Aquino: Next great Hillie diver in line
Oct. 31—She has a chance, says Haverhill High diving coach Becky Driscoll, to be the next great one.
Her name is Kailyn Aquino, a freshman diver who just may be the next outstanding Hillie diver. She finished second at the recent MVC Diving Invitational with a strong 11-dive score of 361.85.
And there have been some great divers in Driscoll's 26 years as the Hillie coach, the most notable being 2004 state champion Monica Hubbard, two-time state champion and school record holder Michaela Sliney, who dove on scholarship at the University of Louisville, and current senior and defending state champ Cailey Simard.
"(Aquino) has a shot," said Driscoll. "By the time she's a senior, I think she'll be a (state) contender. Her strength is that she's willing to try anything. She's learning and improving all the time."
The 14-year-old Aquino (she'll be 15 Monday!) has already been diving for nearly eight years, first at Cedardale and the last five with the Solo Swim Team under the direction of Driscoll. At Solo, and even before, she's been able to learn from Simard.
"Her mom (Kelly Simard, a former Haverhill diver) coached me since I was eight so I always knew Cailey and we became friends," said Aquino. "I've always tried to live up to her. My coach (Driscoll) says I need to get to where she was as a freshman."
Like a lot of divers, Aquino did gymnastics when she was younger, as well as dance but, when she was 10, she began focusing almost entirely on diving.
"I know it (gymnastics) helped me a lot but I got tired of it and I thought diving was more fun," said Aquino.
At the same time, even more so than Sliney and Simard, Aquino is a strong swimmer, particularly in the freestyle sprints and backstroke, and she helped the undermanned (15 on the team) Hilles complete a 7-3 regular season. She was a strong relay member with the likes of senior stalwarts Carli Quinlan and Cailey Simard, junior Jackie Story and sophomore Kenzie Hillsgrove, who were generally the team's top point scorers.
When asked if she likes swimming or diving more, Aquino said: "It depends on the day and what we're doing for practice. I like them both."
Aquino generally practices diving while at high school practice but she gets plenty of swimming in as a member of the Phoenix Swim Club, with which she works out with six days a week. She also still dives for Solo, which she attends several times a week.
As a combination swimmer/diver, Aquino "has definitely made an impact especially on relays and diving," said Haverhill head swim coach Meg Feran. "We definitely see her filling Cailey's diving role after she graduates and supplementing some swim events and being a big part of relays.
"Kailyn is an incredible athlete and such a great kid. She is willing to do any event we need her to do. She may not be thrilled about some (especially breaststroke) but she is a team player through and through. We're so excited with the impact she's made this year and can't wait to see how much more she continues to add."
Aquino admits that her involvement with two club teams in addition to swimming for the Hillies can be a bit draining but, she says, "I love the sport and I want to continue in college."
If that happens, that would further continue the Haverhill diving tradition. In addition to Sliney at Louisville, Hubbard dove at Northeastern and Simard will be diving next year at UNH.
