Last year, Anna Overholtz provided Emmaus with a diver who could provide a legitimate challenge to some of the better high school divers in the area. Her accomplishments were the best that the program has seen in a while.

This season, two young divers are providing excitement on both the boys and girls side of competition and they proved it this past weekend with strong showings in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Diving Championship.

On the boys side, Andrew Vanim, a sophomore, led the competition from the beginning, battling with fellow sophomore diver Jon Hansell of Parkland, who finished second. For the girls, freshman Jess Hurlburt also led for most of the competition before two other divers put on late surges to pass Hurlburt, who finished third.

Vanim seemed to be in control throughout the event, holding off challenges from Hansell as the two divers separated themselves from the rest of the pack. Ironically, Vanim, who won by 22.95 points, didn't feel like he was having his best day even as the scores showed differently.

"The first five dives, I felt really good," he said. "After that, I just never felt as comfortable as I usually do, but I was able to put together some good dives and I stayed in front."

Vanim has been diving for about nine years, but until recently, only competed in summer leagues. With the high school team needing another diver, Vanim was ready to step in and has quickly placed himself in the school record books. The move to diving reinvigorated Vanim, who also competed as a swimmer with the high school team.

"I always had fun at practice, but when I started diving, I really looked forward to going to practice and working on dives and getting better," said Vanim, who holds two school diving records.

Meanwhile, Hurlburt, who has been diving for about four years, jumped out to an early lead and for a while, it looked like she would hold off both eventual winner Nicole Sagl (Central Catholic) and Kelsey German (Parkland), but both divers were able to string together a succession of strong scores and pushed their way past Hurlburt.

"I had some nerves coming in, because I know how good some of the other divers are, but I got over that. I was really nervous for my last dive and that didn't turn out so well," said Hurlburt, who finished 17.10 points behind Sagl for the championship.

Hurlburt holds three school records, setting a team record in her first meet this season. Hurlburt credits her teammates, both divers and swimmers, with helping her this season.

The two young divers are quick to help each as well.

"A lot of times, we watch each other and look for things that can be better," said Vanim. "We like to push each other and help each other with our dives."

Having two competitive divers helps Emmaus in its rivalry with Parkland. Hurlburt and German figure to battle, while Vanim and Hansell, both sophomores, will have a lot of battles over the next couple of seasons. Parkland's Chris Lehman, who didn't compete in the EPC competition, is one of the better divers in the area, but Vanim believes he can catch him.

"I've looked at the scores and he's not that far ahead of me," said Vanim. "It's only about 18 points and on any given day, you never know what can happen."

Vanim believes he can perform well enough to earn a spot in states.

"I definitely want to go to states this year and I think that I can get there," he said.