COUGAR COMPOSURE

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PLAINFIELD — Composure might be the biggest trait skilled divers possess. However, erasing a poor attempt from one’s memory is usually easier said than done.

Greenfield-Central junior Shyanne Milne learned just that Tuesday at the Plainfield Diving Regional, battling a slow start to eventually earn a spot in this Saturday’s IHSAA State Finals for the second-straight season.

Milne finished in seventh place with a score of 357.10. Last year, she finished in fourth place at the Brownsburg Regional after scoring a 403.60.

“I am super excited,” Milne said after the meet. “I knew I wasn’t going to be at the top, but I am excited to be going back.

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“I was kind of nervous, usually the first dives are my easy ones. Today they weren’t the hottest dives I’ve done, but I caught up.”

Plainfield senior Molly Fears and Centerville senior Brooke Madden went neck-and-neck the entire meet before Madden pulled away and won with a score of 526.70. Fears scored a 513.30.

Fears led Madden 238.0- 227.95 after five dives (out of 11) while Milne was in ninth at the break. After eight semifinal rounds, Milne moved to seventh place with 265.55 points, allowing her to move on to the final round of diving (top 12 of 20).

“If you miss a dive you still have 10 more, so you can’t get down on yourself,” Cougars head coach Duane Knecht said. “Of course that’s easy to do, and we had a little issue with that tonight on the first three dives. She rebounded well after the slow start.

“It (composure) is very critical. You have to be on every dive at the state meet if you want to keep making the cut. You have to have a calm demeanor.”

Milne’s best score came on her fourth dive — after calming down — when she scored a 38.50.

At the New Palestine Sectional last weekend, Milne finished in third behind Madden and senior Rebeka Elza of Hagerstown (fifth Tuesday).

Her final score of 423.85, which broke her own school record by 19 points, would have been good enough to win other sectionals around the state, including Plainfield, Crawfordsville and Ben Davis — all feeder sectionals into the Plainfield Regional.

At state last season, Milne scored a 126.70 in the preliminary round, failing to advance to the semifinals. She finished 31st overall.

Junior Brooke Schultz of Hamilton Heights won the title last season (563.65) after breaking the old state finals record by nearly 20 points.

But with her added sense of serenity, Milne is confident she will top last year’s finish.

“I wasn’t used to competing by myself,” Milne recalled of last season’s state finals. “It was brand new to me. I am more confident this year, because I’ve been there and know a lot more of the divers now.

“Last year, I changed so much stuff. This year I’ve had good repetition.”

The state finals begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday at IUPUI’s Natatorium for preliminary and semifinal rounds. The consolation rounds for both swimming and diving will begin at 1 p.m.

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Plainfield Diving Results (Top 8)

Name, School;Score

Brooke Madden, Centerville; 526.70

Molly Fears, Plainfield;513.30

Evie Geier, International School;413.90

Gracie Teirnon, Heritage Christian;398.90

Rebeka Elza, Hagerstown;396.35

Lexi Blackburn, Cascade;365.79

Shyanne Milne, Greenfield-Central;357.10

Kamrin Bick, Twin Lakes;331.85

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