Ohio High School Diver Selected For International Competition

SHAKER HEIGHTS, OH - Shaker Heights High School sophomore Lyle Yost is a special diver. As a freshman he took second place at the OHSAA Division I Diving Championships. As a sophomore, he won the statewide OHSAA Division I Diving Championship. And in April he will be one of eight divers to represent the United States at the International Youth Diving Meet in Dresden, Germany.

Yost is one of three Ohioans on the team, the others being Jordan Rzepka, from Solon, and Jack Matthews, from Powell. The team of divers will compete on the 1-meter, 3-meter and platform at the Dresden meet.

The divers were selected based on their performances at the 2016 AT&T USA Diving National Championships, Team USA Diving said in a statement on its website. At that event, Yost finished fourth on the 3-meter in the 16-18 age group.

Eric Peterson is Yost's coach at Shaker Heights High School. He described Yost as a special talent.

"He qualified for senior US Nationals as a freshman. His freshman year he kind of went there just to get experience. He went to compete against collegiate athletes," Peterson told Patch.

You can see some of Yost's 2016 US National Preliminary dives below.

During Yost's freshman year at Shaker Heights High School, when he competed for the state championship, he finished second behind Powell Olentangy Liberty senior Cameron Thatcher. Their duel pushed the veteran Thatcher to his peak performance, breaking a state record for diving.

Thatcher is now a member of US Diving and a Junior Pan American gold medalist.

You can watch the two battle it out at last year's state championship below.

After Thatcher graduated, Yost became the favorite to win the Division I Boys Diving State Championship. His victory was hardly a guarantee though. Noah Duperre, a freshman from New Albany High School, was looking to make waves of his own during the competition.

The duo pushed each other hard, but Yost pulled out the victory with a score of 531.10. Duperre scored 506.25. For comparison, third place was in the 490s.

Peterson said Duperre and Yost aren't just competitors, they're also teammates. The two will be doing synchronized diving together for US Diving, making for a fascinating dynamic for the next several years in Ohio Division I diving.

"These guys are going to have to work together and be competitive for the next several years," Peterson said.

You can watch Duperre and Yost dive together by clicking here.

The Future

Peterson said that Yost is a better person than he is an athlete, noting quickly that Yost is an "outstanding athlete."

"He’s been a great teammate for the swimmers and for the divers," Peterson said. "Even on days when he’s not diving he checks in to see if there’s a function that he can attend. Some of the individual features of diving can get a little lonely I think. So one of the highlights of high school swimming and diving is being part of that team atmosphere."

Yost won a state title as a sophomore. Expectations for the rest of his high school career will undoubtedly be high, but he's already accomplished more in two years than most athletes do in an entire career. Now he looks to not only repeat as state champion of Ohio but also to take his talents international.

The International Youth Diving Meet will be held April 20-23 in Dresden, Germany. Besides the Ohioans, Yost will be joined by Grace Cable, of Durham, North Carolina; Jacob Fielding, of Los Angeles; Daria Lenz, of Altadena, California; Sophia McAfee, of San Marino, California and Maysi Richards, of Weatherford, Texas.

"It’s outstanding and we’re very proud of him. It’s a real honor for the program to have somebody with his work ethic and his talent. I think it speaks well for the district and for the team overall that we have somebody of this caliber," Peterson told Patch.

Photo from Shaker Heights Schools