Arceri Reflects on Suffolk Diving Title
Molly Arceri recently found some time to step back and reflect on a whirlwind season. The Huntington High School sophomore won the Suffolk diving crown and earned a trip to the state championships.
It was a year filled with hard work and one that the teenager called “pretty intense.” After an eighth place finish in the county meet as a freshman, Ms. Arceri said she knew she “had to train harder than ever” and she did just that.
No sooner had last season ended, than the Huntington star resumed workouts with her club coach. “He is probably was one of the toughest coaches I ever had to endure, but he is also very passionate about the sport of diving,” Ms. Arceri said. “From my first practice with him he told me that if I put all the time in with him he would make me a county champion.”
But, when it came time to setting goals, winning the Suffolk title wasn’t at the top of the list. “I just wanted to qualify for the states,” Ms. Arceri said. “My very first meet this past season I was up against the Suffolk diving champ from last year, so I knew I had to throw all my hardest dives to beat her, yet I had just learned some of them and it wasn't my best meet, so she took first place and I took second.”
That loss was followed by six consecutive regular season victories. “As the season went on and my dives were getting better, I would leave school with my high school coach and we would practice at Half Hollow Hills then I would come home and my mom would drive me to Hofstra or the Eisenhower Park Aquatic Center for a few more hours of practice,” the sophomore said. The Half Hollow Hills facility is a free-standing structure adjacent to Hills West High School and is a hotspot for swimmers and divers.
When the regular season ended, Ms. Arceri, who worked closely with Huntington diving coach Meg McConnell, was ranked first in Suffolk and seventh in New York. “When counties came I felt very confident,” she said. “I knew if I stayed focused and remembered all my mechanics for each dive, I could do well.”
The support of dozens of family members and friends at the Suffolk finals also helped. “At the end of the meet we had to wait for all the scores to be tallied up and when they announced my name as the county champ I was so excited,” Ms. Arceri said. “I enjoyed that moment, but I knew I still had another tough meet at the states.”
As expected, the state finals featured an exceptional set of divers. “You could see the competition would be tough, but I felt I had nothing to loose but try my best,” the Huntington sophomore said. “I just missed making the finals so I didn’t place, but the experience was great and hopefully next season I will come back stronger and place.”
“Molly has been a great asset to the varsity team since seventh grade,” said Chris Helmke, Huntington’s head coach, who said the county title and trip to the states is “an awesome accomplishment for a tenth grader.”
Although the high school season is now in the history books, Ms. Arceri has not strayed from the sport. “Diving for me never ends,” she said. “I continue to dive even now in the off-season. My club coach is preparing us for regional meets and the AAU Nationals, which I have qualified for already. My goals are to continue diving right through college.”
This past season she shattered a pair of Huntington diving records, but Ms. Arceri is already taking aim of both of them. “I plan to beat those scores again next season,” she said.
At the Blue Devils’ team dinner, Ms. Arceri garnered the MVP Award in recognition of her superb season. “I felt so honored and thankful,” she said. “This showed that all my hard work paid off.”
Ms. Arceri is a three-sport athlete for Huntington. Last weekend she finished first at a winter track and field meet, throwing the shot put a personal best distance of 28’6. She also plays lacrosse in the spring.
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