SANTA ROSA — All season long, Hawks women’s diving teammates Sarah Dorn and Ainsley Wade have been competing for first. Every meet. Every practice. Pulling and pushing each other, both with the goal of being the best.
It resulted in belly-flops. Hurling their bodies through the air, testing just how many twists and turns they could pull off before gracefully plunging through the pool.
“We are very competitive together, but it’s like friendly competition,” said Wade, a freshman from Granada High. “I would say that she pushed me a lot just because I want to beat her.”
Dorn, a sophomore, echoed the same sentiment: “She motivated me … I knew I had to get more difficult dives in order to even place or get close to placing, so she made me work hard throughout this entire season.”
The mentality bred success. The Hawks dominated the diving standings in 2025.
During the Hawk Invitational, where most NorCal divers made the trip to compete, Wade and Dorn finished first and second, respectively, off the one-meter board. Dorn took first and Wade took third off the three-meter board. They split victories.
Wade then bested Dorn in both events during the Coast Conference Championships. The result was Dorn hitting practice even harder. And the pool.
She worked to increase her difficulty level, leading to some frustrating days. But she knew it was now or never. She was left only one more chance to beat out her teammate. One last race to the top of the standings.
This time, it would be for a state title.
As a result of their competitive friendship, Dorn and Wade both medaled at the 76th Annual 3C2A Championships at Santa Rosa Junior College. Dorn came away with two second-place finishes at state, in the one-meter competition on May 1 and three-meter competition on May 2. Add her runner-up in the one-meter event at the 2024 state meet, where she missed out on gold by just 3.55 points, and Dorn caps her Las Positas career with three state silver medals in her career— a feat for a woman who converted from gymnastics to diving not even two years ago.
Wade took third in the one-meter in her state championship debut. She also took fourth in the three-meter event.
Dorn and Wade were the only Hawks to medal during the state championships.
It concludes one of the most dominant seasons of diving in the history of the Hawks program. Dorn and Wade proved a big part of the Hawks women winning their first Coast Conference Championship since 2019.
This time, Dorn and Wade sought individual success. For Dorn, a sophomore, it places a resounding conclusion to her career as a Hawk. Wade, a freshman, measure herself up to the moment — to see where she stood among the best JUCO divers in California.
But it’s the inspiration they get from each other that propelled them to new heights.
“As a collective, we’ve been the top all season,” head coach Jason Craighead said. “But if they would have stayed where they were, they would not have ended at the top… So it’s not just satisfied with being good or top at most meets, but like ‘where do we need to be by the end?’”
A gold medal, however, was off the table.
Los Angeles Valley’s Ciera Center is the class of the state. The Division I-talent put up astronomical scores this season and was thought to be too daunting to challenge. She proved it by setting new stage records in both diving events.
Despite gold being out of reach, the Hawk teammates still brought the same intense competitiveness they had throughout the year.
Wade entered as the favorite due to her winning performance at the conference championships. But Dorn boasted an experience advantage.
She shined because of it. She put together her best six-dive routine of the season, her score of 229.10 breaking the Las Positas record in one-meter diving. The previous high was held by Valentina Barbalinardo, who scored 226.10 in the 2017 state championships.
Dorn wasn’t finished. She also executed her best performance off the three-meter board, ending with a score of 241.65, earning her second silver.
Dorn treated her performance as two golds. Because the new state champion, Center, is simply on another level, and because of the journey to this podium.
Before joining the Hawks last season, Dorn had never dived before. She leaves Las Positas as one of the program’s most prestigious divers.
“This is crazy,” Dorn said. “Not gonna lie, I was not ready for any of this at all. I mean, I was really hoping that my first year I would push and make states, but now, where I ended up, I’m honestly impressed with myself.”
While Dorn came out on top between the two Hawks, Wade still produced. She felt pleased with her scores — 222.95 points off one meter and her 206.20 off the three-meter, which was 20.7 points shy of a bronze — she now has ample motivation for her sophomore season.
Due to that motivation and her own competitive drive, satisfaction all but escaped her mind. Frustration took precedent.
The same competitive spirit that pushed Wade makes her look forward to 2026.
WADE IN THE WATER: Freshman diver Ainsley Wade twists through the air during the three-meter event at the 3C2A state championships. She took third-place finish in the one-meter competition at Santa Rosa College. (Photo by Jakob Arnarsson/ The Express)
With Dorn set on leaving, the mantle is left agape for Wade to take over. To improve, she will likely need to find a way to push herself without having such a measurable talent to match up with during practice. She hopes the rest of the state will remain competitive, wanting to continuously test herself against the best of the best.
That’s what earned her third-place medal. And what led to the Hawks’ success. The relentless chase to be the best.
“Next year I want to win,” Wade said. “I want to win state on the one-meter and three-meter. And I want to get really hard skills.”
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TOP PHOTO: Sarah Dorn accepting her silver medal for her three-meter performance on May 2. Dorn ends her Las Positas career with three silver medals in her two state championship appearances. (Photo by Jakob Arnarsson/ The Express)
Jakob Arnarsson is the Managing Editor and Sports Editor of The Express. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @JakobA2004
