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Bexley's Jackson Monus dominates OHSAA diving, wins third state title
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- Bexley's Jackson Monus dominates OHSAA diving, wins third state title
Jackson Monus' third Division II state diving championship might have been his most impressive yet.
That the Bexley junior set the tone with two of his best dives in the first two rounds played a large part.
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Using his inward 2½ and front 3½ to take an early lead, scoring more than 60 points on the latter, Monus controlled the state meet from start to finish Feb. 24 at Branin Natatorium in Canton . He steadily built his lead and scored 549.15 points, finishing 101.2 ahead of runner-up Burke Bebenroth from Hunting Valley University School.
"I put those at the start just to get them over with," Monus said. "They're harder so they take more energy, so doing them first made the rest of the meet feel easier. It's a little bit of a different approach for me, but I'm happy with the outcome for sure.
"I did that more for myself, but it might have had an effect on everybody else. Starting with bigger dives definitely has a way of showing [talent]."
Bexley junior Jackson Monus, shown here during last year's state meet, won his third consecutive Division II state diving championship Feb. 24 at Branin Natatorium in Canton.
Monus scored 483.05 points as a freshman and 444.55 a year ago. He exceeded his 2024 total by scoring 50.4 points on a reverse 1½ in the 10th round, then earned 66.3 points with a reverse 2½ on his 11th and final dive.
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"It's nice to end on a big dive," said Monus, an Indiana commit who scored a Division II state-record 617.2 points Feb. 18 at district .
He admitted already having his eye on becoming just the second four-time champion in state history. The first was Solon graduate and current Ohio State diver Dominic Roberto from 2021-24 in Division I.
Monus will compete in a handful of regional and national competitions over the next several months and hopes to qualify for the World Aquatics Junior Diving Championships in August in Croatia.
"I am really looking forward to trying to get that fourth next year," he said.
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DeSales senior David Harpster broke into the top 10 in the second half of the meet and finished eighth (357.5), becoming the first Stallions boy to earn a podium finish (top eight) since John Donovan placed between second and fifth every year from 1994-97.
A first-year diver, Harpster was 14th through five rounds but steadily climbed thanks to scoring well on higher-difficulty dives.
"My dive list is very back-heavy; my first five dives don't have a very high degree of difficulty compared to some of my opponents," Harpster said. "Warming up and feeling good on my first five dives gave me a lot of confidence to pull those off later in the meet."
Centennial senior Daniel Barnes finished 16th (300.65) in his third consecutive state meet.
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Wellington senior Zac Barton was 18th (225.8), ahead of Watterson junior Kevin Feehan (23rd, 130.8), DeSales freshman Henry Rizek (25th, 121.8), Centennial senior Messiah Harmon (26th, 116.5), Wellington senior Enzo Corso (30th, 98.55) and Columbus Academy sophomore Rylan Mifsud (32nd, 81.55).
The 32-diver field was cut to 20 after five rounds and 16 after 8.
Westerville South junior Andrew Keir, shown here during last year's Division I state meet, finished sixth in this year's competition Feb. 24 at Branin Natatorium in Canton.
Westerville South's Keir leads central Ohio in Division I
South junior Andrew Keir hung in a tight pack at the top of the field until the final rounds, finishing sixth (474.15) in his third state meet.
Keir, a Wisconsin commit who was third at state last year and eighth as a freshman, was third as late as the ninth round but fell to fourth on his 10th dive and hit the board in the final round, scoring 18.75 points.
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"Today didn't go even close to how I wanted," Keir said. "This one stings quite a bit and will sting for a little bit. I wanted to do a lot better and the pressure got to me. …
"All I can do is come back strong and better next year."
Solon senior and Arizona signee Mitch Caldwell repeated as state champion (588.65). Perrysburg's Trevor Madigan was second (552.45).
Gahanna Lincoln junior Dylan Sponseller placed eighth (427.85) and reached the podium for the first time in his third state meet.
Whetstone junior Mac Plank was ninth (427.55), followed by Olentangy Liberty sophomore Leo Ryan (12th, 411.35), St. Charles sophomore Michael Northup (15th, 394.85) and Mount Vernon senior Collin McFarlane (15th, 390.95).
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Six of the area's eight competitors made the final cut.
Thomas Worthington's Ivan Cooper finished 17th (288.65) and Westerville Central's Max Manno was 26th (168.15). Both are seniors.
High school sports reporter Dave Purpura can be reached at dpurpura@dispatch.com and at @dp_dispatch on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Bexley's Jackson Monus wins third OHSAA diving title, eyes history
