High hopes for Whitnall HS girls diving team with returning star athlete
HALES CORNERS, Wis. — Bella Smith was ten months old on the day her family moved into their current home. She chose that week to begin walking, and that was the beginning of an athlete鈥檚 adventures.
When her older sister found her standing in the middle of the kitchen table some time later, her parents got their first real clue that this child鈥檚 kineticism would need to be harnessed.
At the age of three, Bella began training in gymnastics, and she took to that as if she were born to it. She competed all over the country and won many medals, but by the time she was ready to start high school, she made a decision to hang up her leotard and switch to a swimsuit. Diving coach Cheryl Weber at Whitnall High School welcomed her with open arms.
Weber was building a winning team, and Bella was soon enfolded in that party. Her goal as a Freshman at Whitnall High was simply to make it to the Division 2 state meet in Madison. She made it, and came in at fourth place in that meet, in 2017. From there, she climbed to the top.
As a Sophomore in 2018, Bella came in second at the state meet, with a score of 452.75. Everyone was thrilled that she was working so hard at her sport, yet often made it look so easy and effortless. During breaks from seasonal diving at school, she competed in a club diving team at Schroeder YMCA in Brown Deer.
In her Junior year, Bella and her teammate, Kamyla Held, a Sophomore, were challenged by their coach. 鈥淎t the beginning of the season, I said we鈥檙e going 1-2,鈥� Ms. Weber told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel after the 2019 meet. She told the girls, 鈥淵ou figure it out from there.鈥� They did.
In 2019, Bella came in at first place with a score of 440.60, and Kamyla came in at second with a score of 427.85, bringing a great deal of attention to Whitnall鈥檚 diving program and amazing coach.
Kamyla Held originally went to state as a swimmer, competing at state with the Falcons鈥� 400 free relay in 2018 while already training in the diving program at Whitnall. She joined Bella at Schroeder after their win in 2019. 鈥淲ork, work, work,鈥� Smith said, 鈥渟o we can be on that podium against 1 and 2.鈥�
Held explained that 鈥淥ne thing I think about is not being scared to try new things. So that is what pushes me.鈥�
Both young women truly pushed themselves, because in 2020, even though there was a pandemic on, and the meet could not be held in Madison, and there could be virtually no audience, they did it again. Bella once again came in at first with a score of 519.15, and Kamyla came in at second with 465.95.
Kamyla has the chance to do the first-place spot in 2021 as a Senior at Whitnall. Meanwhile, Bella headed off to IUPUI to compete on their dive team while taking classes to earn a degree as a physical therapist.
Congratulations to Coach Cheryl Weber and her dive team, and to the first and second place champions in the 2020 Division 2 state diving meet for the second year in a row.
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