VIDEO: Purdy Wows Judges, Takes Home State Diving Title

senior had finished in the top five the last two years at the state diving meet.  In order to go from top five to number one, Purdy knew she had to do something special, and she did.

"My teammate Christine (Stitcher) told me to do our wow-factor dive," Purdy said.  "She just told me to wow the crowd."

Purdy executed her wow dive - a reverse 1 1/2 with a half twist - to perfection.  Her 11th and final dive allowed her to easily capture the state title with 405.95 points, topping runner up Kaitlyn Neiheisel of Lincoln-Way West (382.15).

Purdy became just the second girls state diving champion, joining legendary diver Christina Loukas who won three straight titles in 2001, 2002 and 2003.

Other medal winners for Deerfield included junior Barbra Brottman (8th in the 200-yard freestyle, 1:52.93) and freshman Ruby Powell (11th in the 100-yard backstroke, 57.99).  Powell was also part of the Warriors 10th place 200 medley relay team with seniors Hayley Levin, Alexis Melchiorre, and Alexa Scanlan.

As a team, the warriors racked up 29 points to finish in 12th place.

Click on the video link above to check out Purdy's "wow dive" and hear what the Warriors had to say about this state meet and their hopes for the future.

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