Steady improvement

Lake Placid's Shannon Cummings has only been diving for two years and the Green Dragons sophomore continues to shine when she's on the board or in the air.

Cummings, for the second consecutive year, cruised to first place in the Class 1A-District 5 dive meet with a score of 283.50 points and qualified for the Class 1A-Region 2 meet.

Cummings capped her season with a 16th-place finish at the regional meet after battling flu-like symptoms and having to compete in several swimming events while the diving competition was also going on.

"Shannon stepped up at districts in spite of it being held on a cold, rainy day," said Lake Placid coach Thomas Creel. "She is a real competitor and has improved a lot in only her second year of diving.

"She has a great attitude, always does her best and is going to go a long way in the next two years."

Cummings, who also won the Heartland Invitational diving competition with 291.30 points, is a dedicated athlete who strives to improve in every aspect of the demanding and challenging sport.

"I was happy with my performance at districts," said Cummings. "But I didn't do as well as I would have liked at regionals because I wasn't feeling well. I worked hard to improve the degree of difficulty on a lot of my dives to help raise my scores.

"I love diving because it's fun and difficult and it's like an art form because you're turning and twisting in the air and it's very graceful when it's done right."

Cummings also has the talent and versatility to compete in several swimming events as well as the diving competition for the Green Dragons. And for her improvement and ability, Cummings has been selected as the 2009 Highlands Today All-Heartland Girls Diver of the Year.

"I enjoy swimming and diving," said Cummings. "I just can't put to much pressure on myself because I've only been diving for two years and most of the girls at regionals have been diving since they were little.

"I'm going to work on some new dives and my goal is to improve and try and win my third consecutive district title, go to regionals and qualify for the state finals."

THE TEAM

McKenzie Hargaden, sophomore,

Sebring

Hargaden, in only her second year of diving, finished third with 352.60 points in the Class 2A-District 7 meet to qualify for the regional competition.

Hargaden capped an outstanding season by finishing in 18th-place at the Class 2A-Region 3 meet. She also placed second in the diving competition at the Heartland Invitational with a score of 271 points.