Manhasset's Victoria Wang wins Nassau diving title

Manhasset’s Victoria Wang smiled as she walked up to the edge of the diving board and turned backward. She bounced a few times before she finally leapt off the board, submerging into the water as the judges prepared their scores.

As she arose, Wang, a freshman, scored 56.25, clinching the Nassau county girls diving championship.

“On my last dive, I’m thinking ‘I had a long day, and I just want to complete my dive to do well,' ” Wang said. “And just try to do the best that I can.”

Wang finished with 604.35 points, leading the second place winner Rachel Yang by 39.75 points. Yang, who dives for Jericho, had 564.60 points. Farmingdale’s Gabriella Cullen placed third with 384.20.

“Actually, Rachel and I dive together outside of this,” Wang said. “Practicing with her every day keeps me motivated to be just as good as her.”

Yang dove moments before Wang’s final attempt. Wang, however, didn’t know how many points she needed to win. Manhasset coach Matt McGrane finally told her the results of the championship after she came out of the water.

“My coach usually tells me not to look at the score, so I can do the best that I can,” Wang said. “And the score will naturally come to me.”

Wang’s final attempt had a 2.5 degree of difficulty, as she completed a backward 1.5 somersault, 1.5 twists, free dive. She practices all year, so McGrane knew she was ready for today.

“I got to give that credit to her year-round coach, I’m just her high school coach …” McGrane said. “They’re super dedicated. I’m grateful that she’s on our team, and I taught her when she was younger, too, and it’s great to see her develop as an exceptional diver but also as a person, too.”

Wang and Yang both qualified for the state tournament and will dive on Nov. 18-19 in Rochester.