Mission Viejo's Kolar enjoys Masters moment

LONG BEACH - Mission Viejo diver Kyle Kolar doesn't have the fondest memories of Belmont Plaza.

“Every time I've dove at this pool, it's kind of been bad,” he said Tuesday at the CIF Southern Section Masters.

After his first two dives, Kolar seemed headed in that direction again. But the bronze medalist from Division I rebounded with a torrid four-dive stretch to close the competition and finish second to Long Beach Poly freshman Deon Reid, who scored a Masters-record 377.15 points.

“I was definitely happy about (second),” said Kolar, who scored 332.60. “I wasn't expecting to do as well as I did.”

For Kolar and other Orange County divers, the indoor competition again proved to be a difficult transition.

Kolar is among the county divers who train outdoors. Inside at Belmont Plaza, the Crown Valley club diver had difficulty finding his spots. Kolar, for example, uses the board as a reference while in the air. He also spots the water on his entries.

“It's harder to see,” the junior said. “It's just different without the sun.”

Reid, who trains at Belmont Plaza with McCormick Divers, also was a major obstacle.

El Toro senior Ryan Smith finished third at 308.70.

In the girls competition, Los Alamitos sophomore Sydney Czaus was consistent throughout her six-dive list and finished a county-best third. The Sunset League runner-up scored 297.60 points to finish behind Pasadena Poly's Felicitas Lenz (311.60) and Long Beach Millikan's Paulina Guzman (310.85).

Like Reid, Czaus trains with McCormick. “I think that really helps. People were complaining about not being able to spot,” said Czaus, who took fifth in Division I. “I hit all my dives all around. I was really happy with that.”

Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister