Bayley Fowler qualifies for state and bella walters misses by one place and two points at diving regional

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com

Chesterton senior Bayley Fowler, sectional diving champion, achieved her primary goal in the regional at Valparaiso on Tuesday night: a return trip to the state championship this weekend in Indianapolis.
Remarkably, considering she just took up the sport in high school after leaving gymnastics, freshman Bella Walters came close to joining her. The top eight placers from each of the four regionals throughout the state make up the field of 32 divers at the state meet. Walters finished ninth at Valpo with a score of 312.90, just 1.75 points behind eighth place and three points out of seventh.
Just three freshmen divers made the field.
“She kept her composure,” proud coach Elijah Mercado said of Walters. “A lot of these girls throw some difficult dives and when you see all of them doing hard things, you kind of examine yourself and wonder, ‘Am I capable of staying with them in terms of scoring?’ And she kept her composure the entire time. That’s what really helped her out today.”
In Fowler, Walters had a good composure role model. Fowler broke the school record at Saturday’s sectional with an 11-dive score of 427.15. She followed that with a 401.15 Tuesday night. Sectional runner-up Aylea Sutherland of Valparaiso edged her by a quarter of a point, scoring 401.40.
“That was a little bit annoying,” Fowler said, but just a little because the regional is a step toward the ultimate goal and all 32 divers start with zero points at the state competition.
Fowler placed 12th last year, but is aiming higher.
“I definitely want to be on the podium this year,” Fowler said, meaning a top-eight finish.
She had the ninth-best score of every diver in the state in the regional round and the sixth-best in the state in sectional round.
Going through the routine a year ago, “helps me a lot because I kind of know what to expect.”
Added Mercado: “It helps a lot. It’s not foreign territory. She’s basically going back to the old stomping grounds. That’s how I see it. With her going back, seeing the same athletes, seeing the same teams, it kind of gives you a comfortable feel.”
Walters was disappointed she won’t be joining her, but kept it in perspective.
“I mean, it’s my first year,” she said. “I knew the girl had to get a 25 or lower and she got a 27” on her last dive.
Mercado explained how Walters became so proficient so quickly.
“She works hard,” he said. “She’s very focused on her details when it comes to making changes for dives and with the gymnastics background, that helps a ton too.”
Fowler didn’t take up diving until her sophomore year, so Walters has a year head start on her.
“I know this is going to give her that mentality next year that ‘I’m going to be there. I’m going to be at the top.’ I know she’s going to have that mentality toward it,” Fowler said. “The fact that she even made it here is crazy, so she should be really proud of herself, and I know she is. Obviously, I know how that feels though, to be that close. So I know she’s a little mad, but It’s awesome that she even made it this far considering she’s only a freshman.”
The diving preliminaries get underway at 8 a.m. Central Saturday and the finals start at noon. Fowler is diving 23rd in the order.