Woodside diver Sophia Wells shines at St. Ignatius Invitational

So, Wells took her diving act to San Francisco for the St. Ignatius Invitational — a Central Coast Section qualifier held Saturday, April 15 — and rose to the top of the leaderboard. Wells won the 12-diver tournament with a whopping score of 524.55. St. Ignatius’ Luci Karp took second place with 468.25.

“These meets are so much fun because I get to hang out with all my friends and catch up with people from other clubs,” Wells said. “So, honestly, I just have a lot of fun.”

Wells got better as the day went on. With a total of 11 dives, she scored modestly on her first four. Then, she won the fifth round, scoring 23.00 on a back 1 1/2 free with a 1 1/2 twist. She went on to win every round from there, including two personal high scores of 25.00 on each the inward 1 1/2 pike, and forward 1 1/2 pike.

“I definitely put some of my stronger dives last because it’s always nice to end on something you feel good about,” Wells said. “I feel like the scores reflect that.”

By virtue of her overall point total, Wells qualified for the CCS swimming and diving championships Saturday, May 6 at the George Haines International Swim Center in Santa Clara. It is the second year Wells has qualified for the CCS championships. Last season, the CCS qualifier at the Palo Alto Invitational, and her ninth-place finish at the CCS championships, were the first two performances of her varsity career.

Wells does the majority of her competitive diving for Stanford Diving Club. She’s got six years of diving experience, having transitioned from gymnastics — a sport she admittedly hated — to diving when she was in middle school. She has certainly made a name for herself, as she is committed to compete at the NCAA Division I level at Columbia University next season.

Still, Wells is focused on making her mark at Woodside for a program that hasn’t featured a competitive diver in over a decade. It gives the Wildcats an advantage as diving points are added to the overall team score at the CCS championships. But the pressure was on at St. Ignatius, as it was the only invitational qualifier Wells was scheduled to compete in this season.

“It was definitely a one-shot deal,” Woodside head coach Stephanie Couch said. “So, it is a lot of pressure, but they take it in stride.”

Stanford Diving Club coach Megan Parker certainly had Wells geared up to take the CCS qualifier in stride. While on the coaching staff at Palo Alto, Wells coaches a majority of the divers who competed at the St. Ignatius Invitational in the club season.

Parker was fundamental in introducing Wells to the sport. Parker’s daughter Madeleine — a San Mateo native and Castilleja graduate who is now a sophomore diver at University of Pennsylvania — used to compete in gymnastics with Wells. When Wells was ready to move on from gymnastics, Parker recommended she give diving a try.

Wells took to the water landings immediately.

“I would say Sophia’s strengths are her powerfulness — she’s really powerful and strong, so she gets a really great ride on the board, which means she gets a lot of height on her dives,” Parker said. “She also has really great air awareness. She knows where she is in the air. So, both of those skills make her able to do the higher degree of difficulty dives, and that really helps.”

Wells’ standout performance at the CCS qualifier wasn’t exactly a bolt from the blue. She competes concurrently on the Junior Olympic diving circuit. Friday, she began competing in the JO regional qualifiers in Novato.

“I felt pretty ready because I’ve been competing in diving … for six years,” Wells said. “So, I’ve been competing in diving for a while. … I’m really not new to this competition game.”

The way Wells talked about the St. Ignatius Invitational, it sounded like something of a pool party. Competing with Carlmont’s Camille Ching (who took third place with a score of 459.25) was quite the reunion, as the two were teammates on Wells’ first diving group at the Stanford Diving Club. Wells also trains with Crystal Springs’ Audrey Carris (fourth place, 439.50) and San Mateo’s Lilla Kuziemko (fifth place, 425.60).

Wells raved about one of Ching’s dives, one of the highlights of the meet, that scored mostly 9s from the five judges.

“It was such a great moment,” Wells said. “We were all just cheering for her because it was such a gorgeous dive.”

With the varsity circuit limited to the 1-meter springboard, Wells said she is anticipating the college circuit next season, where she will compete in the 1-meter, 3-meter and platform dives.

“I’m hoping to compete in all three boards in college, and I think it’s going to be a blast,” Wells said. “I’m so excited.”