2010 State Meet Wrap-up

The American Flyers had the most impressive showing of the entire high school season at the State Championships in Canton, Ohio. With 9 total athletes qualifying from 5 different schools, the AFD impact on Ohio diving was clear...

Mike Kreft, of Solon, continued his post-season dominance in capturing his first ever State Championship title in the Division 1 Boys competition. Mike finished with a score of 472.20, nearly 30 points higher then the second place finisher. Mike led the meet from the very beginning and never looked back. His focus was clear and pressure never seemed to be an issue for him. In the previous sectional and district meets, Mike had not taken the overall lead until after the preliminary round. It was obvious from the start this this was Mike's meet to lose and he excelled. Mike is the first ever state champion in the history of the Solon High School Swimming & Diving program. Congratulations again Mike.

Also making the podium from Solon was Micah Rembrant & Daniel Jacobson. Micah finished in 5th place with a score of 428.55, bettering his 5th place score from last year by almost 30 points. Daniel was 10th at 379.20, a 9 point improvement from his finish last season.

Steve Schillero of Garfield Heights also improved from his finals finish from 2009. Last year, the only freshman diver to qualify to the State Meet, Steve finished in 14th place. This year, Steve improved to 12th place and improved his score by over 20 points.

This was the second consecutive state meet for both Steve & Daniel and was the 3rd consecutive from Mike and Micah.

***A special meet for both Micah and Daniel as it was the last time they competed for Solon High School. Daniel, a senior, will be continuing his academic and diving careers at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Micah will be relocating to Massachusetts for his senior season. From the whole AFD family, we wish you both the best of luck. Thank you for the impact you've had in making the AFD program what it is today.***

In the Division 2 Boys meet, AFD had 3 first time qualifiers. Alex Lohiser claimed second place, earning one of his highest scores of the season, 366.60. Alex is a Sophomore from Gilmour Academy and will be the favorite to capture the Division 2 State title in 2011.

From Aurora High School, sophomore Chris Riley and junior Hunter Flagg finished 4th & 16th respectively. Chris missed 3rd place by 2.7 points, scoring 333.60. Both boys showed resilience in coming back strong from the occasional subpar dive. Both Hunter and Chris will be back in 2011 and will be expected to challenge for top podium spots. With consistent improvement, valuble experience and 5 graduating seniors, Chris and Hunter will be sure to join Alex in representing AFD in the 2011 State Championships.

As for the girls, AFD had two first time qualifiers in Division 1. Nordonia senior Bre Horrigan and Solon freshman Sivan Mills. Sivan and Bre were both coming off of strong performances from the District Championships.

Sivan had a strong showing in the early rounds and finished 13th with a score of 372.45. Sivan was one of only two freshman girls to qualify in Division 1, and she placed ahead of ten upperclassmen. Her finish also scored 4 team points for Solon High School.

Bre finished 16th with a score of 358.50. She is the first female to make the State Championships from Nordonia High School. Not a bad finish to her high school diving career. Bre will continue her diving while studying nursing at Youngstown State University later this year.

SPECIAL NOTES:
-Solon High School Boys finished 8th place overall in team standings with 90.5 points...41 of those points came from Mike, Micah & Daniel. Without those 41 points, Solon would have finished 14th overall.
-41 points was the most points scored in a single event by a single team...the next closest was 35.
-Sivan Mills was the highest scoring freshman girl in Division 1 Diving since 2006.
-Mike Kreft is Solon's first ever State Champ in swimming or diving.
-Bre Horrigan suffered an ACL tear in gymnastics in 2007...this was only her second season diving.
-Bre also received an athletic scholarship at YSU.
-In 2009 AFD only had 4 divers make the State Meet...there were 9 in 2010.
-All 9 AFD divers made the final round in their respective meets in 2010.