Anchorage Daily News

During practice Tuesday, Service High junior Dalton Haas was attempting "like, the most basic dive ever," when something went terribly wrong.

Sensing he was out of position and in danger of striking the board, Haas pulled out of the dive and landed awkwardly, with the left side of his head striking the water ear-first.

"I thought I was going to hit the board, so I freaked out," he said.

Once in the water, Haas immediately knew something was wrong.

"I couldn't hear anything," he said. "And I got really dizzy."

Haas ruptured his left ear drum, a relatively common injury in a sport where danger often lurks inches away from every flip, twist and turn.

The initial diagnosis for Haas was that he'd be forced to miss at least a month of competition, meaning he'd be out for both this week's Cook Inlet Conference championships and next week's state meet.

That was bad news for the junior, who ranks as the conference's top diver. But 90 minutes before the start of Thursday's diving preliminaries at Bartlett High, Haas received good news from his otolaryngologist: Haas' hearing was normal and he was free to dive.

The good news for Haas was bad news for the rest of the competition. The Service star -- wearing a swim cap over his ears for protection -- went out and trounced the field to take the lead through the first five dives of the 11-dive competition.

"He looked like his old self," Service coach Stacey Cooper said.

With two rounds of diving scheduled for Saturday, Haas leads Bartlett's Bryan Haley by nearly 40 points, with South's Josh Oldham a close third. The top two divers at each of this week's four conference meets advance to the state championships, as do the eight divers statewide with the next highest scores.

In the girls' diving preliminaries, defending state and CIC champion Renee Jordan, an East senior, holds a 20-point lead over South's Katie Cartee, while freshman Kaitlin Friedli sits in third.

Jordan said she can empathize with Haas' plight. Last season she suffered a similar injury, which she called "incredibly painful." She described having blood sucked out of her ear with a tiny vacuum, an experience that she said she'd prefer not to have to re-live.

"I was gripping my mom's arm because it was so painful and I was telling myself, 'Don't cry,' " she said.

Worse than the injury itself, Jordan said, is the aftermath, which left her wobbly for several days.

"I couldn't walk a straight line," she said.

Haas' injury is less severe, although he said he had to take special precautions every time he hit the water Thursday to avoid going too far beneath the surface.

"I've gotta roll with every dive," he said.

Diving isn't a sport for the timid. Jordan said she's seen more than her share of injuries in her career, and said she watched a diver break both his hands at a meet earlier this season.

"It's a contact sport," she said. "It's not people contact, but there's contact."

Divers recognize when a fellow athlete is hurting. The loudest cheers Thursday came not for the perfect dives, but for those which resulted in the loudest smacks between belly (or back) and water.

"It hurts a lot more than it sounds," she said.

Jordan said the best way for divers to avoid injury is to remain calm throughout the execution of the dive.

"You have to focus in this sport if you want to keep your hands," she said. "When you're afraid of the dive, it's a lot worse."

Find Matt Tunseth online at adn.com/contact/mtunseth or call 257-4335.

CIC Swimming/Diving championships

Thursday, Bartlett

Diving (through five dives)

Girls

1) Renee Jordan, East, 175.35; 2) Katie Cartee, South, 155.65; 3) Kaitlin Friedli, Chugiak, 136.1; 4) Lye-Yeng Wong, South, 160.05; 5) Dezi Julo, Bartlett, 124.90; 6) Paris Bennett, Dimond, 120.30; 7) Anna Evenstad, Eagle River, 98.05; 8) Rochelle Jordan, East, 84.15; 9) Lydia Weiss, Chugiak, 81.70; 10) Skye Johnson, Chugiak, 79.60; 11) Annalise Decker, West, 77.95; 12) Carly Meacham, Eagle River, 70.05; 13) Jasmine Lee, East, 56.15; 14) Kirsten Williams, East, 51.15.

Boys

1) Dalton Haas, Service, 206.65; 2) Bryan Haley, Bartlett, 168.15; 3) Josh Oldham, South, 163.70; 4) Cade Bennett, Dimond, 159.65; 5) Scott Hodgson, South, 138.30; 6) Evan Tyler, West, 133.30; 7) Everett Bostick, East, 105.75; 8) Matt Moore, Bartlett, 98.25; 9) Eric Grumman, West, 97.25; 10) Leo Anders, South, 92.60; 11) Cody Meadows, West, 86.25; 12) Kevin Christensen, South, 84.90; 13) Michael Stubblefield, Eagle River, 83.25; 14) Drew Walker, East, 81.15; 15) Riley Bronga, East, 75.10; 16) Tyler Greensfelder, Chugiak, 70.45; 17) Dale Hart, Bartlett, 58.20.

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