High school state diving: Twin bid for repeat falls short in new format’s debut
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- Graham Leslie defended boys 1-meter title with a 724.30 total.
- Ballard’s Fiona Sheehan edged Sydney Leslie after prelim scores carried over.
- KHSAA’s 6-dive experiment raised participation, made state meets All‑American ineligible.
As sophomores in 2025, Lexington Catholic’s Graham and Sydney Leslie swept the top spots in their respective 1-meter dives.
Graham defended his title in the boys competition ;this year, but twin sister Sydney found herself in a stiffer battle and ultimately placed second to Ballard’s Fiona Sheehan.
Graham had no equal Friday at the University of Kentucky’s Lancaster Aquatic Center. He finished with an aggregate score of 724.30, more than 100 points in front of Simon Kenton senior Isaiah Reinhart.
Graham was the only diver in the boys finals to earn a single-dive score higher than 70, and he did so twice: on a forward 2½-somersault pike and a forward 1½-somersault 2-twist free. His final dive, a reverse 2½ somersault tuck, had a 3.0 degree of difficulty.
“I think that I dove the best I could. My last dive I could have done better, but all my other dives, I’m really proud of myself,” Graham said. “I think that I did better than last year. My score was better than last year. It’s one of my best meets this year.”
In the girls finals, Sheehan and Sydney Leslie each scored 285.35. Sheehan got the edge, 266.80-256.30, in the preliminary round, the scores from which carried over.
“The first round I was a bit nervous,” said Sydney, who attributed some of those nerves to the pressure of defending her title. “It is what it is. I’m still proud of how I did and I’m just gonna come back next year stronger.”
For Sheehan, also a junior, the outcome was indicative of quite the come-up. In the same meet last season, she finished ninth overall, one spot outside a top-eight medal.
“Sydney’s so good, and I think that she deserved it, but I’m obviously happy about it,” Sheehan said. “I thought I was probably gonna place top five, maybe fifth, so it’s surprising. Today I really just tried to keep myself positive because sometimes I’m not good at that, and I think that really helped me out today when I needed it.”
Sydney in the preliminary round attempted two dives with a 2.4 degree of difficulty and another with a 2.7 degree of difficulty; Sheehan’s highest degree-of-difficulty dive in that round, a forward 2½-somersault tuck, was rated 2.4. That was also her only 2.4-rated dive in the finals.
Sheehan scored 45.60 and 46.80, respectively, on that dive. Sydney attempted that same dive in both rounds, too; she matched Sheehan’s score in the finals but scored 10.8 points lower on it in the preliminary round.
“I’ve been struggling on that dive,” Sheehan said. “That’s been one of the hardest dives for me to fix and actually be able to get it in there. That one made me feel a little bit more confident in myself today. I was a bit, I don’t know, more powerful.”
KHSAA diving format shakeup
Due to declining participation rates in recent years, the KHSAA sought permission from the National Federation of High School Associations (NFHS) to conduct a three-year experiment reducing the number of dives in its regional and state championships.
This year, KHSAA meets featured six dives in the preliminary rounds followed by a cut, then six dives in the finals. This contrasts with the normal 11-dive competition format, which included five dives in the preliminaries, a cut, three more dives in the semifinals, another cut, and three dives in the finals.
In addition, the requirements for those dives changed from needing one “voluntary” dive from each of the five basic dive groups (forward, back, reverse, inward, twisting) to requiring just one “voluntary” dive from only one of the groups.
The five other dives in the region and state finals could be “optional” dives, which are typically the higher-difficulty dives involving twists and somersaults. Divers could perform the same six dives in both the prelims and finals in the experimental format.
The change makes the region and state events ineligible for All-American status consideration, but the KHSAA made allowances for divers to add more 11-dive meets to their regular season schedule if they desired.
Abby Jackson, an assistant commissioner with the KHSAA, said the association is soliciting feedback from coaches and other stakeholders but that the most desired outcome — heightened participation — was evident in year one. Forty boys and 39 girls participated this weekend; 26 boys and 16 girls, respectively, competed in last year’s state meet.
“Our main goal was to get participation up, and we did that,” Jackson said. “That gap between (competitor) one and 40 was probably a little bigger than it normally would be, but we haven’t had 40, I think, in five years. Giving No. 39, 40, that opportunity to come to state was what we wanted.”
2026 KHSAA State Diving Championships results
At the University of Kentucky’s Lancaster Aquatic Center on Feb. 20-21. Medalists (top eight) and any other Lexington finalists listed.
Boys: 1. Graham Leslie, Lexington Catholic, 724.30; 2. Isaiah Reinhart, Simon Kenton, 570; 3. William Darnell, Bourbon County, 547.90; 4. Austin Maley, Dixie Heights, 535.70; 5. Will Rogers, St. Xavier, 530.65; 6. Nathan Lackner, Oldham County, 488.5; 7. Wes Hampel, Ryle, 439.45; 8. Jeremiah Lewis, Bowling Green, 409.30; 10. Patrick Donworth, Sayre, 407.55; 11. Sebastian Stone, Henry Clay, 396.30
Girls: 1. Fiona Sheehan, Ballard, 552.15; 2. Sydney Leslie, Lexington Catholic, 541.65; 3. Leila Macaulay, Assumption, 490; 4. Savannah Bien, Notre Dame, 488.8; 5. Chris Nowak, Cooper, 487.05; 6. Addie Tinkler, Highlands, 480.35; 7. Sophie Kroggel, Lafayette, 469.70; 8. Ella Bottom, Danville, 465.50; 15. Dylan Steckler, Lexington Christian Academy, 365.35
This story was originally published February 21, 2026 at 8:17 PM.
