Grand Valley State University’s diving team hosted Albion College, Calvin College and Saginaw Valley State University at the Fieldhouse Arena’s pool for the last home invite of the 2024-2025 regular season. Five Lakers secured first-place finishes, making their mark in the pool.
25 total divers attended the invite to represent their given school. Of the 25 student-athletes, 13 Lakers competed, seeking to secure a qualifying spot at nationals and prepare for postseason competitions. Each diving distance was divided into two sections, the two men’s 1-meter and 3-meter dives, as well as the two women’s 1-meter and 3-meter dives, making a total of eight events.
GVSU junior Carter Wood dominated the 1-meter board, securing a first-place finish with a score of 315.45 over six total dives. Over the 2024-2025 regular season, Wood has never ranked lower than third place and remains a consistent leader of the men’s diving team.
“I’ve been diving for a long time and have an extensive background in flips and freestyle trampoline, so (translating that into) diving has helped a lot,” said Wood.
In the second men’s 1-meter event, sophomore Matthew Blommel earned first place with a score of 480.90 over 11 total dives.
Moving up two meters, sophomore Austin Clise took first place in the 3-meter dive, scoring 324.40 in six dives. Clise’s performance secured his first National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) qualifying score for nationals. In the same event, sophomore Aidan Busignani was right behind Clise, claiming second place with a score of 263.35.
The women’s team reciprocated the men’s success and intensity, as senior Maddie Kooistra claimed first place in the 1-meter dive, scoring 497.20 in 11 dives. Kooistra’s performance at the board set a new pool record for the Lakers. In the same event, the Lakers dominated the top three rankings, with sophomore Macy Polasek securing second place and sophomore Emi Goto securing third.
In such a highly individualistic sport, Goto expressed that she pushes herself on the board in hopes of success for the whole team.
“(Since) it (diving) is individualistic, you can’t rely on your teammates to boost your score,” said Goto. “I see my teammates who will do better (performance-wise) than me, and it really pushes me to want to be like them. I want to be competitive with my teammates and we push each other, which offers a different perspective.”
In the second women’s 1-meter event, freshman Bella Larson earned second place for the Lakers with a score of 260.15 over six dives. Larson went on to secure first place in the 3-meter dive over six dives with a score of 246.30.
Head diving coach Steve Burciaga watched his team’s success from the media booth and stressed the invite’s importance in preparing the team for nationals and post-season competition. During the invite, each diver performed and then underwent a rest period that averaged 12 minutes. This systematic model replicates that of higher competitions.
“What are you doing in those 12 minutes?” theorized Burciaga. “What are your thoughts in those 12 minutes? We focus on those attributes and modeling so we dive well. This is a great opportunity to learn what to do between breaks, and we focused on that a lot today.”
As the regular season concludes, the Lakers will enter post-season competition in Holland for the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championship on Wednesday, Feb. 19.
