Goodyear YMCA Silver Fins capture nine gold medals at AAU Nationals
Submitted photo/Jennifer Brown
Levi Berlyn and Haskell Fagan also rose to the top of the podium in their individual events. The pair then amazed the judges with outstanding synchronized diving performances, quickly separating themselves from the competition and earning additional national titles. Levi added another gold medal when he partnered with a diver from Long Island to compete in an older synchronized diving age group.
Posted
The Goodyear YMCA Silver Fins Dive Team brought national recognition to the West Valley with its performance at the 2026 AAU National Diving Championships July 16-23 at the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center in Florida.
The competition brought together more than 800 of the nation’s top young amateur divers. Athletes competed in one-meter springboard, three-meter springboard and platform events.
Despite competing with a roster of only seven boys, the Silver Fins finished second in the boys team standings — just one point behind the national champions, whose roster included 16 scoring divers.
The Silver Fins brough home nine gold medals.
“We simply didn’t have the depth to win the team title, but the YMCA’s performance was astonishing,” said Silver Fins head coach Bill Hunter. “For seven boys to come within one point of teams with much larger rosters speaks volumes about the talent, determination and preparation of these athletes.”
Tanner Lange, a world high diving silver medalist, won gold in every event he entered.
The national championships also served as a pathway to international competition. Winners in qualifying age divisions earned the opportunity to represent the United States at a major international youth diving competition in Aachen, Germany, in November.
The team will next prepare for a major competition in Montreal this fall.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here