Oak Hill High School

Oak Hill senior Grant Cates didn’t know exactly what he would score heading into the final diving competition of his high school career. But he did have his eye on the IHSAA’s longest held record at the State Swimming and Diving Finals. And Cates not only reached that goal on Saturday at the Indiana University Natatorium, but he obliterated it, scoring a state record 655.95 to win the IHSAA title, and break the record of 623.90 that Hamilton Southeastern’s Phillip Jones set in 2001. “Today really couldn’t have gone better,” Cates said. “There were a few dives I could have hit better, but as a list - that is as good as I could do.” Cates said he had never broken 600 as a score until right before the sectional. He then won the Hamilton Southeastern Sectional with a 641.70 and the Fishers Diving Regional with a 614.15 heading into state. “It was kind of crazy, I was getting in the 550s all throughout the season, and then the last meet before sectionals I broke 600 and never went under again,” Cates said. “I was just confident with every single one of my dives. Everything came together at the right time.” Cates scored 273.45 in the prelims to jump out to a 30-point lead, then had 439.65 through the semifinals - seeing his lead grow to more than 65 points. But he saved his best dives for last. Cates scored a 63.8 on his ninth dive, and then a 75.0 in round 10. His final dive - an inward 2 ½ somersault tuck, scored a 77.50 to break the record. “I kind of surprised myself with that, but normally I do better under pressure,” Cates said. “I knew I didn’t need a great last dive to get the record, but I still hit it so I was very happy. A lot of preparation went into it.” It was the perfect ending for his career, which saw him rise from fifth as a freshman, to third the last two years and to the top the podium this year. “It’s kind of surreal,” Cates said after he stepped off the podium. “It’s just starting to sink in that this is what I really wanted, and I got it. I really wanted it. I had two thirds in a row, and I really wanted this.”