Mar 3, 2016 5 min read

Trevor Mahoney’s diving career began with a dare.

The South Fayette junior was in sixth grade when his swim team held a pool party at the high school. As members of the Lions’ varsity team were gathered before a practice, Mahoney decided to jump from the diving board.

As he emerged from the pool following his first dive, the high school students challenged him to do a different dive. He climbed up, sprung off the board and nailed it.

Each time the kids challenged him, Mahoney either completed the dive or came close.

Their reaction, and the enjoyment he found in pushing off the board, had him hooked.

It’s fitting that one of Mahoney’s crowing achievements in the sport also included dare.

One year after finishing second, Mahoney overcame a deficit entering the 10th round to defeat John Ek of Laurel Highlands and win the WPIAL Class AA dividing championship Saturday at North Allegheny High School.

Mahoney trailed by 18 points after nine rounds, and as he prepared for this next dive his coaches challenged him to execute the next one.

“You have to hit this,” he was told.

His 2 1/2 somersault earned him a score of 57.6 and an 11-point lead. Moments later, he executed an inward double to seal the victory.

“I really didn’t know where I was sitting after my 10th dive,” Mahoney recalled. “After I hit the 11th, I thought to myself, I have it won. I was screaming to myself and when I popped my head out of the water and heard the crowd, I knew I had it won.”

Though the sport of diving requires strength to spring off the board and proper techinque, one of the most important assets for competitors is a short memory. In the past, Mahoney would often dwell on a dive that drew a low score. Instead of focusing on techinique or perfecting a new dive for the championships, Mahoney’s coaches worked on boosting the junior’s confidence.

When South Fayette diving coach AJ Mannarinio arrived at North Allegheny prior to the championship meet, he was relieved to find his top diver relaxed and ready.

“We’ve been working with him on mentally getting in the right frame of mind,” Mannarino said. “His issue in the past was overthinking and getting in his own head. When I saw him before the meet, I had a good feeling that he’d have a good day. He’s found an ability to control the stress and his competitiveness makes him a great diver.”

The lessons and dives learned during eight different training sessions every week didn’t hurt, either. He’s on the diving board practicing at South Fayette six times a week, plus he trains with a club at South Park High School.

It’s in those sessions that he goes through the frustrating process of learning and perfecting dives for competition. The smallest mishap can cause a painful, failed dive. There are still days when Mahoney does not want to practice a difficult dive. In the days leading up to the WPIAL champinship, each dive became a chore and the fun he felt on his first dive at that pool party was gone. But finishing second last year kept the three-time WPIAL finalist hungry for a gold medal.

As he prepares for the PIAA Champinships, set for March 18 at Bucknell University, Mahoney recalled that dare he accepted as a sixth grader and turned toward his next challenge of winning a state title.

“You have to let the pressure and everything else go and just have fun,” Mahoney said. “Whenever you mess up a dive, it doesn’t matter. Move on to the next one no matter what. That’s kept my nerves down.”

Washington senior Kurt Adkins is one of three local senior football players who will continue his athletic career at the NCAA Division II level. Adkins, a running back and defensive back for the Prexies, chose Seton Hill, which competes in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.

Adkins ran for 1,237 yards and 19 touchdowns, despite rarely playing late in games.

Mapletown senior Matt Rush, meanwhile, will play at Lake Erie College, which competes in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, in Painesville, Ohio. Rush was a standout linebacker for the Maples last fall.

Chartiers-Houston senior kicker Michael Cushma, who was selected to the Big 33 Football Classic in Hershey, will join Edinboro’s football program. Cushma kicked six field goals last fall, including a 44-yarder against OLSH, and had 19 touchbacks on kickoffs. As a junior, he made a game-winning 31-yard field goal against rival Fort Cherry to put C-H in the playoffs.

McGuffey senior Samantha Zoeller will continue her academic and athletic careers at Bethany, where she’ll play soccer and run track for the Bison.

Zoeller was an all-section selection for the Highlanders last fall.