Lydon earns fourth-straight dive title
CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. » There is good, there is very good and then there is just ‘ Wow!’
Shenendehowa senior diver Nick Lydon just took his flips, twists and clean entries into the Shenendehowa Aquatics Center Pool to the next level Thursday night, capturing his fourth- consecutive Section II Division I diving title.
The current New York State record holder for 11 dives earned his fourth straight large school title with 657 points, almost 100 points more than runner-up Matt Chao from Niskayuna with 569.35.
Lydon set the New York State mark in December at 661.75 points, breaking the record of Albany Academy diver Manny Pollard’s 635.75 set at the 2012 Section II meet at Ballston Spa High School.
Lydon joins Shaker’s Brandon Birchak as the most recent fourtime Section II large school champion. Birchak earned his consecutive titles from 2000 to 2003 for the Blue Bison. Pollard was a three-time Division II champion from 2010 to 2012 with another Shaker grad, Josh Koppel taking the large school titles from 2010 to 2012 before passing the torch to the Plainsmen.
Shenendehowa’s Adam Bonk won the Division I title in 2013 followed by Ian Killane in 2014 and then Lyons from 2015 to 2018.
“It’s awesome to have put in the work and get four championships out of it,” Nick Lydon said.
The four-time champion didn’t alter his workouts as he looked for a fourth consecutive title.
“We do the same thing the days leading up to the competition, every time it’s the same, but there is definitely a different feeling around championship meets and it just breeds people doing great and everyone does really well at these meets,” Lydon said.
His Plainsmen teammates followed with Yang Foon finishing third with474.60 points and Erik Herrero fourth with 435.45. Niskayuna’s Conor Compton was fifth with 425.60 points.
Even winning for the fourth
straight time meant something special for the University of Florida- bound senior.
“I think the whole season was kind of building up to it, trying to take everything in and enjoy every moment that I have with the team and just being here,” Lydon said.
If there was someone who could say they saw a four-peat coming for Lydon it’s his Shenendehowa diving coach Dennis Hogan.
“The drive to never accept what he’s done that day, he always wants more,”
Dennis Hogan said. “I tell people all the time, he’s the only athlete I’ve ever had who would come in and do two or three hours of just drills and if I asked him to do that for a week, he would do it for a week. Most kids want to dive, they want to get the big dives in, and he reached to where he reached right because there was so much time spent on all of the little things.
“We talk before each dive, it’s just the little things,” Hogan said. “There is no stress because he knows he’s ready. He’s put the hours in. He’s had several really, really good meets right now and it’s exciting to go to states having that happen. He
scored well here; he scored well out of our section, so that in itself is a big compliment because sometimes you don’t see that.”
Even as an elite diver, sometimes a top athletes needs a push or a reminder that most great things don’t come easy.
“He was sick today, he texted me this morning and said ‘ I’m sick to my stomach, got a really bad headache,’ one of the other guys has the flu,” Hogan said. “I told him what he had to do and said ‘ You know what, the Olympics are happening right now and I can guarantee there is an Olympian on the mountain or on the track or wherever that’s not feel-
ing well right now. Champions just push through.’”
Lydon’s final season diving for Shenendehowa is not over as he will be one of the top seeds at the New York State swimming and diving meet at the Nassau Swimming and Diving Center March 2 and 3.
“Things are just really starting to come together, most of my dives are being consistent and just fine tuning a couple more things before states,” Lydon said.