N-W’s Colton headed to state diving meet

by Eric Keppeler
Niagara Wheatfield Tribune, November 16, 2006

Sarah Colton says she never even thought about qualifying for the New York State Swimming and Diving Championship. At least, not until recently.

After finishing second in diving at the Niagara Frontier League championship earlier this month, the Niagara-Wheatfield senior took the next step by finishing third last weekend at the Section VI championship – and her score of 409.20 was enough to send her to this weekend’s state championship at the Erie Community College Flickinger Center.

“I’m so excited,” Colton said. “I didn’t think about it much until the NFL meet, because that’s when I got really close. It came down to my last dive at sectionals. I knew I had to do really well because if I didn’t, it was all over.”

Colton now goes up against the best girls high school divers New York state has to offer.

“She’s a tremendous diver,” N-W swim coach Mike Corsaro said. “I’m really happy for her because she works so hard. We’re hoping that she can make it to the final round on Saturday. We really don’t know much about the other competitors, but they must be talented if they’ve made it this far.”

Colton hopes to continue her diving career in college and figures that making the state meet can only help.

“I want to make it as far as I can,” she said. “I don’t want to look back at this and think I could’ve done better.”

As a team, Niagara-Wheatfield finished with a strong showing at sectionals, placing 18th in the 45-team field as many swimmers posted career-best times.

The 400 freestyle relay team of Jennifer Netter, Mandy Caldwell, Ali D’Orsaneo and Sarah Rivers wound up 10th but came within a second and a half of the school record. The 200 medley relay team of Caitlin Barber, Rivers, Jessica Smith and Chelsea Fland placed 15th, and the 200 freestyle relay team of Netter, Caldwell, D’Orsaneo and Fland missed the school record by about a second.

“We really peaked at the right time,” Corsaro said. “I’d say about 95 percent of our swimmers had their best times at the end of the year. We went 7-3 during the season, and that’s a huge step up for us. We were competitive in every meet. The girls showed a lot of toughness.”

Also at sectionals, Alexa Gigliotti was 10th in diving, Melissa Oakey was 19th in the 500, Alexxa Poliachik was 20th in the 200 IM and Brittany Schrader was 22nd in the 200 freestyle. Jennifer Mess posted her best time of the season in the 100 breaststroke and Caitlin McClellan dropped 19 seconds from her previous best time in the 500.

The team is already counting the days to next season as 18 of the 24 girls return next year.

“We’ve got a nice group coming back,” Corsaro said. “They’re young, but they’re very strong swimmers and we’re looking forward to next year. The girls are already excited. They can’t wait to get back in the pool.”