One of Pennsylvania's best 1-meter divers is heading to California, trying to prove she is one of the country's best.

Murrysville's Samantha Pickens qualified for nationals at the eastern regionals last month in Rockville, Md.

Pickens, a sophomore at Franklin Regional High School, claimed the PIAA title in 1-meter diving in March. She finished second in the WPIAL to her Pitt Aquatic Club teammate, Amanda Lohman of Upper St. Clair.

The nationals will be in Mission Viejo, Calif., Tuesday through next Thursday. Pickens will be leaving tomorrow.

It will be her third trip to nationals. She competed in North Carolina when she was 14 and in Indianapolis last year, when she claimed the 1-meter title at the east regionals in Georgia.

After turning 16 last month, she moved up to the 16-18-year-old age group and saw the competition get a lot harder.

"Just this year, I [moved up to] the older age group," Pickens said.

"These girls are really good. They're getting ready to go to college and they're more experienced."

Pickens qualified for nationals in the 1-meter after finishing 10th. The top 12 divers qualified. She missed the cut on the 3-meter, her other event.

In the younger age group last year, Pickens took sixth place in the 1-meter dive.

That was an improvement over her national debut in North Carolina, where she froze on the board a few times and had to take a failed dive after taking too much time.

"She had an episode where she could not get off the board on back takeoffs," said Doe Krug, her coach at Pitt Aquatic Club. "She would stand up to take her dives and she would freeze up.

"At nationals, it was a painful experience and the referee told her time was up.

"She has had her battles, but she has tons of determination and she has such a great work ethic."

That experience helped Pickens at Indianapolis last year. Competing in national events serves as a confidence boost.

"It helps a lot already having been there," she said. "My coaches tell me that I am just as good as [other competitors] and there is nothing I need to worry about. I just go out and do my dives."

She trains at Pitt Aquatic and has been coached by Krug and her husband, Julian, since she was 7.

The Krugs began at Pitt in 1979 and send divers to nationals each year. Their stable consists of about 10 divers who compete seriously on the regional and national levels.

"We aren't a big team, but we are comfortable with the size and level we are at," Doe Krug said. "With no exceptions, we've had divers at nationals every summer since we've been at Pitt."

Going this year from the Pitt Aquatic Club, in addition to Pickens and Lohman, is Connor Kuremsky 15, of North Allegheny.

"It feels really good knowing you aren't going to be out there at nationals alone," Pickens said. "You'll have friends there cheering for you.

"[The aquatic club] is so much fun.

"We're kind of like one big family."