Fountain Central has a superstar diver in freshman William Armstrong. Records have fallen left and right during Armstrong’s sensational first year with the Mustangs and on Saturday the freshman got to finish his first season on the biggest stage. After breaking the sectional record on his way to the sectional title last Saturday and placing second at the Plainfield Regional on Tuesday, Armstrong dove at the IHSAA State Finals and showed that he belongs with the best in the state. After the prelims Armstrong sat in 13th place with a score of 191.20 to qualify him for the semi-finals. He then made the top 16 to dive in the finals where he ended his day with a 12th place finish overall with a score of 409.70.
What made the day even more impressive for Armstrong was the fact he was the only freshman of the 32 participants competing.
“This felt really awesome to be here,” Armstrong said of his first State Finals. “It was probably my best meet of the season and now the goal is keep coming back here next year and try and place on that podium and keep getting better.”
Armstrong trains year-round with club diving and that dedication to perfecting his craft paid off. Mustang diving coach Bryanne Gonzalez spoke on her freshman’s stellar season.
“He works harder than any kid I’ve ever met,” she said. “I hope he’s proud of what he did today because it’s a special accomplishment. He’ll take a little bit of a breather and then I know he’ll be right back into his club season. His goal coming in was to be top 16 and he ended up 12th.”
Armstrong saved some of his best dives for when he needed them most. His third dive of the prelims scored him a 46.20 and put him great position the rest of the day. His last dive of the prelims scored a 42.20 and those two dives combined with solid scores the rest of the way were good enough to have him sitting comfortably in the top 16.
With the high school swim season now officially over, it’s been a very successful one for Fountain Central as a whole. The girls team was able to send senior Mary Rice to the State Finals in the 100 breaststroke while Armstrong represented the boys. Fountain Central while being just a small Class A school has been represented very well at the state’s largest swim meet.
“It’s pretty cool to be able to represent Fountain Central out here because a lot of the people don’t know the name of our school or where we are and things like that,” Armstrong added. “I kind of have to explain to a lot of my club diving friends where we are and everything. Being here from a small school shows that as long as you put in the work you can get here and do well.”
Now that he’s gotten a taste of the state finals, these next three years for Armstrong are all set on making the podium which with five seniors ahead of him, is a very realistic goal for the standout freshman.
“Knowing that I did so well this year, I would like to be top six next year,” Armstrong said of his goals. “Then the biggest goal of them all is to be a state champion my junior or senior year.”
