FAYETTEVILLE — It was going to take more than a broken toenail to keep Parker Meinecke from winning the North District boys diving title.
The Fayetteville senior treated the injury as a minor setback, then regrouped to win Tuesday’s event in the University of Arkansas Natatorium. Meanwhile, Bentonville sophomore Melanie Rippl won the girls title as she overcame a 101-degree fever and slipped past Fayetteville freshman Erin Farrah.
Meinecke said he had broken the toenail before, then he did it again just before the first of 11 dives he took off the 1-meter board. He had to get the toenail taped after it began to bleed.
He still finished the event with 408.8 points and won by a comfortable margin over Bentonville junior Tyler Rousey, who finished second with 340.4 points.
“I actually had hurt my toe just before I started my first dive,” Meinecke said. “I started my first dive, literally, on the wrong foot. Thankfully, I didn’t lose very many points for it. I felt much better after that first dive.
“Compared to usual, I did as good or better than I did in practice. When I warmed up, I thought I did all right, but I tend to do better in competition.”
The girls division was so close the scorers went over the totals a second time to make sure there was no error. Rippl was named the winner with 331.6 points, while Fayetteville freshman Erin Farrah had 328.0.
“Everything went pretty well out there,” Rippl said. “Everything was pretty well laid back and I just did what I normally do in practice. I was more comfortable with my front dives and stuff like that.
“I thought it was pretty close the whole time, so I just did what I normally do.”
Meanwhile, Bentonville’s boys and Fayetteville’s girls gave their respective teams the lead as the swimming portion of the North District championships begin today at the Jones Center in Springdale. The trio of Rousey, Austin Passmore and Alex Miller finished second through fourth, respectively, and gave the Tigers 48 points through one event, followed by Siloam Springs with 39 and Fayetteville with 20.
“It helps the swim team and gives them a leg up to start,” Bentonville coach Nick Nersesian said. “We have to do our part, just like the swimmers have to do their part. They have races and relays to do, and we’ll see what happens.”
Fayetteville was the only school with two girl divers and scored 33 points. Rippl’s performance gave Bentonville 20 points, while Siloam Springs had 15.