By RICHIE HALL
sports@readthereporter.com
FISHERS – Hamilton County divers had a nice evening at the Hamilton Southeastern diving regional on Tuesday.
Four local divers finished in the top eight, which meant they are headed to the state finals. Fort Wayne Snider sophomore Amelia Rinehart won the event by a large margin, scoring 471.65 points. But after that, county divers placed in positions two through five.
Fishers’ Gretchen Osmun was the regional runner-up, scoring 397.10 points.
“There were ups and downs to the meet, but overall I think I did pretty well and it paid off,” said Osmun.
The senior Osmun won the sectional last weekend at her home pool, and got out to a comfortable margin early, scoring consistently well to easily clinch second place.
“Overall, it was pretty steady,” said Osmun. “I was consistent. The scores were pretty consistent. No big errors, so it was a pretty consistent meet.”
Carmel junior Melaina Munson finished strong at the meet, eventually placing third with 362.65 points. Munson was in seventh place after five dives, but rocketed to third with big scores in her final seven dives, scoring at least 30 points each time. That includes a 42.00 for her 10th dive.
“I think I had a bit of a rough start, but I’m really grateful for how I did and looking forward to diving with all my friends this weekend,” said Munson, the winner of last weekend’s Carmel sectional.
Noblesville’s Eryn McMahon, a freshman, placed fourth with 362.25 points. McMahon also had solid scores during the end of the meet, including a 41.40 for her ninth dive.
“I think I did pretty well,” said McMahon. “Definitely a lot better than I did at sectionals.”
McMahon placed second at the Carmel sectional, and improved her score by 15 points. McMahon said she improved on her “distance and the way I thought. I thought more positive this round.”
Hamilton Southeastern’s Ella Penny, a senior, placed fifth with a score of 341.30 points. Penny also put up some big scores during the meet, with a 40.25 for her fifth dive. She also finished the meet strong, with 42.00 points for her 11th dive.
Two other county divers competed, each making it to the finals. Hamilton Heights sophomore Campbell Lively-Mason took 10th (310.00 points) and Carmel freshman Helena Gibson placed 11th (299.35 points).
The top eight divers from each of Indiana’s four regionals now advance to the state prelims, which begin at 9 a.m. Saturday at the IU Natatorium. The diving finals take place Saturday afternoon, along with the swimming finals.