By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Michaela Bentley of Western Alamance became the Class 3A diving state champion with a comfortable margin in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association finals held this past week.
Bentley, a junior, moved up from a runner-up spot a year ago.
“I’ve been doing more training and conditioning than last year,” Bentley said. “That made a difference.”
Bentley’s score of 347.90 points was ahead of the 335.50 points for Lake Norman Charter’s Kaitlyn Knutsen last Thursday at Pullen Aquatic Center in Raleigh.
Bentley got into diving when she ended participation in gymnastics after middle school. It was a good transition following more than a dozen years as a gymnast.
“I still had a passion to flip and stuff, so we figured the next-best option is diving,” she said.
Her mother, Christina Bentley, serves as her coach. Michaela Bentley was the only diver on this season’s Western team.
Diving is the primary sport for the younger Bentley, 17. She has played recreation volleyball, but the time commitment to diving is large.
She goes at least five times per week to practice with her Chapel Hill-based club team, which trains at the University of North Carolina. Bentley said she has had good exposure to high-level instruction through the club team.
