Huntington's Arceri Suffolk diving champ
Molly Arceri of Huntington adjusts her cap between dives and finished first in diving in the Suffolk girls swimming and diving championships, Saturday, in Brentwood. (Nov. 12, 2011) Credit: John Dunn
Huntington senior Molly Arceri made history Saturday, becoming just the second person to win three straight Suffolk girls diving championships. Arceri finished with a score of 499.25, just four points shy of the Gayle Rudofsky's 2002 county record of 503.75.
"This win is very satisfying since it's my final year," said Arceri, who will be diving for Towson University on a scholarship next year. "It's a little disappointing that I wasn't able to break the record, but I'm still very pleased with my performance."
With her family and teammates from both her school and club teams in attendance, Arceri won by almost 80 points and improved on last year's score by almost 50 points.
"I wouldn't be anywhere without my coaches, my parents, and my teammates," she said. "I'm happy all of them were here to support me because I couldn't do it without them."
After placing eighth in counties during her freshman year, Arceri went to Long Island diving coach George Taylor III with hopes of improving.
"Her approach was off, she wasn't jumping properly, and she had no balance," Taylor recalled. "We started working on those things and she's been winning ever since."
Only three dives earned a score of 10, and Arceri earned two of them on back-to-back attempts.
Arceri finished 12th in the state championships last year and said she is looking to place in the top five this year.
Carly Rosen of Half Hollow Hills finished second (420.75), and Rachel Heymach of Sachem North came in third (410.75) to qualify for the states.
