Watson scored 570.15 points, 28 more than his nearest competitor, to win the boys' state championship at Brigham Young University on Thursday afternoon. In the process, he shattered the previous state record Ð 542 points Ð he set as a junior.

It marked the second consecutive year he claimed both a championship and a state record Ð fulfilling his goals coming into the state meet.

"I'm really excited," Watson said. "I'm happy to do as well as I did."

Watson started strong from the first round of diving and seemed to grow stronger as the divers entered the final rounds. His seventh dive earned nines from all but one judge. It was only a matter of time before he got a perfect 10.

That 10 came on his final dive, strangely enough when the other six judges scored him at 7.5 or lower. Still, it was enough to earn him 64.5 points and marked his third dive where he had managed at least 60 or more - a mark that even surprised the Riverton senior.

"I didn't think I would do this well," Watson said.

Brighton's Travis Day gave his own phenomenal performance, accumulating 542 points to earn second place for a third consecutive year. Viewmont's Marc Nelson was third with 431.60. Only four divers on the boys' side finished with more than 300 points.

Ava Jackman claimed the girls' title earlier in the day. The Lone Peak senior finished with 462.55 points. Highland's Emily Huth finished second and defending state champion Tricia Bowen, from East, came in third.

It represented quite a triumph for Jackman, who previously placed fifth as a sophomore and fourth as a junior. She took up diving only after entering high school, after spending a decade competing in gymnastics.

Jackman did not try to blow past her competition with dominant round-by-round scores. She focused instead on building early confidence by doing her toughest dives in the earlier rounds.

"The dives I felt really nervous about I put first and got them out of the way," Jackman said.

Her strategy worked to perfection. While several other divers struggled to post consistent scores in later rounds, Jackman kept building her lead. Her scores in the ninth round (52.8) and 11th

round (52.5) ranked as her best of the morning.

Jackman was the sole diver carrying the banner for Lone Peak and the outcome could not have been better for the Knights.

"Ava is the entire Lone Peak team," said Lone Peak coach Kristy Gonzales. "She is the only one on the team and she's done an amazing job. It's very exciting for her."