Karsten flips into 21st place at state
Owatonna diver Kate Karsten breaks through the surface of the water during a dive at the state meet. Karsten accrued 141.30 points across five dives to take 21st. Staff photo by Johnnie Phillips
Owatonna diver Kate Karsten competed in the girls’ one-meter diving competition at the Class AA state meet last week and took 21st place with 141.30 points.
The junior’s trip to state was the second of her career and also marked the second consecutive season she has finished 21st.
Her day began and ended in the preliminary round where she kicked off her five-dive routine with a score of 26.35.
Through two dives, Karsten had accumulated 60.45 points and slotted in at 16th place – a mark that kept her inside the top 20 for a shot at making the semifinals.
However, another score of 26.35 in her third dive saw her slip back into 19th place and kept her future in the competition in question.
Karsten went on to score 27 and 27.5 on her final two attempts to round out her day with 141.30 points.
She sat in 20th place after her final dive of the day, but with athletes still left to compete, Karsten was forced to watch on with no control of her fate.
As the final diver of the preliminary round took the board, Karsten had to fade just one final dive to make the cut for the semifinals.
Unfortunately for her, a clutch final dive pushed Karsten out of the semifinals and landed her just a mere 1.7 points behind Halle Jansma for 20th place at 143.0-141.3.
The result was not what Karsten had hoped for in her second trip to the state meet, but her effort and success in 2025 continue to show that she is improving year after year.