Popple dives into state meet

New Prague High School’s Ellen Popple placed second in diving at the Section 2AA Swim and Dive meet Friday, Nov. 9, at Minnetonka.

The second place finish earned her a spot at this week’s State Class AASwim and Dive meet at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center. Diving preliminaries were scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14. Those advancing beyond preliminaries will compete in the finals on Friday, Nov. 16.

Led by Popple, the Trojans placed sixth out of nine teams at the Section meet. Minnetonka won the championship with 580.5 points, followed by Eden Prairie with 478. Next was Prior Lake/Jordan (322), Chanhassen (249.5), Chaska (188), New Prague (108), Bloomington Jefferson (78), Shakopee (77) and Bloomington Kennedy (54).

The top four divers advanced to state, and the Trojans nearly had two qualifiers. Emmalyn Dickerson placed fifth, less than two points behind the fourthplace finisher. Diving champion was Faith Robinson of Minnetonka (385.94), with Popple second (341.8), Brianna Thornton of Eden Prairie (334.55) and Alissa Konz of Chanhassen (318.5). Dickerson’s score was 316.65. Lauren Kitner took 12th place with 276.58.

“Ellen was on fire,” New Prague Coach Tracy Torgerson said. “She had a personal best score for 11 dives at the meet. It was a really tough competition.”

The Trojan relay teams did well, with....

To see more on this story pick up the November 15, 2018 print edition of The New Prague Times.