Laguna Hills diver Bella Maceranka earns scholarship to University of South Dakota

Bella Maceranka competes for the Crown Valley Divers Club and Laguna Hills High School. (Photo courtesy Maceranka family)

Bella Maceranka of Laguna Hills High School committed Thursday to compete in diving at University of South Dakota, where she received a scholarship.

“I have been talking to the coach for a while and he’s really nice and my family feels comfortable with him,” said Maceranka, who will be a senior at Laguna Hills in the fall. “And I’ve met the some of the team and they’re really funny and I feel like my personality would just mesh really well.

“We took a road trip a few weeks ago to visit and I just fell in love with South Dakota, it’s so pretty and people are so nice there and it’s just very different from California. College is just my chance and I have four years to experience something different. I loved South Dakota and that’s where I want to spend the next four years.”

Maceranka said she plans to major in either sports broadcasting or sports management.

Maceranka began diving at the age of 8.

“My friend was a swimmer and when I was younger, my dad took me to the swim meet to watch them and at the same time there was a dive meet going on so we just went over to watch the dive meet and then the next thing I know, I just started classes,” she said. “It’s a lot of practice and trying not to have fear.”

In high school, Maceranka has been the only diver on the Laguna Hills High School team and advanced to the CIF finals in both her freshman and sophomore years. This past season, all events were cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I have been the only diver since I started high school and then this year there was another diver who moved from Washington, but we never got a season,” she said.

Maceranka has competed for the Crown Valley Divers Club under Coach Curt Wilson and made USA Zones last year. She credited Wilson for helping her development in the sport.

“I would not be where I am today without him,” she said. “There were so many times when I would say, ‘I can’t do this, I’m not strong enough mentally or physically.’ He’s one of the greatest coaches and he pushes you …. to become better. The team is like my best friends. I’m always with them. The whole Crown Valley Divers community is such a family and I’m really sad to leave them.”

“None of this would have happened without his (Wilson’s) dedication to his divers and love of coaching,” added her father Mike Maceranka, head football coach at Laguna Hills. “Our family is very grateful to be a part of such a strong dive program and Curt has been a driving force to help Bella reach her goal of becoming a Division 1 diver.”

The Maceranka family also visited Colorado State, Iowa State and Nebraska.

“As parents we feel great about her decision, the swimming and diving program is strong with great coaches who care about their athletes and will be great mentors to her and her future teammates,” Mike Maceranka said. “Coach Pape has a great rapport with his athletes and we know she can thrive in that environment as a student and athlete.

Bella Maceranka will continue to compete with her club team and hopes to get a final season in with the Laguna Hills team in 2021.

“Diving is a spring sport for high school; hopefully we will get a season but I’m not 100 percent sure how everything is going to play out,” she said.

-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com