Divers ignore rivalries and train together

Coach directs 13 springboard competitors from six valley high schools

They both did gymnastics for close to a decade before quitting the sport because of injuries, but now Brandy Chapman and Lauren Mentzer have transferred their gymnastics skills to the diving board.

Chapman, a first-year diver from Liberty High School, and Mentzer, a second-year diver from Coronado High School, both have a chance to contend in the Sunrise Region and state one-meter springboard diving meets.

"It's closely related to gymnastics," Chapman said. "My gymnastics background helped me a lot, but the technique is totally different. It's more mechanical.

"I just wanted to get a varsity letter, but once I got into it, I was hooked. It's addicting. It's so much better than I ever thought it would be."

Mentzer said gymnastics and diving are similar, yet different.

"Diving is a totally different sport. The flipping and twisting is the same, but you have to learn how to use the diving board," she said. "When you vault, it's all about power. The diving board is slower. You have to wait for the board."

Chapman, a sophomore, and Mentzer, a junior, may represent different high schools but they practice together all the time, under the tutelage of diving coach Susie Roles, who coaches 13 divers from six different high schools -- Coronado, Green Valley, Chaparral, Foothill, Las Vegas and Liberty.

"In springboard diving, there are only four divers per school for boys and girls, so instead of each school having their own coach, we join them together and they all work out together," Roles said. "It's a little difficult when Green Valley and Coronado meet, but I can't lose. That's the way I look at it. It's an individual sport, but we've created a family of our own. Who we really go against is the north.

"There's 13 of us and we're like a team, cheering and yelling for each other."

Roles, a longtime coach who took some time off but recently returned, is impressed with the skill level of her squad.

"When I came back, I was just amazed how much talent there was. It's been fun to watch their development over the year. Their caliber of expertise is amazing," she said. "I'm so inspired by this group. I think we're going to have a state champion."

Other former top gymnasts who have made the switch to diving include Coronado freshmen Jordyn Lauten and Shelby Green.

Other divers coached by Roles include Coronado's Alyssa De Sangro, Lauren Linck and Ashley Lytle; Emily Ellsworth of Las Vegas; Hayley Loiler of Foothill; Tiffany Koeller of Chaparral; and Green Valley's Ashley Welday, Lindsay Hernquiest and Hesham Einagar.

Chapman said the divers may be from different schools, but they support each other like teammates.

"We're all real close and we're all there for each other. We're really encouraging and supportive," she said. "Lauren and I want to go to state in the top two spots."

Mentzer said it's a bit strange competing against girls you practice with every day.

"It's kind of crazy, because we're all friends. But when we go to competitions against each other, you have mixed emotions," she said. "You want them to do good, but you want to beat them."

Roles said Chapman and Wendy Williams of Palo Verde should both contend for the state title, along with Mentzer and Stephanie Hoeffman, with the state meet slated for Saturday at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"It's due to the difficulty of the dives they're doing," Roles said. "I'm amazed at how eager the girls are to learn the big dives with the hardest degree of difficulty. I may have one or two girls reach this level their first year, but this year the whole group is asking me if they can try a full twisting 1 1/2, or a back 1 1/2 twister. Wow."

Other prep divers in Clark County include Lauren Anspach, Brianna Bell, Kelsey Birsa, Alisa Gaylord, Jacqueline Hillenbrand, Kristen Jarol, Krystin Jones, Harmoni Lahullier, Brittany Langford, Jessica Maietta, Lauren Manix, Megan McGhie, Nadine Nelson, Julie Nishimoto, Alexa Parker, Jessica Pickens, Amy Saycich, Tara Strawn, Ashley Tresner, Shea Byers, Vance Hooley, Brandon Franta, Alex Mackey, Josh Richards and Mike Russell.


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