THORNTON — Thompson Valley juniors Marabelle Balliet and Brileigh Hale entered Saturday’s Class 3A state diving competition at the Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center looking to improve on what they did last season.
A year removed from an 11th-place finish for Balliet and a 17th-place finish for Hale, the pair both made significant jumps in their placings, ending up side-by-side on the awards podium when the event concluded. Balliet in fourth place and Hale in sixth.
In fourth- and sixth-place finishes, Balliet and Hale posted scores of 409.95 and 405.45, respectively. Just a quarter-point separated first and second place, as St. Mary’s’ Academy’s Mia Williams won the event with a score of 426.0 and Roosevelt’s Liviana White was second with a 425.75.
“I was really excited for the moment,” Balliet said. “I was excited to be here and just leave it all on the table.”
She did just that, solidifying her fourth-place finish with a score of 45.68 on her final dive.
“I was like, ‘No matter what, just hit the dive and you’ll be OK,'” she said. “I thought I went wrong on it, and then I came up and everyone was screaming and it was just emotional.”
Balliet was expected to be a contender for a top finish Saturday based on what she has done during the season. At the Longs Peak League meet two weeks ago, she scored a personal-best 442.75.
Hale came into the state competition with confidence after scoring a personal best of her own (432.15) at the LPL meet. Even with that score two weeks ago, she said she was confident but wasn’t expecting to finish as high as she did.
“It gave me a lot of confidence,” Hale said of the conference meet. “I was a little skeptical coming into state today because my front full hasn’t been as consistent, so we switched it out. But I’m still so happy with how I did. Going into my last three dives, I was a little bit scared with how I was going to do. I was hoping to podium today. I didn’t think I was going to podium this high.”
The pair established themselves at the top of the leaderboard early in the meet, and after five dives, Balliet was second and Hale was fourth. After eight dives, Balliet was second and Hale was third.
In the final three dives, Williams and White used a higher degree of difficulty to their advantage and vaulted past the Eagles’ duo. Balliet’s big finish and Hale’s consistent day secured them each a medal.
Both were happy with how their meet went and are already looking forward to next year when both will be seniors.
“I’m definitely looking forward to having some bigger degree of difficulty next year,” Hale said. “And hopefully getting little bit higher on the podium with Belle.”
“I’m so excited,” Balliet said. “I can’t wait for next year, obviously.”
The two have formed a bond, as well, and proved Saturday they are just as excited about their own accomplishments as they are each other’s.
“She’s done so amazing this year,” Balliet said of Hale. “I’m so glad I got to stand next to her.”
Thompson School District diving coach Randy Huff, who returned to coaching this year after a decade away, was named the 3A diving coach of the year. He instructs divers from all the district schools.
After being awarded his plaque, he said it was his 22nd coach of the year award spanning across three states.
His return was a big part of the Eagles’ success this season, as well as that of Mountain View’s Madeline Clark, who finished 10th in the 4A diving competition Thursday.
“I love Randy,” Balliet said. “He made my year. I’m so glad he came back to Thompson Valley and I’m so thankful for him.”
“Randy is such a good coach,” Hale added. “Coming into this season, I didn’t know what to look forward to and I was actually really scared about what it was going to be like, but he’s really just a big fluffy teddy bear, pretty much.”
