Wally and Rafa at Junior Nationals
Rafael Quintero and Wallly Layland
17 year old Rafael Quintero came to YCF diving this summer from Puerto Rico in hopes to improve his diving and gain attention from college diving coaches to earn a scholarship.  He arrived as a good springboard diver however he did not like the platform event as much.  After training with the JO 5 national groups this summer Rafa began dominating his competition.   He learned 8 new dives off the 10 meter as well as improving upon his springboard dives.  The highlight of Rafa’s summer came at the JO Nationals where he claimed the boys 16-18 platform championship title.  Rafa will be traveling to Columbia this month to represent Puerto Rico at the Pan-American Games.  In the fall, Rafa has several recruiting trips to vairous colleges who are offering diving scholarships.  Ironically after a summer with YCF diving, platform became Rafa’s best and favorite event.

Wallace Layland came into JO Nationals as motivated and determined as ever to take home the national title on the girls 14-15 platform event.  In her first competition of the meet, Wally paired with Gracia to win the girls synchronized platform national title.  During the competition, Wally pulled her tricep muscle making it difficult for her to hold her hands over her head when entering in the water.  With her individual platform event the next day, Wally could barely warm-up for her event due to the pain from her arm.  Through her determination, Wally was able to gut it out and perform one of the most impressive performances at JO Nationals.  She not only took home the national title of the platform qualifying her to the USA National team that will compete at the Junior Pan-Am Games and a spot in the 2012 Olympic Trials.  Unselfishly, Wally competed in the 3 meter event to a 4th place finish in order to help our team’s standings. Congratulations and best of luck to both Wally and Rafa.

Divers of the Month:
Rafael Quintero and Wallly Layland
Wally and Rafa at Junior Nationals
17 year old Rafael Quintero came to YCF diving this summer from Puerto Rico in hopes to improve his diving and gain attention from college diving coaches to earn a scholarship. He arrived as a good springboard diver however he did not like the platform event as much. After training with the JO 5 national groups this summer Rafa began dominating his competition. He learned 8 new dives off the 10 meter as well as improving upon his springboard dives. The highlight of Rafa’s summer came at the JO Nationals where he claimed the boys 16-18 platform championship title. Rafa will be traveling to Columbia this month to represent Puerto Rico at the Pan-American Games. In the fall, Rafa has several recruiting trips to vairous colleges who are offering diving scholarships. Ironically after a summer with YCF diving, platform became Rafa’s best and favorite event.

Wallace Layland came into JO Nationals as motivated and determined as ever to take home the national title on the girls 14-15 platform event. In her first competition of the meet, Wally paired with Gracia to win the girls synchronized platform national title. During the competition, Wally pulled her tricep muscle making it difficult for her to hold her hands over her head when entering in the water. With her individual platform event the next day, Wally could barely warm-up for her event due to the pain from her arm. Through her determination, Wally was able to gut it out and perform one of the most impressive performances at JO Nationals. She not only took home the national title of the platform qualifying her to the USA National team that will compete at the Junior Pan-Am Games and a spot in the 2012 Olympic Trials. Unselfishly, Wally competed in the 3 meter event to a 4th place finish in order to help our team’s standings. Congratulations and best of luck to both Wally and Rafa.