Prep diving: West's Nathan Makarewicz wins 4th title

Provo • Even after he had his fourth straight state diving title all but wrapped up on Thursday, Nathan Makarewicz kept going back to the diving board.

The West High School star went after the diving board and practiced two different dives three times apiece. Despite winning his fourth gold medal in four years, the future Princeton diver was aiming for a personal best in this year's state meet, but he fell a bit short.

"There wasn't as much pressure to win this one," he said. "But I put pressure on myself to do my best."

While he finished more than 86 points ahead of the second-place finisher, Makarewicz said he was disappointed in his two sub-par dives of the six he performed after spending the last two weeks practicing those in particular.

"Wasn't quite there," he said.

The Panther senior who carries a 4.49 weighted GPA will continue his diving career with the Ivy League Tigers next year and leaves Utah prep diving at the pinnacle of the sport he hopes evolves in popularity.

"I hope I made a mark," he said. "Hopefully this will draw a little bit of attention."

For Murray High senior Savanna Goudie, a herniated disc and a broken foot drove her toward giving diving a whirl — and eventually led her to a state championship.

After being a competitive gymnast for 13 years, Goudie had to figure out another sport to fall in love with after her injuries forced her out of high-end gymnastics.

"I figured why not try diving," she said. "It's similar. I tried it, and I loved it."

On Thursday at Brigham Young, Goudie became a high school state champion in the 2013 women's state diving meet.

The Spartan had a final score of 206.40, nearly 15 full points ahead of the second-place finisher.

Although she smiled, gold medal around her neck, Goudie's transition to diving wasn't easy. She became a full-time diver two years ago and, in last year's state diving final, struggled. A fifth-place finish left a sour taste in her mouth, making Thursday's gold that much sweeter.

"It was a hard year last year," she said, "but I trained a lot harder."

That persistence paid off.

Even before she ran away from the field, Goudie said she was noticeably shaky coming into the final high school diving meet of her career.

"It was nerve-wracking, and I was scared," she said, "but I pulled through."

Gold medal in hand.

ckamrani@sltrib.com

Twitter: @chriskamrani —

State diving championships

Thursday, at BYU

Top six medalists

Girls' final

1. Savanna Goudie, Murray (206.40)

2. Elaina Thomas, Skyline (191.50)

3. Maci Winn, Highland (179.40)

4. Ali Kooyman, Highland (172.15)

5. Kayla Frett, Bear River (162.35)

6. Sara Hancock, Pine View (159.60)

Boys' final

1. Nathan Makarewicz, West (313.45)

2. Calvin Cook, Highland (227.35)

3. Keaton Quinn, Park City (219.30)

4. Thomas Fackrell, Brighton (182.20)

5. Clark Manwaring, Skyline (172.60)

6. Kale Winder, Snow Canyon (154.95)