Davie teen dives into high acclaim with invitational win
With the Class 1A state diving championships right around the corner, Davie 16-year-old Ishani Singh has made sure she is totally prepared to be a top contender.
Singh, a junior at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, recorded a personal-best overall score of 477.25 to win the girls 1-meter diving title at the 54th annual Woodson Invitational.
The meet took place at the very pool where Singh trains on the Pine Crest School campus.
She not only took the title but did so in decisive fashion, finishing 45 points ahead of rival Kaleigh Dundov, a senior at Boca Raton High School. The pair goes back and forth in winning competitions against each other, but Singh brought her “A” game to reach the top of the podium.
“I have never won a big invitational like [the Woodson],” said Singh, who placed sixth at the Class 1A state meet last year with a 428.25 score. “I have won invites before, but winning this is completely different. It is also nice to support my team and give them points.”
Her efforts helped Pine Crest take third place in the team standings with 255 points. Perennial Class 1A state champion Jacksonville Bolles, winners of 26 consecutive state titles, garnered both the boys and girls crowns.
“There is some pressure,” Singh said. “A lot of our team is younger, except for me, so I have to help get points for the team that those swimmers had gotten. This helps my confidence a lot, especially doing this well this early in the season.”
She expressed shock at the margin of victory over Dundov.
“I didn’t expect it at all. Kaleigh has always been a good competitor and I had no clue that I would be able to beat her today,” Singh said.
What made the decisive performance even more surprising is that Singh admitted she didn’t feel ready for the meet, yet wound up delivering her best performance. That was especially true in two dives that she sometimes struggles with — a reverse 11⁄2 and front 21⁄2.
“I guess I had it in me,” Singh said with a smile. “Halfway through the meet, I realized I was diving really well and hitting those two dives really helped me get [the win].”
With only one of the divers from last year’s state meet having graduated, Singh knows it will be a challenge to bring home a gold medal during the Florida finals at the Sailfish Splashpark Aquatic Athletics Center in Stuart on Nov. 4. Can she win states? “I don’t know about that,” she said. “There are some really good girls around the state that weren’t here today. It is definitely a goal.”
Sportscom5@aol.com