Greenwich Academy senior Grace Wu wins FAA diving championship; Grayson Ford of Greenwich Academy places second, Sacred Heart’s Emma Beaty third

By David Fierro on February 15, 2024 • ( Leave a comment )

**Contributed photo provided by Greenwich Academy:** From left to right: Greenwich Academy divers Emily Rizzi and Abigail Schmitt, GA coach Dylan Korn, Greenwich Academy diver Grace Wu and teammate Grayson Ford gather at the recent FAA Diving Championships, held at Brunswick School in Greenwich. Wu was the 2024 FAA diving winner with an outstanding effort on the 1-meter board.

Another season, another FAA diving title for Greenwich Academy student Grace Wu.

A senior, Wu successfully defended her diving championship, finishing first on the 1-meter board at the recent FAA Diving Championships, held at Brunswick School. Wu, who also won the diving title one season ago, claimed the championship last week by earning an eye-opening score of 501.33 points over 11 rounds of diving.

Sophomore Grayson Ford, also of Greenwich Academy placed second, totaling a score of 424.02 points. Emma Beaty of Sacred Heart Greenwich posted a third-place finish on the 1-meter board at the FAA Diving Championships, totaling 401.79 points over 11 rounds.

Kira Johnson from Hopkins School placed fourth (382.92 points) and junior Abigail Schmitt of Greenwich Academy took fifth (361.05 points). Katherine O’Brien gave Sacred Heart Greenwich a sixth-place FAA diving finish (339.51), Greenwich Academy’s Emily Rizzi, a freshman, was seventh (284.70) and Sacred Heart’s Kaitlyn Bentley finished eighth. (275.34). Norah McPartland (Hopkins School, 273.60) and Layla Kenkare (Hopkins, 257.61). Olivia Londa of Greens Farms Academy earned a score of 440.40 and teammate April Ferris scored 396.81, but they were marked as exhibition competitors on the official diving sheet.

A two-time National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association Girls One-Meter Diving All-America honoree, Wu captured the first-place medal at the 2023 FAA Diving Championships with a score of 494.35 points.

“Overall, I feel really good about my performance this season,” Wu said. “I’m especially happy that I was able to break Brunswick’s pool record this year, which Elizabeth Fitzpatrick had held since 2015. I’m also very proud of my FAAs score, where I earned 501.33 points, a new personal-best for a championship meet.”

Up next for Wu, her Greenwich Academy diving teammates and Sacred Heart Greenwich’s divers is the NEPSAC Championships, which takes place in early March.

“This season was definitely a great note to end my high school diving career on,” Wu noted. “I look forward to competing with the team at New Englands. I feel like the GA Swim and Dive team has never been more supportive of one another. We are so fortunate to have such great coaches who know how to keep us in the right mindset, while also having a great time on deck.”

Dylan Korn is Greenwich Academy’s diving coach. At the 2023 NEPSAC Division I Diving Championships at Deerfield Academy, Wu garnered the gold medal for the second straight season, earning 496.55 points.