Winning a state championship in any sport is an impressive feat. Winning three consecutive state championships is a display of dominance.

 

Victoria Knapp is a senior on Skyline High School’s dive team. This friendly, smiley girl is a force to be reckoned with on the diving board. She has achieved this feat and is looking for more.

 

Knapp began diving in Mesa’s recreational program when she was 6 years old. Knapp also participated in swim and synchro.

 

As time went on, Knapp narrowed her focus to dive.

 

“With swimming you see the lane lines and the walls and it gets boring,” Knapp said. “Flipping is a lot more fun and it is a lot more challenging.”

 

In 2015, Knapp’s freshman year, she went undefeated in meets during the season and won the Division II girls state dive championship.

 

“It was really exciting,” Knapp said. “I worked so hard to get there.”

 

One year later, after another undefeated season in her sophomore year, Knapp would go on to win her second consecutive girls state diving championship, this time at the Division  I level.

 

In her junior year, Knapp would roll once again to another undefeated season and her third straight girls state diving championship.

 

“It’s rare for an athlete in any sport to dominate as Victoria has done,” Skyline athletic director Greg Schultz said.

 

“Victoria has catapulted the Skyline dive program as one of the best in the state,” Schultz said.

 

Leah Ruane, head coach of Skyline’s swim and dive team, said Knapp's performance has put the school on a new tier in Arizona high school aquatics.

 

“Victoria brings an elite level of athleticism to our entire program,” Ruane said.

 

Though she has taken three straight dive championships as a Skyline athlete, Knapp is not actually enrolled full time at the school. Knapp is home schooled.

 

Knapp is able to take part in high school athletics thanks to an AIA rule which allows home- schooled students to participate in sports at the school in which their home falls within its boundaries.

 

“I do consider Victoria a Skyline student,” Schultz said. “I am proud of her work ethic and commitment to the sport of dive. She has been instrumental in bringing recognition to Skyline High School.”

 

Despite her outstanding accomplishments and skill on the board, Knapp remains extremely humble.

 

“I’m still really nervous going into [meets] because I see all the competition around me and they’re all really good.”

 

Knapp said she owes her dominance in the sport of dive to nothing more than hard work.

 

“I’m very dedicated,” Knapp said. “If I don’t do a dive right, I’ll do it over and over again, so I do it better.”

 

Said coach Ruane: “Victoria is her own biggest critic.”

 

Knapp also said her success comes from those around her.

 

“I practice a lot, I have really great coaches and all my teammates push me to do better.”

 

All of Knapp’s success on the board has not gone unnoticed. So far, Knapp has received college offers from UNLV, Northern Arizona and ASU.

 

Knapp also said aside from continuing her dive career, she also wants to study pre-med and become a doctor.

 

She hadn't lost a meet yet through midway through her senior season, keeping her career undefeated streak alive.

 

When asked if she thinks she could win a fourth straight state championship this year, a smiling Knapp responded, “My chances are up there.”