Two members of the diving team competed in the NCAA championships hosted by Navy earlier this week.
Juniors Landon Orth and Mia Guster represented the Leopards at regionals, scoring 214.90 and 185.00 in the 1-meter dive, respectively. Orth finished 48th out of 55 overall, while Guster landed in 73rd out of 86 divers.
“It means a lot to me every time I go out,” said Orth, who has qualified for regionals in all three of his years at Lafayette College. “I get to see some competition that I would never have gotten to see without the opportunity.”
Zone A features top-tier programs from the Big Ten Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference and the Ivy League. Despite calling the competition “intimidating,” Orth said he was “a lot more calm” his third year in the pool.
“First time around, I was a nervous wreck,” he said. “This time going into it, the nerves were still there, but I was more level-headed and I had the mindset that I do as good as I can do.”
Guster became the second woman in Leopard swimming and diving history to qualify for regionals, following Shaylee Daniels ‘25 last season.
“Seeing Shaylee hit this milestone last year made me very motivated to work as hard as possible to reach this goal,” Guster said.
Rather than solely focusing on her individual score, Guster said she shifted her mindset to being “in the moment” and meeting fellow divers.
“I found myself getting super intimidated by all of these elite athletes,” she said. “But slowly, as I got to talk to them and just get comfortable, I realized that I deserve to be there just as much as everyone else.”
Athletes must eclipse set benchmarks for times and points during the season to qualify for NCAA swimming and diving regionals. Guster qualified against Mount St. Mary’s University in January with a score of 271.35, surpassing the required 265. Orth earned the spot with a 303.83 score against Lehigh University in September, breaking the men’s standard of 300.
Orth said diving coach Cary Lehman helped him and Guster “visualize their dives” in the two weeks between Patriot League Championships and regionals.
Guster added that she hopes the team continues the trend of sending Leopard women to regionals next year.
“Now that I have done it, it’s all about passing it on,” she said. “We have a great group of women, all very strong divers. I’m confident within the next few years, Lafayette will have more and more divers competing in regionals.”
Disclaimer: Assistant Sports Editor Brea White ’28 is a member of the swimming and diving team. She did not contribute writing or reporting.