It's a three-peat
Bay’s Craft wins third diving crown
By Jim Horvath
Sports
Published March 3, 2010

Nikki Craft has always come up with strong finishes, saving her favorite dives for last. (West life photos by Larry Bennet)

Throughout her high school career, Bay’s Nikki Craft has always saved her favorite – and best – dives for last.

That strategy had served her well, and definitely came into play last Thursday when she won her third-straight Division II state diving title at the 2010 Ohio High School Swimming and Diving Championships in Canton.

“We were sitting at the side of the pool before her last dive,” said Bay diving coach Annette McCoy. “Nikki looked at me, shook my hand and said ‘All I need is 15 points. I’ve got this.’”

With that, history was made at the C.T. Branin Natatorium.

Up 23 points on junior Natalie Ritter of Columbus Academy, Craft nailed her favorite dive, an inward 1½, and came away with a final score of 449.90. That was enough to get past Ritter, who took the runner-up spot with 414.30.

According to McCoy, no other diver has won three state diving championships, whether it was in Division I or Division II. Craft’s latest win capped off a high school career that saw her make four trips to the state finals. She finished third her freshman year.

“I spoke with some of the meet officials who had been around awhile,” McCoy said. “Nobody could recall anybody winning three state championships in diving. To get one, it was great. The second time, it was even better.

“The third time…well, you just can’t get any better than that. And for Nikki to be on the podium all four years is just phenomenal,” McCoy said.

Still, getting a third championship was not as easy as one might have expected, according to McCoy.

“Sure, everybody expected it,” she said. “But there’s always a lot of pressure. You’ve got a two-time champion going for her third title. That’s a lot of pressure on her right there.

“Natalie gave her a good run for the first seven dives,” McCoy said. “After the 10th dive, Nikki was ahead of her by 14.6 points. It just so happened that Natalie was in front of her in the diving order. That was good, because Nikki doesn’t like going first. She’d much rather go last.

“I’d write down the scores, and she’d look at them before she took her next dive. Once she knew the score going into her final dive, Nikki knew she had it,” she added.

Despite getting pushed, Craft was at the top of her game the entire way, McCoy said.

“Nikki looked so much better than last year,” McCoy said. “And it was great that she was coming in without any illness or injury this time around. That one year, she was in the hospital the week before. This time, though, there was nothing to worry about.

“And she’s so talented that I think it makes it hard on the officials,” she said. “They don’t see that kind of talent come around very often, if at all. I think that affects the scoring from time to time. There were even some college coaches there who felt the officials weren’t letting Nikki run away with it.

“But I would say her state scores will stay up there for awhile,” she added. “Nobody can touch it.”

Craft set the state record at this year’s district championships at the Cleveland State Natatorium, her home pool. She scored a 509.75, and also scored a 475.40 last year.

Now it’s on to bigger and better things for the Bay senior. Earlier this school year, Craft signed a national letter of intent to continue her diving career at Miami University in Oxford.

“I wish her well,” McCoy said. “I think she’ll do great there. It will definitely be a new experience for her.

“The caliber of divers there will be better,” she said. “She’ll be competing against divers who have been there three or four years. She’ll see the difference, but she’ll do well. We all wish her the best.”