Last Thursday ended the regular, dual meet season, not just for the Freedom and Liberty swimmers, but for their divers too.

Heading into districts this weekend, Leigha Evans, Fallon Tatlow, and Sarah Gill, all from Freedom, and Cara Kuykens, Alicia Valladares, Kellen Rogers, and Sergio Alvarez, all from Liberty, did their best last Thursday to score points for their respective teams’ overall scores.

Evans’s best was her front one-and-a-half, where she received a 5, 6, and 7.

“And my front one-and-a-half full twist that I just learned Friday. I only had two days to practice it, and I scored really well for doing it for my first time,” Evans said.

“I’m excited [for districts]. “I think I definitely grew from the beginning. I used to be so nervous, and now it’s just fun, and I’ve definitely gotten better.”

Rogers scored a 6, 8, 8 on his back one straight, receiving loud applause from both Liberty and Freedom fans.

“I was really happy. I was shocked, actually,” Rogers said. “You can usually tell right when you go in the water and how fast you hit the bottom. I didn’t know they were going to score it that well, but it’s good.”

Liberty diving coach Jeff Zettlemoyer had been holding four-hour practices on some Saturdays in addition to after school practices in preparation for recent and upcoming 11-dive meets, including districts.

“Kellen is working on the reverse double and inward double. He had the reverse last year. This year he threw the inward double, landed in a cannonball, but he knows he can do that,” Zettlemoyer said. “Sergio’s got a few dives to get qualified, the front double, the back double, the double reverse. He has to be ready for districts. He’s got talent, but he’s got a lot on his plate.

“Cara is somewhat of a perfectionist, which is a good thing, but at the same time, she knows where her liabilities and her shortcomings are. We’re working on her back two-and-a-half, a 2.7 dive, and her back three-and-a-half, a 3.2 dive. Alicia has one or two dives to bring up in this meet.”

The District XI Diving Championships are scheduled for Feb. 24 at Emmaus High School.