Crimson Bears dive team springs to action to aid rival
- Klas Stolpe
- Sep 30
- 8 min read
JDHS on board to help Kayhi diver achieve dream
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
A season-long target for Ketchikan Kings senior diver Liam Woodward came to fruition Saturday with the help of rival Region V opponent Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé, as the Crimson Bears responded to a dive-only meet request at the site of the upcoming Region V Swim and Dive Championships at Ketchikan’s Gateway Pool.
“Region V chose to swap out Ketchikan with Craig this year for the regular season conference rotation,” JDHS dive coach Savona Kiessling said. “This eliminated one of the meets for the divers since Craig does not have a diving board at their pool and eliminated Ketchikan’s regular season meet, which includes the six dive events. Therefore Ketchikan reached out to us to see if we were interested in coming out for a one-day meet for the boy and girl divers. Their diver Liam is a senior and this would be his last chance to attempt to break the pool record. The southeast Alaska diving community is small and supportive of each other, and our Juneau divers knew that Liam deserved a chance at breaking that record, plus the divers wanted an opportunity to get at least one of their meets back - the competition is why they practice so hard. The meet couldn’t have happened without Juneau, and it was a win-win for all.”
Woodward was chasing the Ketchikan pool’s six-round, 1-meter dive record of 241.55 points set in 2018 by former JDHS diver Cian Hart. Hart went on to coach the Thunder Mountain High School and JDHS dive teams in 2023 and 2024 alongside current JDHS head dive coach Savona Kiessling. Woodward put together a final tally of 262.35.
“Honestly, it felt sort of relieving,” Woodward said. “But at the same time it felt like I was on course to just keep on getting better. I almost wanted to go back in time and set that record even higher.”
JDHS junior diver Easton Berger enjoyed the chance to dive at the region site.
“For me, I think Liam breaking that record was truly impressive,” Berger said. “Throughout the years that I have known him, I knew he was a very talented diver and not only would he break records, but that he would be a role model for other divers to look up to.”
Woodward began targeting the record at the start of the season in August. Unfortunately, the Region V schedule substituting Kayhi with board-less Craig meant one less pool for a record on the road and no chance for a home mark.
While Ketchikan hosts the Region V championships this season, the dive portion is an 11-round affair, meaning there would be no chance for the six-round record at Kayhi.
Woodward noted having JDHS come to compete.
“They are at every other competition that I am at,” he said. “So it was good to see familiar faces and the Juneau co-dive coach, Stig Cunningham, ended up diving with us, and it was fun to see him. Stig dove my freshman year so it was fun to see him after a while.”
Woodward notes his favorite dive is a front two-and-a-half somersault with a tuck.
“It looks really good and I competed it last weekend,” he said.
The dive was his highest scoring mark of 50.40. His other marks were inward 1+1/2 somersault tuck (45), inward 2 somersault tuck (47.60), back 1+1/2 somersault tuck (35), forward 1 somersault 1 twist free (42.75) and reverse 1 somersault tuck (41.60).
Woodward is perfecting a front 1+1/2 somersault with a 1/2 twist, but has not used it in competition yet.
“I would do my front one-and-a-half somersault and as I am kicking out I would spin around halfway, not a full spin,” he said. “It is not the most difficult, but I don’t like throwing sloppy dives so if I compete it I want it to be really good looking. It is difficult to get it to look pretty.”
JDHS’ Berger placed second for the men with 137.45 points (inward 1 SS tuck 32 points, inward 1.5 SS tuck 29.7 pts, forward 2SS T 29.7 pts, back dive straight 27.2 pts, BD .5 Twist 28.8, R 2SS tuck 0.0), KTN freshman Jett Miller third with 115 pts, and JDHS junior Alex Davis fourth with 64.7 pts (IW dive tuck 7.0 pts, FW dive tuck 12.6 pts, FW 1SS tuck 8.4 pts, BD straight 18.7 pts, B 1SS tuck 9.0 pts, B dive .5 twist 9.0 pts).
JDHS co-coach Cunningham scored 184 points (IW dive straight 36.90 pts, B 2SS pike 42.55 pts, FW dive .5 twist pike 17.85 pts, RD 1SS pike 26.40 pts, FW 2.5 pike 40.80 pts, FW 3.5SS tuck 19.50 pts).
