CAPE ELIZABETH ”“ Thornton Academy diver Tyler Goulden has had a pretty good season and it got a little better after Friday.
The junior crushed the diving competition as he won his first Southwestern crown in his school-record breaking season.
Goulden scored a meet-high 342.85 points, outpacing second place diver James Gallant of Windham who scored 233.55 points in the 11-dive format. Kennebunk’s Ashton Thomas placed third with 218.50 points.
“I felt pretty good about the way I dove today,” Goulden said. “I still feel I could do better.”
Words from what his coaches call affectionately call a perfectionist.
“He is that,” Thornton diving coach Heidi Pare said. “He wants each dive to be perfect.”
Goulden brought the swimming crowd of about 300 people to its feet with his third dive on Friday night, a 103 b, which is a forward one and one half somersault from the pike position.
Completing his somersault, Goulden entered the pool almost perfectly creating very little splash and rising his above the water to a round of standing ovations.
“It was a pretty sweet dive,” Pare said. “I had a lot of height ”¦ this dive is one of his best.”
Goulden entered Friday’s championships ranked first in Maine in both the 11-dive and 6-dive 1-meter platform events. He set a Thornton Academy school record in mid January in the 11-dive format scoring 433 points, smashing the old record by more than 100 points.
He is now focusing on the state championship meet in two weeks and will use his Southwestern performance as a guide, he said.
“This means a lot,” he said, “but my real goal is to win a state championship. I think this helps me get ready because it gets me used to the 11-dive format.”
Windham won the overall championship, its first Southwestern crown. It scored a meet total of 270.5 points. Defending champion Kennebunk placed second in the meet with 240 points. Massabesic placed third with 233 points. Thornton Academy had a strong showing scoring 150 points to place sixth and Biddeford placed eighth with 68 points while Sanford placed ninth with 29 points.
Due to deadline constraints, for complete results please see Monday’s edition of the Journal Tribune.
The girls swim today beginning at 1 p.m. for the Southwestern title.
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