After only five meets into the new season, senior Miranda Simon broke a 21-year- old Fox Chapel Area High School diving record. Her score of 261.90 on the 1-inch springboard easily surpassed the previous record by more than 25 points.
Miranda’s outstanding performance qualified her for the WPIAL championships later this season. Last year, she won the silver medal at the WPIAL meet and was a finalist at the PIAA competition with a 13th place finish. As a sophomore, Miranda also qualified for the WPIAL and PIAA championships.
Rightly excited about her latest accomplishment, Miranda says it was her dream to break the school record. Her passion for the sport is what kept her going as she spent thousands of hours over the past few years preparing for that illustrious moment. “It’s all about loving what you do,” says the school’s dive team captain. “I’m happy to be doing what I love and it’s what makes me want to work so hard.”
During the school year, the National Honor Society member with a 4.23-weighted grade point average, dives for two and half hours a day, six days a week, under the direction of Foxes’ coach Vernon Yenick. As a member of the Pitt Aquatic Club, Miranda spends her summers practicing five hours a day, six days a week, and receives high-level instruction from the University of Pittsburgh diving coaches. She has traveled with the club to meets in New Jersey, New York, and Orlando, Florida, where she competes against the best divers in the country, including Olympic hopefuls.
“Miranda is an overachiever in both academics and diving, and it has been a joy to coach her,” says coach Yenick. She is expected to place in the top eight in the state at the diving championships this year and hopefully that will get her a diving scholarship.”
So far, there hasn’t been a lack of interest. Miranda has received attention from a number of Division I schools, including Georgetown, George Washington, American, Bucknell, and New York universities, and Kenyon College. But before she decides on a college, Miranda has her sights set on greater ambitions at the WPIAL and PIAA diving championships. If her early success is a barometer of what’s to come, this determined competitor has a great season ahead of her and the potential to achieve all of her aspirations.
Congratulations also go to senior diver John Zottola and sophomore diver Dixon Veltri, who each beat their best scores from last year by more than 20 points. Their performances have qualified them for the WPIAL championships at the conclusion of the season. John also qualified for the WPIAL meet last year.