WILBRAHAM – Most suburbs in the United States have that one kid in the neighborhood who, on a trampoline, is like a member of the Ringling Brothers. While others marvel and gasp, fearless flips and perfectly executed twists come easily.
Wilbraham & Monson Academy junior Lukas Stanton was that kid in his neighborhood in the Whip City. All those spins and tucks have paid off for Stanton, who needed just two meets to get his name onto WMA’s record board for the Academy’s Swimming and Diving team.
LUKAS STANTON
Stanton posted a score of 188.45 at the Kingswood Oxford Invitational at Trinity College Dec. 10, earning him a first place at the meet and a spot in the Academy’s record books.
“I’ve always been on trampolines,” Stanton said. “As a kid, I’ve been able to do flips. It’s second nature for me.”
Stanton, who picked up diving a year ago because he was interested in competing in a winter sport, narrowly missed the school record in the first meet of the season. He would have likely established a new standard Dec. 3, but a failed dive on one of his six attempts landed him a score in the 160s and off the school mark of 183.1, set in 2002 by Kyle McKay ’03.
In the second meet of the 2016-17 season, though, Stanton connected on all of his dives and the 14-year record fell.
“The first meet I thought I had a shot at it, but with the failed dive, that messed up my chances for it,” he said. “In the second meet, I had easier dives and I thought I could beat the 184.”
“I’m happy I did it,” Stanton said. “I thought I would eventually get it because my personal record was a 210. I thought I would get up to that point but I hadn’t dove since the end of last season so I knew it would take some time to get back and get used to it.”
Stanton, who also plays soccer and lacrosse, recorded his 210 as a sophomore at Westfield High School. – Courtesy of Wilbraham & Monson Academy
