Vest saves his best for last

LEWISBURG - The individual standings on the Kinney Natatorium scoreboard kept insisting Collin Vest wasn’t going to be part of any medal ceremony Saturday.

The Spartans senior diver simply decided otherwise.

Defying all logic - and at times the laws of physics - Vest twice beat long odds and captured a seventh place medal with his signature dive on his final attempt of the PIAA Swimming and Diving championships at Bucknell University.

“I had bad dives,” Vest said, “but after it’s all said and done, I’m happy with where I finished up, especially after the start I had.

“To be honest, the only time I ever looked at the scoreboard was after the final dive.”

It’s probably best Vest wasn’t watching the standings.

He nearly got lost in the preliminary round, and was out of a medal spot until his very last dive of the day before making two improbable rallies to reach the medal stand.

“You talk about a comeback!” yelled retiring Valley West diving coach Rob Jacobs.

It was one for the ages.

Using a triple-somersault pike on his 10th dive and a crowd-pleasing 1 1/2 somersault double-twister on his final attempt, Vest rolled up 103.7 during his final two high school dives to leapfrog three other competitors and reach the state medal stand.

His school mate, Spartans sophomore Ed Zawatski, couldn’t quite duplicate his fifth-place medal performance in Friday’s 50-yard freestyle. But he did earn a top-10 state finish in the 100-yard freestyle, taking second place in the consolation heat with a time of 46.16 seconds.

“It feels pretty good,” Zawatski said. “This whole weekend, with preliminaries and all the other races, there were ups and downs. And I got to come back (for night races). I received two opportunities and I accomplished something with both opportunities in the 50 and 100 freestyle.”

What Vest accomplished was improbable and astounding.

Because initially, it didn’t seem Vest would stand even a slight chance to secure a state medal.

After registering a total score of just 130, Vest sat in 23rd place - and needed to pass three other divers to make the state’s top 20 who advanced to the semifinal round.

“His first two dives are (usually) two of his best dives,” Valley West diving coach Rob Jacobs said. “They were fine, they were just not phenomenal. They just didn’t look polished.”

His fifth and final dive of the first round did.

Vest aced an inward 2 1/2 somersault so flawlessly, it registered a rare 60 on the judges’ scorecards and staved off early elimination.

He moved up 12 slots in the standings to 11th place, with 190.95 points entering the semifinals.

“Coaches from all over were complimenting him,” Jacobs said.

Vest was just getting started.

He scored a 50.40 on his opening dive of the semifinal round, which moved him to 10th place entering the three-dive finals.

Chances of medaling remained bleak for him, though, since Vest had to make up 15 points on a competitor to reach eighth place with two dives remaining.

His 10th dive moved him close.

He was the only diver at the state meet to execute a triple-somersault pike - landing feet-first in the water - and it registered a 46.4 on the scorecards and about a three on the richter scale, if rumbling from the stands was any indication.

“Everybody got a thrill from that one,” Jacobs said.

The biggest thrill was yet to come.

Cheered on by fellow diver and Valley West classmate Karina Zabresky, Vest came through in the clutch.

Sitting 10 points out of eighth place, Vest used his patented 1 1/2 somersault double-twister to finish his day, scoring a 57.2 to earn seventh place in the state for the second consecutive year.

“The twister, I’ve ended every meet with since my freshman year,” Vest said. “I feel like I did it pretty well. I’m happy with how I did it.”

“We’re just thrilled,” Jacobs said. “What a way to end a career.”He nearly got lost in the preliminary round, and was out of a medal spot until his very last dive of the day before making two improbable rallies to reach the medal stand.

“You talk about a comeback!” yelled retiring Valley West diving coach Rob Jacobs.

It was one for the ages.

Using a triple-somersault pike on his 10th dive and a crowd-pleasing 1 1/2 somersault double-twister on his final attempt, Vest rolled up 103.7 during his final two high school dives to leapfrog three other competitors and reach the state medal stand.

His school mate, Spartans sophomore Ed Zawatski, couldn’t quite duplicate his fifth-place medal performance in Friday’s 50-yard freestyle. But he did earn a top-10 state finish in the 100-yard freestyle, taking second place in the consolation heat with a time of 46.16 seconds.

“It feels pretty good,” Zawatski said. “This whole weekend, with preliminaries and all the other races, there were ups and downs. And I got to come back (for night races). I received two opportunities and I accomplished something with both opportunities in the 50 and 100 freestyle.”

What Vest accomplished was improbable and astounding.

Because initially, it didn’t seem Vest would stand even a slight chance to secure a state medal.

After registering a total score of just 130, Vest sat in 23rd place - and needed to pass three other divers to make the state’s top 20 who advanced to the semifinal round.

“His first two dives are (usually) two of his best dives,” Valley West diving coach Rob Jacobs said. “They were fine, they were just not phenomenal. They just didn’t look polished.”

His fifth and final dive of the first round did.

Vest aced an inward 2 1/2 somersault so flawlessly, it registered a rare 60 on the judges’ scorecards and staved off early elimination.

He moved up 12 slots in the standings to 11th place, with 190.95 points entering the semifinals.

“Coaches from all over were complimenting him,” Jacobs said.

Vest was just getting started.

He scored a 50.40 on his opening dive of the semifinal round, which moved him to 10th place entering the three-dive finals.

Chances of medaling remained bleak for him, though, since Vest had to make up 15 points on a competitor to reach eighth place with two dives remaining.

His 10th dive moved him close.

He was the only diver at the state meet to execute a triple-somersault pike - landing feet-first in the water - and it registered a 46.4 on the scorecards and about a three on the richter scale, if rumbling from the stands was any indication.

“Everybody got a thrill from that one,” Jacobs said.

The biggest thrill was yet to come.

Cheered on by fellow diver and Valley West classmate Karina Zabresky, Vest came through in the clutch.

Sitting 10 points out of eighth place, Vest used his patented 1 1/2 somersault double-twister to finish his day, scoring a 57.2 to earn seventh place in the state for the second consecutive year.

“The twister, I’ve ended every meet with since my freshman year,” Vest said. “I feel like I did it pretty well. I’m happy with how I did it.”

“We’re just thrilled,” Jacobs said. “What a way to end a career.”