At the EPC Diving Championship this past weekend, Kelsey German came away pleasantly surprised, while Jon Hansell saw things play out just about how he expected.

Both divers left with second-place finishes in the meet, with Hansell battling Emmaus' Andrew Vanim and German fighting her way through a group of strong divers.

German was fourth through eight dives, but got hot at just the right time to surge past Emmaus' Jess Hurlburt and Easton's Kelsey Jehl for her second-place finish.

Hurlburt had led most of the way, but succumbed to some nervousness that caused her to score just 16.20 on her final dive, opening the door for German and winner Nicole Sagl of Central Catholic. Sagl was in third for most of the day before finding her comfort level and making her move late in the event.

"I finished well, I think," said German. "I thought I was going to finish fourth or fifth. My last three dives, I got scores that I didn't know I would be able to get."

German scored a 35.70, 40.00 and 39.60 on her final three dives, which helped her to move up from fourth place. Earlier in the meet, German struggled on a couple of dives, but was still strong enough to keep herself in contention and stay just ahead of teammate Serena Johnson, who finished sixth on the day. Nazareth's Brooke Fox also put on a late charge to pass Johnson late in the meet.

"I think I did really well. I could have done better on some dives, but overall, I did well," said German, who believes that with more work, her expectations could be higher in districts. "There are a couple divers that are really good and I just have to work hard."

Parkland's Madison Poremsky finished eighth. Dana Emswiler was 12th, Jenn Valek 13th and Riley Smith 15th in girls diving. On the boys side, Devin Cahill finished seventh. Richie Moumblow was eight and Jose Jimenez was ninth. Just over 20 points separated the final three Parkland divers in the event.

Hansell and Vanim separated themselves from the pack fairly early in the boys meet and put on a battle for the top spot. One diver would seem to gain a little momentum only to see the other come back with a couple of good dives to shift the momentum his way.

While Emmaus and Parkland are known for their rivalry in swimming, Parkland has pretty much dominated the diving competition between the two teams in recent years. With Hansell and Vanim both showing their talent, the stage is set for quite a rivalry between the two divers.

"I think it is nice, yes, because we're both sophomores and we'll always go head-to-head in every meet that we have," said Hansell, who feels good about his opportunities in districts after his strong showing in the conference meet.

"I feel that I will probably go on to districts and get top three or top two and hopefully, go to states," said Hansell, who looks forward to competition. "I always feel comfortable, because I never really get nervous, because I like to have fun and not think about the competition too much."