Moravian Academy junior Alexa Fegley won the PIAA State Class 2A diving bronze medal at the PIAA State Diving Championships on Saturday at Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg.

“I was really excited because I didn’t expect it at all,” Fegley said.

Fegley, coached by Emily Kocis, was seeded sixth and set a personal goal to place fifth. In reality, Fegley was in and out of third and fourth place with Warren Area’s Katie Madigan, who finished in fourth.

Fegley needed at least 23 points on her last dive, a back 1 1/2 somersault 1/2 twist, to win the bronze. Madigan dove right before Fegley, scoring a 17 on her back double.

“I didn’t really pay attention the whole meet because my goal was fifth place, and I was seeded sixth, but I was aware, and that’s what pushed me,” Fegley said.

Fegley scored 25 points on her final dive and finished with an overall score of 333.05 to Madigan’s 331.30.

Marple Newtown’s Alexandra Pastris won the gold medal with a score of 412.10, and North Catholic’s Maggie Foley won silver with a score of 397.25.

Said Coach Kocis, “The day for Alexa was very good. I knew pretty much when she hit the water [on her last dive] that she got third. Alexa dove very consistently today.”

Fegley got off to a strong start with her inward dive that received high scores. Fegley’s reverse dive was another that garnered high scores.

“Before every dive [Coach Kocis] gives me pointers to remember. She was very calm, which kept me very calm,” Fegley said.

Kocis was proud of Fegley’s whole performance on Saturday, citing Fegley’s back 1 1/2 somersault, her ninth dive that did very well.

“[Afterward] I told her that now was the time to put it in the water like that,” said Kocis. “I was a little bit nervous [at the end], but given her last dive has a slightly higher degree of difficulty, I thought she’d be OK, but yes, I thought this is getting a little close. For Alexa, it meant a lot because she didn’t even get to the meet last year.”

Fegley’s accomplishment wasn’t without the memory of last year’s state diving meet at Bucknell University, which was canceled before Fegley had a chance to compete due to the coronavirus.

“[This year] I didn’t pack my bags until the very last moment because I was afraid it would get canceled again, but once I got there I was really excited to compete against the other divers,” she said. “Everyone was so nice, which was shocking because that’s not how sports goes sometimes.”

Other finishers in Class 2A were Susquehannock’s Mckenna Porter, fifth place with a score of 315.40, Dallas Area’s Mia Reinert, sixth place with a score of 287.40, Danville’s Gabrielle Hackett, seventh place with a score of 278.75, and Salzburg’s Abby Pazak, eighth place with a score of 271.70.