LOOKING ... Blue Valley sophomore diver Lauren Wismer ices the 2007 All-Sun Swimmer/Diver of the Year honor.
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She's making headlines
BY: Charles Redfield, Associate Sports Editor
Lauren Wismer did not enjoy reading the newspaper articles heading into the state girls swimming meet May 18-19.
The articles in the daily paper touted Shawnee Mission East High School sophomore Logan Kline as the favorite on the one-meter diving board because she set a record at the Sunflower League swimming meet in early May.
Wismer, a sophomore at Blue Valley High School, had beaten Kline in a meet in April and had won the East Kansas League diving competition in early May.
“It made me a little mad,” she said. “It made me want to win it more.”
Wismer led almost throughout the state competition, winning with an 11-dive score of 468.5 to 432.25 for Logan.
Wismer posted a score of 475 in winning the Olathe Invitational April 7 at Prairie Trail Junior High School and a 479 in winning the EKL.
She finished the 2007 season undefeated.
“She is a tremendous hard worker who sets her goals high,” 10-year Blue Valley diving coach Bridget Allen said. “She works hard to achieve her goals. She is not only a great diver, but a great person to be around.”
And now Wismer adds another title – the 2007 All-Sun Girls Swimmer-Diver of the Year. The award is selected by the Sun's sports staff.
In addition to her high school diving, Wismer participated in the 2007 Spring Junior West National Championships April 27-29 in Mission Viejo, Calif.
She placed 10th on the three-meter board with a score of 348.55 and 12th on the one-meter at 310.15.
Wismer has been diving since the age of 11. She started in the program at the Leawood city pool and progressed to several club teams in the greater Kansas City metropolitan area.
Another sport got her interested in diving.
“I was a gymnast and my dad (Chuck) had been a diver at Shawnee Mission West,” she said. “Gymnastics and diving are very similar. It is easy to switch from gymnastics to diving.”
She has participated in club diving with three clubs – the Kansas City Stars, Jayhawk Diving and now the Kansas City Dive Club.
Wismer boasts international experience, too, diving in August of 2006 in Shanghai, China.
She placed third on the platform, fifth on the one-meter board and 13th on the three-meter board.
The 16-year-old endured an unfortunate diving mishap in the summer of 2005, hitting the board on a dive and hurting her fingers badly enough that she could not dive.
“I damaged my hand hitting the board,” she said. “I was shaken up and took a break from diving.”
She started diving again in late February for Blue Valley High.
Wismer had been away from the sport for almost a year but still finished fourth at the state meet. She earned All-Sun first-team honors.
She enjoys diving.
“I like trying new stuff,” she said. “I like jumping off the platform. It is fun doing harder dives.”
Wismer's favorite diving comes from the platform. She does not get a lot of chances to perform off the platform because there are not a lot of competitions that include the platform.
She is a diver who does not like to lose. Her best divers are the reverse one and a half from a pike position and the front two and a half from the pike position.
Her goal is to keep doing her best. She wants to break the state meet record for diving. The record is 538.45, set by Tammy Crystal of Blue Valley Northwest in 1998.
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The articles in the daily paper touted Shawnee Mission East High School sophomore Logan Kline as the favorite on the one-meter diving board because she set a record at the Sunflower League swimming meet in early May.
Wismer, a sophomore at Blue Valley High School, had beaten Kline in a meet in April and had won the East Kansas League diving competition in early May.
“It made me a little mad,” she said. “It made me want to win it more.”
Wismer led almost throughout the state competition, winning with an 11-dive score of 468.5 to 432.25 for Logan.
Wismer posted a score of 475 in winning the Olathe Invitational April 7 at Prairie Trail Junior High School and a 479 in winning the EKL.
She finished the 2007 season undefeated.
“She is a tremendous hard worker who sets her goals high,” 10-year Blue Valley diving coach Bridget Allen said. “She works hard to achieve her goals. She is not only a great diver, but a great person to be around.”
And now Wismer adds another title – the 2007 All-Sun Girls Swimmer-Diver of the Year. The award is selected by the Sun's sports staff.
In addition to her high school diving, Wismer participated in the 2007 Spring Junior West National Championships April 27-29 in Mission Viejo, Calif.
She placed 10th on the three-meter board with a score of 348.55 and 12th on the one-meter at 310.15.
Wismer has been diving since the age of 11. She started in the program at the Leawood city pool and progressed to several club teams in the greater Kansas City metropolitan area.
Another sport got her interested in diving.
“I was a gymnast and my dad (Chuck) had been a diver at Shawnee Mission West,” she said. “Gymnastics and diving are very similar. It is easy to switch from gymnastics to diving.”
She has participated in club diving with three clubs – the Kansas City Stars, Jayhawk Diving and now the Kansas City Dive Club.
Wismer boasts international experience, too, diving in August of 2006 in Shanghai, China.
She placed third on the platform, fifth on the one-meter board and 13th on the three-meter board.
The 16-year-old endured an unfortunate diving mishap in the summer of 2005, hitting the board on a dive and hurting her fingers badly enough that she could not dive.
“I damaged my hand hitting the board,” she said. “I was shaken up and took a break from diving.”
She started diving again in late February for Blue Valley High.
Wismer had been away from the sport for almost a year but still finished fourth at the state meet. She earned All-Sun first-team honors.
She enjoys diving.
“I like trying new stuff,” she said. “I like jumping off the platform. It is fun doing harder dives.”
Wismer's favorite diving comes from the platform. She does not get a lot of chances to perform off the platform because there are not a lot of competitions that include the platform.
She is a diver who does not like to lose. Her best divers are the reverse one and a half from a pike position and the front two and a half from the pike position.
Her goal is to keep doing her best. She wants to break the state meet record for diving. The record is 538.45, set by Tammy Crystal of Blue Valley Northwest in 1998.