North diver finishes 11th in regional

BLOOMINGTON — One year ago, Columbus North’s Ella Anderson missed the final cut of the girls diving regional and did not have a chance to perform all 11 dives.

On Tuesday, Anderson, a sophomore, was able to go the distance.

Unfortunately, there was a lot of strong competition this year, and Anderson finished in 12th place with a score of 290.60.

“I was really happy that I got to do the last round this year,” Anderson said. “Overall, I was really satisfied. I was able to learn a lot of new dives and was able to improve myself. I was really proud of how my season went.”

Sadie Mills of Mooresville won the competition with a score of 446.90. Divers finishing in the top eight advanced to the state finals.

Anderson was in 11th place after the first five dives with a 143.20 and then scored a 234.55 after eight dives to make the cut down to 12 divers.

First-year North diving coach Nicole Brehm was proud of Anderson’s hard work and dedication to make it to regional.

“I’m super-proud of all the new dives that she learned,” Brehm said. “She ended up throwing out a much harder list, much harder dives and she did it really well. I think that was a big part of the reason she made the cut.”

Anderson said that she hopes she can get over the hump and make to state for the next two years.