Clark Thomas, an Olathe Northwest senior, has won the Sunflower League Diving Championship all four years. Thomas had set the record for the Sunflower League last year. To say that Thomas broke the record would be an understatement because Thomas shattered his own record. Thomas even eclipsed the 600-point mark, a feat which no one in the state of Kansas has ever done before.
“It feels really good, it feels really special just because no one has ever broken the 600-point barrier in Kansas before,” Thomas said.
This time was different; because of his experience and high skill level it was more of repetition and perfecting skills than learning completely new dives.
“Previously I have had some dives that scored really well and looked really impressive, but I couldn’t necessarily do them well. I was also able to those really big dives, and nail them for really high scores,” Thomas said.
Breaking a record is a tough task, breaking your own record can be even tougher, especially with all the pressure of the Sunflower League meet.
“It means a lot just to know that I can go out there and represent ONW really well and bring home a win for our Raven family,” Thomas said.
Breaking the record again didn’t come easily for Thomas this time around. Thomas was fighting off back pains at the Sunflower League meet. The pain was no match, as Thomas was able overlook the pain and focus on his dives.
“I mean it was bearable but obviously you know it wasn’t the situation that anyone would hope for in a big competition but in a meet as big as league I was able to put it out of my mind,” Thomas said.
Clark Thomas is looking ahead to the State Meet on February 16 through 18, where he will be attempting to break the state record, and end his high school career undefeated.
