Feb 22, 2019 2 min read

The successful completion of defending a championship can be a difficult task.

But Anna Vogt seemed to be unfazed in pursuit of her second straight WPIAL Class AA diving championship.

The Ringgold High School senior easily beat her competition and won her second district championship Friday afternoon at South Park High School.

Vogt’s 436.05 point total outdistanced second-place Alexa Gonczi of Connellsville (378.25) and Kristen Jerich of Knoch (340.20).

Ringgold’s Jonnie McDuffie placed sixth in the boys competition and advanced to the state championships.

A year ago, Vogt won the title late in the competition. This time, she was in control of both her opponents and her emotions.

“I didn’t want to win it as a junior and then not win it as a senior,” Vogt said. “Any nerves I might have had went away once I completed the drives that are hard or iffy for me after the first round. When I got through that, I was confident and ready.

“I wasn’t anymore confident than I was last year. But I did know what the competition would be like. I don’t think anything affected me too much.”

Vogt will next compete in the PIAA Championships (March 13-16) at Kinney Natatorium at Bucknell University in Lewisburg.

Vogt placed third in the PIAA a year ago. She was a third-place finisher in the WPIAL as a sophomore.

In competition, each dive is judged with a point total which is then multiplied by the degree of difficulty of each specific dive. Each dive is added together to reach the overall point total.

Vogt said she has decided to attend Clarion University and will be competing with the dive team.

“I don’t think winning the WPIAL championship last year made me work any harder this year,” Vogt said. “I worked as hard last year as I did this year. I really wasn’t focusing on anything other than doing the best I could.”