North Allegheny’s Shi, North Catholic’s Foley Complete Four-Peats at WPIAL Girls’ Diving Championships

Monday, February 27, 2023

Wexford, Pa. – The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) hosted its WPIAL Girls’ Diving Championships in the 2A and 3A classifications this past Friday and Saturday at North Allegheny High School. There was a total of 50 student-athletes who competed over the two days, with 26 in the 2A group and 24 participating in 3A.

History was achieved as both North Allegheny senior Christina Shi and North Catholic senior Maggie Foley captured their fourth WPIAL gold medal in the 1-meter dive. Shi completed a four-peat at 3A, while Foley finished 4-for-4 at 2A.

Shi and Foley are the 25th and 26th student-athletes to win a WPIAL girls’ swimming & diving event in each of their four varsity seasons. They are also the fifth and sixth student-athletes to achieve this in the 1-meter dive, joining Chartiers Valley’s Maria Lohman (2012-15), Shady Side Academy’s Brittany Garza (1997-00), Penn Hills’ Jen O’Brien (1997-00), and Freeport’s Beth Clark (1993-96).

Both championship events were broken into two 6-dive periods, with a cut to 16 coming after the initial six dives.

3A RECAP [Results]
North Allegheny senior Christina Shi secured a four-year sweep at the WPIAL 3A Girls’ Diving Championships this past Saturday, registering a 12-dive score of 540.75 to win her fourth gold medal.

Shi is the third North Allegheny student-athlete to claim gold in the 1-meter dive, joining that group in 2020 with Jamie Tomazich (1994, 1995, 1996) and Nikki Joa (1993). She is the first student-athlete to claim four consecutive 3A championships since Penn Hills’ Jen O’Brien (1997-00).

The Tigers senior edged out Greater Latrobe senior Hannah Polosky, who finished runner-up for the second year in a row. Polosky improved upon her 2022 score of 430.45, carding a 532.30 this time around. Shi’s teammate Lola Malarky recorded a 488.10 to take bronze as a sophomore. The top three finishers earned qualification into the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Championships.

The remainder of the eight-person podium was made up of North Allegheny sophomore Juliet Hood (4th, 429.90), Mars junior Emily Mueller (5th, 421.40), Upper St. Clair senior Addison Burnette (6th, 388.70), Seneca Valley freshman Cooper Burcham (7th, 387.65), and Seneca Valley junior Chloe Petersen (8th, 380.60).

2A RECAP [Results]
North Catholic senior Maggie Foley completed a perfect varsity career at the WPIAL 2A Girls’ Diving Championships this past Friday, winning her fourth gold medal on Friday afternoon with a 12-dive tally of 491.40.

Foley is the third student-athlete to win four 1-meter dive crowns at the 2A classification, joining Freeport’s Beth Clark (1993-96) and Shady Side Academy’s Brittany Garza (1997-00).

The 12th dive was enough to top her 2022 winning score of 470.70, and she also posted a 441.05 in 2021 and 440.45 in 2020. Her tally is the highest for the 2A champion since Mars’s Taylor Hockenberry recorded a 470.85 in 2016.

Quaker Valley sophomore Ruby Olliffe finished runner-up for the second consecutive year, registering a score of 477.65. Hampton freshman Gabriella Elk placed third with a tally of 450.25.

The top seven finishers earned a spot in the PIAA Championships, with Foley, Olliffe, and Elk joined by Thomas Jefferson junior Addison Arndt (4th, 413.65), Quaker Valley junior Kaitlyn Blackmer (5th, 401.95), Quaker Valley sophomore Ruby Krotine (6th, 391.10), and Northgate junior Lilia Mackenzie (7th, 386.75).

Montour senior Sydney Jarvis completed the eight-person podium with a score of 366.25.

Follow the WPIAL: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

#WPIAL