JDHS junior Moira Bahn placed first for women with 138.30 points (IW diver pike 21.45 pts, IW 1 SS tuck 24.80 pts, B 1SS straight 22.95 pts, B 1SS .5 twist free 17.85 pts, FW dive pike 25.35 pts, FW 1.5 SS pike 31.45 pts). JDHS junior Adeline Williams was second with 137.45 (IW 1SS tuck 22.40 pts, IW dive tuck 23.80 pts, BD .5 twist straight 26.10 pts, B 1SS tuck 14.25 pts, F 1.5 SS tuck 26.40 pts, FW 1SS tuck 24.50 pts), KTN sophomore Ellie Johnson third 97.7, KTN freshman Mia Calvin fourth 96.6 and KTN junior Lina Merrill fifth 66.9.
“This was a great intro meet to the season for me,” Williams said. “My favorite part of these meets is always seeing where everyone is at and how they’re progressing, including myself. Overall, it was low pressure and fun seeing everyone after so long.”
There is another chance to attain new Region V heights as JDHS hosts a meet Oct. 17-18 at Dimond Park Aquatic Center before the region championships at Kayhi Oct. 31-Nov. 1. The KGP 11-round record is 350.80 points set by Kegan Rhein in 2016. The Kings’ 11-round dive record is held by Ryan Borup, who set the mark of 598.20 in 2007 and who also holds the Kayhi six-round mark of 330.85 (both records were set outside Ketchikan).
“Yeah, that’s next on the list of records to break,” Woodward said. “Regions I am really looking at that 11 dive record.”
A state record is not out of question either, with the ASAA State Championships Nov. 7-8 at Anchorage’s Bartlett High School Pool, with an 11-round competition among Alaska’s best awaiting. Woodward totaled 337.95 there last season in his first trip to state and placed fifth.
“I am definitely going in feeling more confident than I did last year,” he said. “I was new to it. I took away that it is kind of just like another meet. I would expect it to be a harsher climate, you know, maybe the divers would treat you differently but, no, it is just like a normal meet at every other open invite. Going into this year, I can’t wait to just normally do what I do and perform under pressure.”
A swimmer through elementary and middle school, Woodward first took an interest in diving in seventh grade.
“I was around the pool all the time and saw dive practices, and I just remember being a kid and using the diving board at the open swims all the time,” he said. “I saw them practicing during swim practice and doing tricks off the diving board and thought, ‘Oh my gosh, that looks so fun. That is exactly what I want to do.’ I just started doing it and one day Coach Brooks saw me and said, ‘You should do that for my dive team.’ I took it into consideration and joined the dive team the next year...I was definitely scared at the start, but I think the more I would get comfortable with the diving board and the more time I would spend in a climate of people who would be able to do hard stuff like that it was like iron sharpening iron. I saw myself becoming one of those people that could go and do stuff without fear.”
With two practices a day, Woodward and the Kayhi divers warm up with the Kayhi swimmers, then break off into routines that consist of stretching out the parts of the body that will be activated throughout dive practice, such as legs, lower back and core. Off-season features weight training and dive camps and other sports. Woodward also runs track.
JDHS divers are similar in their double practices, stretching, dry-land training and off-season conditioning.
“I was really pleased with the collaboration we have with Ketchikan High School and how our Southeast dive community really supports our divers,” JDHS coach Kiessling said. “I was also really proud of how well our divers performed. Alex Davis is a late addition to the dive team and was able to throw six dives without any failed attempts — a big achievement. Moira and Adeline nearly tied, which was exciting — they both dive really well. And Easton attempted a double reverse for the first time and nearly pulled it off. His other dives were great as well. Stig Cunningham, one of my past divers and a co-coach this season, dove exhibition for fun, which provided some additional competition and inspiration for Liam, I believe. Liam and the other Ketchikan divers dive well, and I think everyone was really pleased with the meet, especially Liam since he was successful in breaking Cian Hart’s record.”
Kayhi swim and dive coach Eryn Brooks said the record “was phenomenal. Huge thanks to Juneau for coming down. I was actually just happiest with the fact that we were able to pull it off and give him the opportunity to break the record for the pool.”
She noted how hard that can be.
“It depends on the athlete,” she said. “It is kind of like swim records where you have a goal of beating that time or getting close to that time and if your dive scores are close to the score that is on the record board that gives you that push to give you that little bit more. It might be cleaning up a dive or throwing a harder dive that can push you over that number.”
She said hosting regions is the special part of this year because “having the six-dive meet and then having regions we have the opportunity for an 11-dive meet record to be broken as well.”
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
