The reigning state diving champion from Bothell High was worried about how it might affect his dives.

So much for that theory.

Nicholas not only won his second straight dive championship, but improved on his automatic All-American score last year with 413.70 points.

“I knew it was going to hurt to go down deep, and that is a lot of what diving is: going into the water pretty deep,” Nicholas said. “So the car ride down here yesterday was pretty stressful. But you just plug in your iPod and forget about it.”

He did. And now he is a two-time state champion.

“It feels really good,” said Nicholas, who had virtually no voice left. “The first time it was a lot more surprising, and this year it was just (about) defending the title.”

Bothell had three divers finish in the top 11 at state, with teammates Tim Clendaniel taking eighth and Casey McDaniel taking 11th at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.

Neighboring school Inglemoor, which won the Kingco championship a week prior after an undefeated dual-meet season, finished seventh in the state with 105 points.

The Vikings had most of their finishers in the consolation race. But they were in the finals of the last race of the evening on Saturday, the 400-yard freestyle relay, taking fifth in a crowded field, up two spots from their seeding time.

Powered behind seniors Eric Patterson, Patrick Baxter, along with juniors Luke Swenson and Craig Olynyk, the Vikings’ time of 3 minutes, 18.04 seconds was just .01 seconds slower than a tie for fourth.

“I think it’s great for these kids that are seniors,” Inglemoor head coach Monica Mayes said of the season. “To be able to go out and have a great last meet, and do it as a team.”

Inglemoor also had a diver make the finals in sophomore Spencer Moore, who moved up from 17th to 12th in the final three dives with 290.35 points, the second best score of any sophomore.

“I’m really happy for his first year of diving,” Inglemoor dive coach Debra Shelton said. “He showed a lot of poise, and just a very consistent meet for him.”

Inglemoor won the consolation race of the 200-yard freestyle relay behind Matt Novack, Patterson, Baxter and Kyle Bogusz (ninth overall).

Patterson took 10th in the 100-yard butterfly, with Baxter 10th in the 100-yard freestyle.

Swenson, the junior team co-captain, had a career best in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:02.55, good enough for 12th in state,