Westside diver ranks among best in the state

The Metro Conference Swimming and Diving Championships are upon us once again in Omaha. The best swimmers and divers compete for a chance to keep their season alive and advance to the State Championships. Amelia Ward hopes to do the same this weekend as the senior dives for Westside High School. 

Ward became one of the top divers in Nebraska, after she finished in 13th place at the state meet in 2022, with a score of 319.35. Ward continued her success in her senior year by taking first place in the diving competition at the Burke Invitational in December.

Last month Ward won the diving title at the Westside Invitational with a score of 403.60. She helped the Warriors capture the team title with 511 points. Ward is flying high and believes she has what she needs to get the job done at state. 

“It means a lot because I worked really hard to get to where I am and it’s really joyful,” Ward said. “But honestly, I don’t. I don’t really care about getting the first or what I got, I guess. I’m kind of happy with where I got and I felt good about this meet and that’s personally what I think matters .Um, I scored pretty well. I broke 400 which was my goal for the season. And I got a 403.60. Scoring this also qualifies me for things like the All American program which I am super excited about.”

Her accomplishments speak for themselves but what about her individual dives. The dive itself is just as important as how you execute it after all. 

“I think my front one or my inward dive maybe,” Ward said. “I got a six and a half and a seven on those so I’m not too disappointed in the outcome overall.” 

After underperforming her first two years at state, Ward has aspirations to continue turning it around at state. She wants to use the energy the team has coming off the Westside Invite win to help her teammates in the days to come. Ava Johnson and Amanda Wachner finished in the top five at the Westside Invite.

“Ava scored some points and so did Amanda and that’s gonna go into great consideration,”Ward said. “ It’ll help us win in the future basically. So yeah, and everyone did amazing and I’m really excited to see what the future has in store for our team.”

Ward is driven and has a very strict work ethic in making sure her and her team make it as far as they possibly can. She has a vision and she will not stop until she reaches that vision. She is also proving she can perform under the pressure a diver must undergo when in a meet. 

“So I’m hoping the top five at Metros and also my goal for state,” Ward said. ‘But if I don’t, I’m just hoping to go home and be on the podium. I know that I have done everything I could and worked my tail off to be where I am today. So at the end of the day I am thankful wherever I end up.”