Diving In … And Making A Splash — Divers Go From Beginner Status To State Qualifiers In A Hurry

By Andy Hutchison

Neither sophomore Noelle Benson nor freshman Natalie Poeltl had any experience in diving before this past summer. But the Newtown High Schoolers picked up the ins and outs of the athletic activity in a hurry, and ended up as the team’s state championship qualifiers by the time their introductory season to diving came to a close.

Talk about diving into something and making a splash in short time.

Benson placed 13th and Poeltl was 22nd in the Class LL state diving finals at Hamden High on November 10. Benson had a finals score of 260.20 to earn 14 points for the swimming and diving team, and Poeltl had a 227.40 for three points. Ten of the 12 divers ahead of Benson are juniors or seniors, and Poeltl was one of just four first-year high schoolers to place in the championships as a top-24 finisher.

The girls both trained under the tutelage of New Fairfield High Coach Tom Lovelett in the summertime as they got prepared for the fall high school campaign.

Poeltl is following in the footsteps of her sister, former Newtown High diver and captain Liz Poeltl. “I also did gymnastics when I was little,” said the younger Poeltl, explaining what gave her a leg up in preparing for the school season this past summer.

Benson, too, has past gymnastics — along with cheerleading — experience, which goes a long way in both having the knack for performing spins and flips in the air, as well as the mindset it takes to pull off some pretty daring moves.

“A lot of it’s mental and you have to get over that to go for it,” Benson said of diving. “I like the competitive aspect of it because I’m a pretty competitive person.”

“I’m also kind of competitive, too. I just look to beat my own score,” Poeltl adds.

Poeltl notes that she gains some of her confidence from the encouragement of Ryan Cutler, the diving coach at Newtown High. “If my coach thinks I can do it, then I think I can do it,” she says.

Both diving competitors still have most of their high school careers ahead of them as they look to tweak their dives and improve. “I’m looking forward to it a lot because my goals are higher for myself,” Benson said.

“I’m excited. I just want to get better and better each year,” Poeltl added.