Mission accomplished: Kennedy completes three-year quest to break AHS diving record – Austin Daily Herald

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Austin senior Alayna Kennedy recently set the AHS program record for diving. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com

Austin’s Alayna Kennedy dives during a dual against Mankato West. Herald file photo

Austin senior Alyana Kennedy has done it all in the past year.

She won her first state diving title at the Class A state meet in 2023, she locked up a college offer with Division I Boston University over the summer, then she was named an NISCA High School All American and she even represented team USA in Rome.

Still, Kennedy had one more accomplishment to mark off on her checklist and she did that on Tuesday when she broke the AHS record for diving with a score of 275.05.

“After my last drive, I looked up at the scoreboard and I thought it was a glitch. I didn’t think that was correct,” Kennedy said of her record setting performance in Northfield. “Right now, this ranks number one for me. I’m going to try and get the 11-dive record as well and I’ll have a chance at that at the Austin Invite next Saturday.”

Kennedy set the goal of breaking Lisa Davis’s record, which was set in 1986, three years ago. Her previous best score was 259 this season, but she was able to tack on 16 points to that score to set a new AHS standard.

“It’s kind of surreal. I don’t know how to explain it, but it definitely feels really, really good. That was the goal I set for the last three years and this year had to be the year because I don’t have another year left,” Kennedy said. “I kind of fine tuned what I had. This was our homecoming meet so the head coaches asked us to either do a new dive or make a personal best. I did a new-ish dive and everything came together.”

Austin assistant coach Anna Anderson has been coaching Kennedy in diving for the last three seasons and she has enjoyed working with the Packer divers. She said that Kennedy is very coachable and is always willing to push herself.

“She is a very driven athlete. (Alayna) said she was going to break that record before she graduated and I said ‘OK, let’s make that happen.’ She’s doing more difficult dives this year and she’s hitting those dives,” Anderson said. “It all came together last night. Alayna’s very coachable and if you say something needs to make a change, she’ll do it. I love coaching athletes like that.”

Last year at the state meet, Kennedy and her teammate Reese Norton were able to meet Davis and they took a photo with her. Kennedy is hoping they can make it to state and get reacquainted with Davis this year.

“I can stop having beef with Lisa now,” Kennedy said. “That’s a joke, she’s very nice.”