Picking up a sport she hadn’t competed in for nearly half a decade, Maryville diver Mariah Hagerty’s persistence and dreams led her to four school records, two silver medals and a peaceful dream every night.
Picking up a sport she hadn’t competed in for nearly half a decade, Maryville diver Mariah Hagerty’s persistence and dreams led her to four school records, two silver medals and a peaceful dream every night.
At the beginning of last season, Hagerty’s dreams would make her slightly anxious since she was diving again for the first time since 2014, when she was in high school.
“This is the kind of sport that keeps you wide awake at night when you are trying to fall asleep,” Hagerty said. “When you close your eyes, all you see is dives and forms repeating themselves over and over again.”
But, as the season progressed, Hagerty adapted accordingly and grew more confident in her ability to create the smallest ripple when she dove headfirst into the pool.
During the opening meet of the season, Hagerty placed 14th in the 3-meter dive with a score of 174.85. But by the end of her first semester at Maryville, Hagerty more than doubled her score from the first meet with a 384.90 — worthy enough to finish sixth overall at the Delta State Invite.
“The 3-meter dive was brand-new to me and adjusting was hard,” Hagerty said. “I had to get over my fears of the height difference and the larger amount of difficulty. I was always a stronger athlete at 1-meter until I got comfortable with the 3-meter dive toward the end of the season.”
David Nielsen, Maryville’s head diving coach, agreed it took some time for Hagerty to get accustomed to the higher dive, but then it came naturally to her. “Mariah had little to no experience on 3-meter,” Nielsen said. “With practice each day, she drastically improved her skills and abilities. She achieved her goals and was able to be competitive on a board that she was previously unfamiliar with.”
She also posted a score of 401 in the 1-meter dive, which set the new Maryville school record and made her eligible to participate in the NCAA qualifiers. Hagerty set Maryville records in three other dives this past season. And, at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship, she claimed silver medals in the 1-meter and 3-meter dives.
“I have always had a competitive drive within me,” Hagerty said. “Having a positive attitude about practices and competitions made a big difference for my success. Going into practices, I had the mindset of ‘getting things done.’ I did not always want to do something, but I knew I had to, and reminded myself that excuses weren’t going to do anything but hold me back.”
Nielsen agreed that the season surpassed all of his expectations. “With returning to diving after four years away from the sport, Mariah truly overachieved at every level,” Nielsen said. “She is the most dedicated and resilient diver I have ever coached. She takes every challenge head on and never gives up, even when things get hard.”