SOLON, Ohio — Last year, Solon High School diver Dominic Roberto had just won his third Ohio High School Athletic Association state titleas a junior. Every year of competing, Roberto was a champion, and so he set a goal for his senior year—win his fourth state championship and make history.
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This year, Roberto achieved that goal.
During the OHSAA Boys Division I Diving tournament inside the C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton, Roberto led through the prelims and semis, scoring well above his competitors. By the finals, Roberto had scored 591.71, more than 40 points higher than the second-place diver.
The win gave Roberto his fourth state title—marking the first time in Ohio history a diver won the championship in all four years of high school. That feat is even more impressive, with the meet having been held for 97 years, and no one has accomplished what Roberto has.
Roberto has reflected on every single championship and said each one feels different than the last.
"The coolest thing about all of it is I would say every state championship experience has had a different feeling," Roberto said. "My freshman year was probably the most exciting since [it was] my first one I won. Sophomore year was probably I guess the coolest feeling because I just went back and did it again. Junior was probably the most emotional because it was like, 'Alright, now I'm up there with the other two divers that have won three times.' And then fourth year was probably just the most wholesome experience if that makes sense because it's kind of just eye-opening and it was kind of everything coming together at one moment."
Roberto reaching his goal came as no surprise to those who have watched him dive for years. His coach, Taylor Epstein, said she's known from the start that he would be great.
"I knew from the beginning. I knew from four years ago. There really wasn't a doubt in my mind. When he gives something, when he has a goal and he gives it his all, he succeeds," she said.
Now that Roberto has made state history and is the first-ever four-time Ohio state champion in diving, he's continuing to pursue his next goals.
Roberto will soon head off to college, going to The Ohio State University, where he will aim to take his diving to the next level. And while he prepares to compete collegiately, a loftier goal awaits him—and Roberto is looking forward to making it happen.
"There's a lot of goals next. We got Big Ten, NCAAs, and maybe even the Olympics. That's kind of a stretch goal, so yeah, there's a lot of exciting stuff coming up," Roberto said.
