By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden junior Kaylee Gregg credits former Topeka High diving star Brianna Devlin for helping get her into the event two years ago as a freshman
Hayden junior Kaylee Gregg is ranked among the state's top divers entering the biggest meets of the 2024 season. [File photo/TSN].
And now that Devlin, second in Class 6A last season, has moved on to the University of the Ozarks, Gregg wants to follow in her friend's footsteps and continue to carve out her own niche in the sport.
"She's one of my best friends that I was doing gymnastics with and she did diving so I was like, 'Well, I guess I'll go try it,' '' Gregg said. "She's been a really big inspiration for me in diving. She's helped me a lot.''
Gregg has apparently learned her lessons well, turning in a solid sophomore season and continuing to make strides this spring.
Gregg, a junior, finished second in the 2023 city meet to earn second-team All-City status and placed third in Centennial League diving before capping her season with a 10th-place finish in the Class 5A-1A state meet.
This season Gregg is ranked No. 1 on the Kansas State High School Activities Association Class 5A-1A Top 25 Performance List for 11 dives with a score of 411.50 and is No. 3 for six dives with a score of 223.50.
With the Centennial League and 5A-1A state meets coming up, Gregg feels like she is getting closer to where she wants to be for the end of the season push.
"I've really worked on my technique on my dives and now I'm working on better, bigger dives to help the score that way,'' Gregg said.
While a lot of divers specialize in that event, Gregg also swims multiple events for the Wildcats, ranking No. 5 on the TopSports.News City Honor Roll in the 50-yard freestyle (27.70 seconds) and also swimming on relays for Hayden.
"My brother (Dillon) was a really good swimmer and (the coaches) said it ran in the family,'' Gregg said. "I was like, 'Oh, I don't believe that,' but I tried it and I ended up being not that bad in it. Swimming is really good exercise so I do it.''
Now Gregg is setting her sights on ending the current season with a bang.
"It would be really cool for our swim relay to make it to state, so that's the goal, and I really want to do well at state,'' she said.
