North Catholic’s Maggie Foley collects 3rd silver medal in PIAA Class 2A girls diving

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, March 15, 2023 | 3:31 PM

Purchase Photo Options

North Catholic senior Maggie Foley had gold on her mind Wednesday afternoon at the PIAA Class 2A girls diving championships at Bucknell University.

She finished runner-up the past two years to Marple Newtown graduate Alexandra Pastris.

But the Pitt commit’s rise to the top of the podium was cut off by District 11 champ Anna Petke, a senior from Bethlehem Catholic.

Petke edged Foley by 6.80 points in the PIAA’s revamped format from the traditional 11 rounds to six rounds. Petke finished fourth at states last year.

“I thought I did really well,” said Foley, who captured her fourth WPIAL title Feb. 24 at North Allegheny. “I am not really sure what happened with the judges on a couple of my dives. I dove cleaner than I did at WPIALs and cleaner than any other year that I dove here.

“My last dive at WPIALs, which was one of my repeated 12th dive, didn’t score lower than 54 points. When I got out of the water and I saw a 45, I think me and a lot of people in the stands were wondering what’s going on. The judging can be pretty subjective sometimes. But I felt I did my best.”

Foley was the No. 1 seed for the state meet as a freshman, but she was not able to go after a state title as the PIAA canceled the Class 2A meet in 2020 amidst the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.

“An 11-dive meet would’ve been what we wanted to see because that is what they should be doing,” North Catholic diving coach Joella Baker said. “But she couldn’t have dove any better today. She did fantastic. She’s such a competitor. I am very proud of her.”

The WPIAL owned a third of the 24 spots in the Class 2A competition, and two of those divers – Quaker Valley sophomore Ruby Ollifie and Hampton freshman Gabby Elk – grabbed top-eight medals.

Ollifie finished seventh overall with a 210.20 point total. She was sixth last year in her PIAA debut.

Elk, making her PIAA debut Wednesday, placed eighth with a total of 209.75 points.

The other five WPIAL divers finished within the top 18.

Northgate junior Lilia Mackenzie was 10th, Quaker Valley junior Kate Blackmer 11th, Montour senior Sydney Jarvis 13th, Quaker Valley sophomore Ruby Krotine 15th and Thomas Jefferson junior Addison Arndt 18th.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.