Fossil Ridge’s Sydney Ovesen Wins Second Straight State Diving Title

Sydney Lammey, Editor-In-Chief • February 21, 2025

Sabercat Swim and Dive celebrates Sydney Oveson’s commitment to Colorado State University as a Division 1 diver

Sydney Ovesen had a lot of pressure going into the state meet this year. The Fossil Ridge senior was the defending Class 5A 1-meter diving champion. She put together an outstanding performance, scoring a season-high 527.10 points over 11 dives to win her second straight state title Thursday Feb. 6 at Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center.

Her last dive was her best. She scored a 62.4 on it, making her win even more impressive, winning by more than 30 points.

“Last year, I just wanted to make finals and see what happened,” Ovesen said. “My biggest competition ended up failing a dive, and my coach told me I had a real shot. Winning that title was a total shock.”

This time, she was ready to win. Even though she was nervous, she knew what to expect.

“I was really anxious going into it,” she said. “It felt like a lot of people had put targets on my back.”

Sydney Oveson smiles brightly after securing her second consecutive 5A state diving title

Ovesen spends a lot of time preparing mentally for meets. She doesn’t just imagine herself doing everything perfectly, she actually pictures herself messing up so she can stay calm if something goes wrong.

“I know this is gonna sound weird, but I visualize myself failing and then recovering from failing,” she said. “That way, if something does happen, I’ll be calm about it and know how to fix it.”

That mindset has helped her grow a lot since she was younger. She admitted she used to let nerves get the best of her, which held her back from succeeding. But now, she’s a two-time state champion, a Colorado State signee, and a three-time USA Zone E Championships qualifier, where she finished in the top 25 in both the 1- and 3-meter dives in 2024.

She also gives a lot of credit to her teammates.

“It helps a lot when you have teammates who don’t care and will support you through anything,” she said. “I’m more comfortable around them than absolutely anyone in this world.”

Ovesen’s high school career has come to an end, but she leaves Fossil Ridge as a two time state winning diver. Through diving, she’s learned how to handle pressure and trust herself, even when the stakes are high.

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About the Contributor

Sydney Lammey, Editor-in-Chief

Sydney Lammey, a senior at Fossil, has big aspirations for after high school hoping to pursue photography. She’s been in journalism all four years of high school. Lammey has been interested in journalism for a couple reasons. “I like to write a lot, and I like to meet new people,” explains Lammey. Her goal for the class, as it is student-ran, is to make the newsroom a comfortable place students actually want to be at.

Her favorite things in life have a wide variety, she loves the mountains because of nature but also because of animals and superstitious creatures like bigfoot. Her favorite hobbies include photography, but she's talented in other areas, like drawing and sculpture.

Food is a big part of her life, as she works in a restaurant. Lammey also enjoys cooking outside of work. Her favorite foods include an Indian dessert called Gulab Jamun and sushi, but as a child her favorite food was mini hotdogs, specifically at Chili’s.

A challenge Lammey hopes to overcome in journalism this semester is being more comfortable with people who are more introverted like herself and help new writers become excited about journalism.