Girls’ diving: Granada Hills’ Fivecoat puts on confident performance

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Though she was only a sophomore, some people were a little surprised Granada Hills’ Kristina Fivecoat didn’t challenge for the 2007 City Section title. She managed to pull off a respectable fifth-place finish, but it wasn’t quite the result she was striving for.

‘She’s always been a good diver, but I think her nerves got to her last year,’ Granada Hills Coach Gila Ruivenkamp said. ‘She definitely showed everyone today what she can do.’

Fivecoat captured the Highlanders’ first section diving title Friday at Pierce College, scoring a combined total of 357.10 points to beat out nearest competitors Allison Gillis of Birmingham (308.20) and Sarah Hightower of L.A. CES (296.90).

Despite battling gusty conditions that made it difficult, at times, for all the divers, Fivecoat really looked at home on the one-meter board. She was a model of consistency over all 11 dives and she’ll definitely be the diver to beat next year.

But let’s not rule out Gillis for next season -- she looked strong Friday afternoon and will likely push Fivecoat again in 2009.

Here’s one of Fivecoat’s championship-caliber dives:

Be sure to click here for complete results.

-- Austin Knoblauch