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RIDLEY TWP. — Mu’Nairah Saleem calls it “probably the best phone call I’ve ever gotten.”
It was Sunday morning, March 3, when the PIAA released at-large qualifiers for the state championships. The Ridley senior diver had tempered expectations as to what might come of it. She had finished eighth at the District 1 Class 3A Championships two weeks earlier, a great result for someone who had only taken up the sport as a sophomore, but the first alternate for states behind seven automatic qualifiers.
While Saleem was proud of what she’d accomplished at districts, she regarded states as a long shot. She remained on the boards training, “practicing just to practice,” and hoping a withdrawal might draft her into the field.
So when diving coach John Dyer called and asked if she would accept a spot in states that had opened up, the response was unequivocal and emphatic.
“I was jumping up and down, telling my parents, ‘mom, dad, I’m diving at states. I’m diving at states,’” Saleem said this week. “I texted my teammates, ‘I’m diving at states.’ And everyone was so excited for me.”
It’s the culmination of a brief but rapid ascent for Saleem, from novice to states in three years. And it’s the latest proof of the concept of Ridley’s outstanding diving program, under Dyer and head swim coach Kevin Pierce, that is sending four divers to states, the third straight season that Green Raiders have dived at Bucknell.
Saleem didn’t start from zero exactly. She’s done gymnastics since age three. Among her friends from the mats were two girls a year older: Jolie Torres, who dove at states last year, and Kacey Lenz, who finished in the top 10 in districts each of the last two years. Saleem had never dived before 10th grade, even in Ridley’s vast culture of summer swimming clubs. But she found a welcoming environment, a sport she wanted to explore and elected to give it a go.
“I knew a few of the people who were on the team, and I thought, looks like a good group, seems like something I’d be interested in,” she said. “And I decided I would join, not thinking too much about it.”
Saleem’s baseline was considerably higher than most beginners, though it would still be a long climb to states. She finished 11th at the Central League championships in her first season and eighth last year, though she was short of a qualifying score for districts.
She lists the vault as her favorite gymnastics apparatus, the explosiveness directly translatable to springboard. She also enjoys floor exercise, which gave her a strong base in the technique of flips and twists. She found the adjustment “daunting,” as is often the case for diving gymnasts, to landing hands-first on a liquid surface, but battled through it.
What helped most was the environment she landed in.
“It was very motivating,” Saleem said. “I grew up with Jolie and Kacey, we both did gymnastics together, so coming into it, I did know them. I think it was great being on a team with girls that I could look up to, not just their character but also their skill level, seeing them perfect these dives and hoping that I could get there someday. They were really encouraging when I first started out. It was rocky at first, but they were like, you can do it, and they always had my back at every step of the way.”
“We learn a lot from each other,” fellow senior Ava Keller said. “I think watching everyone kind of helps me a lot because I get to see what they’re doing, and sometimes we have the same difficulties. Seeing them do that helps me feed off of that and learn how to get stronger off of them.”
Ridley has long been the area’s marquee diving program, all under Dyer’s leadership. Ridley divers in the mid-2000s – boys Ian Jevnick and Josh Bonner; Erin Saunders for the girls – held Delco diving records for nearly a decade. It has sent seven divers to states in the last three years, with Keller, Saleem and boys Kamren Brown and Tyler Reeve this year.
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Ridley diver Mu’Nairah Saleem is headed to the state meet with some mates. (Pete Bannan – MediaNews Group) practices at the school pool Wednesday. (PETE BANNAN-DAILY TIMES)
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