Dillon Hall’s score of 261.45 broke a 22-year-old meet record for the B Division.
Cherry Hill High School West senior Dillon Hall was confident he had won first place at the South Jersey Interscholastic Swimming Association 6-Dive Championships when the meet wrapped up last Thursday evening.
What surprised him was the announcement made shortly after he was confirmed as the winner for the boys B Division. Hall’s score of 261.45 broke the meet record for the B Division of 241.5 set by Mike Savicky of Gloucester Catholic High School back in 1996.
Hall felt it was neat to break a meet record in his first high school competition of the season. Part of the reason he didn’t realize he broke it was he didn’t completely realize he was in the B Division. A change in enrollment size at Cherry Hill West this year shifted Hall from the A Division to the B Division this season.
Regardless of gender or division, Hall had the highest score of every competitor in the meet. His score last week was also a slight improvement from his mark of 240.45 in 2017.
“This meet is a good starting meet to get me ready for the 11-dive and then ready for states,” Hall said.
The 6-dive meet was the kickoff for Hall’s final high school season. Hall will compete in the SJISA Jim Roach 11-Dive Championship on Jan. 25 and then at the NJSIAA state championship meet on Feb. 27.
“Other than practicing at my club practice, this is my main high school practice,” Hall said of the 6-dive meet. “Winning it doesn’t mean I’m the best in Jersey. But it does give me a sense of where I’ll be.”
The state championship meet is Hall’s main focus this season. Last season, Hall finished in third place, setting a Cherry Hill West school record with a score of 502.6 points. The year before, Hall also placed near the top of the standings, finishing in fourth place.
“I’m hoping to get first,” Hall said. “I got third last, I got fourth the other year, maybe it’s fourth, third, second, I don’t know.”
Hall’s score of 261.45 last Thursday got him off to a solid start in the season as he averaged a little more than 43 points per dive. A major goal of competing in the 6-dive competition is for Hall to look at the scores of each of his dives and to see what areas he needs to improve in. Even just minutes after winning last Thursday’s competition, Hall knew there were a few areas where he wanted to be more consistent.
“These boards I have a little trouble with,” Hall said. “But mostly entries and keeping my hurdle clean.”
The Jim Roach Championships on Jan. 25 will be a good test for Hall as the competition features 11 dives, the same number competitors attempt at state championships. Hall realizes the importance of trying to improve on his scores from last year and putting himself into a position to be a state title contender.
“I’m hoping for better,” Hall said about his place at states. “I don’t want to go down from there.”
