consideration qualifying marks for the upcoming section finals scheduled May 13 at Mesa College.
Wilder also scored two medals at the ensuing day’s league swimming finals at Mater Dei Catholic High School — second in the 200 freestyle relay and sixth in the 50 freestyle to go with his second-place diving medal.
Wilder was a member of Eastlake’s boys water polo team that advanced to last fall’s division championship game, recording a runner-up finish.
“Being a part of school history, the first boys water polo team from the school to get to the CIF championship game, was exciting,” he said. “Actually being in the game, it felt so surreal. It was the experience of a lifetime.”
He said diving provides him with an “experience I can’t get when I’ve played other (non-aquatic) sports.”
“Every time you’re on the board, you learn something new, which makes it more fun,” he said.
“Coning into this meet, I knew I was going to have some tough competition … I wanted to leave everything out there.”
Eastlake dive coach Laura Hess remained ecstatic over the showing of her first-year team. Besides Wilder and Eyer’s solid performances in the boys field, sophomore Britnee Beilstein won the girls competition with 177.75 points.
“I am nothing short of amazed — they all dove incredibly today,” Hess explained. “I was proud to be their coach.”
Beilstein consistently scored well on her dives throughout last Friday’s league finals as well as during the regular season. Her best this spring was 186.5 points in the meet against Hilltop.
Her marks earned her automatic entry into this year’s CIF finals.
Surprisingly, she entered the season on a whim. “I was actually recruited by my friends,” she said. “They told me to come out and try diving. I gave it a shot and it’s been fun.”
Beilstein previously competed in dance and golf. But it’s likely her eight years in gymnastics that has helped her the most when launching off the board.
The Internet also played a crucial role.
“My coach helped me with identifying the dives and then I went to YouTube,” Beilstein explained. “I’d type in the dive and I would watch instructional videos. I’m a visual learner.”
She called her performance at last Friday’s league finals among her best of the season.
“Not counting the scores, but it was just how I did — how I did my dive, how I went through the air and how I entered the water,” she noted.
Beilstein led a parade of 12 divers on the board in the Mesa League field. Mar Vista sophomore Sydney Snaith captured second place with a score of 155.4 points, followed by Hilltop’s Veronica Sanderlin in third place with 135.3 points and Hilltop’s Mia Ballesteros in fourth place with 130.45 points.
Hilltop’s Riana Vasquez placed fifth with 128.25 points while Hilltop’s Larissa Contreras finished sixth with 127.8 points. Mar Vista’s Tatyana Garcia placed seventh as the result of a tiebreaker with Otay Ranch’s Angelica Sandoval after both divers finished with 118.4 points.
Mar Vista’s Faith Lopez finished in ninth place, followed by Otay Ranch’s Maren Lechner in 10th place, Olympian’s Paola Priela in 11th place and Olympian’s Sophie Ferrer in 12th place.
South Bay League
A total of 27 divers competed in this year’s conference dive meet, including eight from the South Bay League — four boys and four girls.
Montgomery’s Bryanna Estrada won the girls competition with 128.95 points while Montgomery’s Jose Cabreva won the boys competition with 99.7 points.
“I was so nervous today and that’s what you can’t be in diving,” explained Estrada, who scored a season-best 155 points in a dual meet against Southwest just prior to the league finals. “I started off the season with four dives and I’ve learned more since then. All those back flops and belly flops paid off.”
Castle Park’s Franziska Kunert finished second on the South Bay League girls dive card with 110.3 points, followed by Castle Park’s Courtney Wilson in third place with 63.45 points and Castle Park’s Ariana Negrete in fourth place with 24 points.
Castle Park’s Hassan Montiel finished second in the South Bay League boys competition with 98.35 points — a scant 1.35 points behind the league champion — while Montgomery’s Daniel Sahagun placed third with 85.05 points and Castle Park’s Axel Velasquez was fourth with 43.4 points.
CIF finals
The girls competition starts at 10 a.m. (Division I and Division II combined), followed by the boys competition at 2 p.m. (Division I and Division II combined).
Visit www.cifsds.org for details.
Metro Conference Diving Championships
Mesa League
Girls Scores
1. Britnee Beilstein (Eastlake) 177.75 points
2. Sydney Snaith (Mar Vista) 155.4 points
3. Veronica Sanderlin (Hilltop) 135.3 points
4. Mia Ballesteros (Hilltop) 130.45 points
5. Riana Vasquez (Hilltop) 128.25 points
6. Larissa Contreras (Hilltop) 127.8 points
7. Tatyana Garcia (Mar Vista) 118.4 points
8. Angelica Sandoval (Otay Ranch) 118.4 points
Others: 9. Faith Lopez (Mar Vista), 10. Maren Lechner (Otay Ranch), 11. Paola Priela (Olympian), 12. Sophie Ferrer (Olympian)
Boys Scores
1. Josh Fischer (Hilltop) 196 points
2. Jason Wilder (Eastlake) 153.05 points
3. Xavier Sanchez (Olympian) 150.3 points
4. Jesus Martin (Otay Ranch) 142.8 points
5. Logan Eyer (Eastlake) 135.55 points
6. Daniel Ryan (Hilltop) 126.3 points
7. Julian Soto (Hilltop) 123.55 points
South Bay League
Girls Scores
1. Bryanna Estrada (Montgomery) 128.95 points
2. Franziska Kunert (Castle Park) 110.3 points
3. Courtney Wilson (Castle Park) 63.45 points
4. Ariana Negrete (Castle Park) 24.0 points
Boys Scores
1. Jose Cabreva (Montgomery) 99.7 points
2. Hassan Montiel (Castle Park) 98.55 points
3. Daniel Sahagun (Montgomery) 85.05 points
4. Axel Velasquez (Castle Park) 43.40 points
