Manhasset junior Victoria Wang captured first place in the Nassau Co. diving meet on Nov. 6. Photo courtesy of Victoria Wang.
Victoria Wang is alone up there on the 1-meter platform diving board.
Elite competitors at her level are used to being alone; they spend so much time in solitary thought during practices and competitions that they’re used to having no one around.
But when the Manhasset High School junior wasn’t a part of the set swim and dive team in 2023, she truly felt a void.
It turns out that even divers need other people!
“I had a good reason for not being on the team last year, but I was so upset I didn’t do it,” Wang said. “Because in high school competitions, the divers usually go first, and then I get to interact with the swimmers more. You get hyped up and then can support them for a while. And I really love doing that.’
Wang missed her sophomore season because she was training for U.S. Winter Nationals, an elite diving meet, but she has returned to high school events with a vengeance this season, and on Nov. 6, she dominated all competition at the Nassau County meet.
Winning the county dive title for the third time, Wang scored 563.70 points, 101 points ahead of her second-place teammate, Adeline Chen.
“Her degree of difficulty just keeps increasing and she gets better and better every day,” said Manhasset head coach Matt McGrane. “This year, she’s even more consistent with her entries, and she’s so dedicated to the sport. She’s just so much fun to watch.”
Wang, who has orally committed to diving at Harvard University in college, said she decided to skip high school season because diving on the 3-meter platform is what most elite competitions are held on, and she certainly held her own at the Winter Nationals (finishing 14th out of 35 female competitors).
“It gave me a lot of confidence because the judges at Winter Nationals are pro judges, and you have to be really good to impress them,” Wang said. “And I really like 3-meter because you get more time in the air.”
While Wang and Chen both advanced to states, Manhasset’s swimmers also excelled. Junior Samantha Anderson, who nabbed two top-eight finishes at states last year, took first place at the county meet in the 100 free (52.3 seconds) and second in the 200 free (1:52.47.)
Her best event may be the 500 free, which she’ll swim at states along with the 200 free.
Manhasset’s Shannon Reddington also made states in the 100 breaststroke, while Set’s 200 medley relay team of Anderson, Reddington, Kasey Anderson (Sam’s sister) and Lauren Spencer-Edwards also will be going to Rochester on Nov. 21-22.
Longtime girls swimming standout Herricks High School also had an outstanding meet, coming in second as a team behind Syosset.
The big individual winner, and the athlete voted “Swimmer of the Meet” was junior Natalie Wu.
Wu, also a state qualifier last year, had a dominant performance, capturing first place in both the 50 free (24.69) and the 100 butterfly. As if that wasn’t enough, Wu swam anchor on Herricks’ 200 free relay team, which took first as well.
“She’s been getting stronger and stronger all year and she just swam faster and faster in every race at counties,” Herricks coach Danielle Sullivan said. “There was a lot of hype around the 50 free and she had the competitive edge on everybody.”
Wu said the energy around the 50 free is “always intense” and that it fueled her.
“I just really wanted to swim fast because of all the people around the pool screaming and cheering,” Wu said. “I was really nervous but I was happy to win.”
Herricks’ Kayra Patan also punched her ticket to states, winning the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:03.00, a time so fast it put the sophomore into All-American contention. Patan will also swim the 200 IM at states.
And Herricks’ 200 free and 200 medley relay team also made it to states as well.
“I think Kayra and Natalie both have a shot at getting Top 5 or better,” Sullivan said. “They’ve both had just incredible seasons.”
