Danielewicz, Scarry have bright futures for Windy City Diving
BY DINO MACRO dmacro@pioneerlocal.com
He’s only 8 years old. But Zayne Danielewicz has no fear of diving against competitors who are often 3 years older than him.
The Riverwoods resident has put together quite a summer as part of the Windy City Diving team. Danielewicz finished 13th in the nation in 3-meter and 15th in 1-meter at the recent Age-Group Nationals in Knoxville, Tenn.
He dove in the 11-under age bracket.
“Zayne has a lot of body awareness for an 8-year-old,” said Windy City coach Susan Bromberg. “That (type of awareness) is hard to come by.”
Amazingly, Danielewicz competed as a Novice diver in 2010.
“He has definitely improved his strength,” Bromberg said. “To qualify for nationals as an 8-year-old is pretty impressive.”
Danielewicz began his surge of strong diving by winning an Illinois Association Championship (9-under) on 3-meter last month. He then beat an 11-year-old field from the Midwest to claim a regional championship.
On the mend: Sean Scarry, a 14-year-old from Deerfield, began his summer by breaking his foot.
The incoming Deerfield High School freshman showed off his toughness by competing at regional while the foot was still broken.
Scarry closed out his season at nationals, placing 34th on 3-meter and 37th on 1-meter.
“Sean was competing against some great divers,” said Bromberg, aware the top three finishers qualified for the Olympic Trials. “He didn’t have a great meet, but it was a good experience for him.”
Bromberg believes Scarry has a bright future in front of him.
“Sean has a great sense of himself in the air,” the coach said. “He always knows where he is. That (awareness) helps him get out of tough situations. He always lands on his head (when entering the water).”
Bromberg added “Sean will definitely make an impact on the high school scene.”
On a roll: Max Showalter, who will be a freshman at Fenwick, took ninth in 1-meter and 16th in 3-meter at the national meet in 14-15 boys.
“Max will be in that age group for another year,” Bromberg noted. “For it being his first year in that group, he did a great job.”
Wheaton resident George Doran, who will be a freshman at Harvard University this fall, added a 13th-place effort on 1-meter and 31st-place finish on 3-meter at nationals in the 16-18 bracket.
“George is a very strong kid,” Bromberg said. “I believe he will do very well in the Ivy League, and he has a good shot at making the NCAAs.”
Doran put together a solid meet with an interested party in the crowd.
“The Harvard coach was there, and he was very excited by what he saw,” Bromberg said.
On the move: After spending several years training at Stevenson High School, Windy City now practices with the Palatine Park District and also utilizes the boards at UIC. The club uses boards at Fremd and Palatine High Schools, and also practices at two outdoor pools in Palatine.
Bromberg was thrilled with the 2011 results: 26 competitors at regional, 10 Zone Meet Qualifiers and 5 national qualifiers.
“We have a group of divers who want to learn,” she said. “And they have fun doing it.”
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