Enzo Morello only began his career in diving his freshman year, but now, at the end of his junior season, he’s a state medalist.
“I made it to state my sophomore year, so last year,” Morello said. “And I was also able to make it this year.”
With tough competition at state diving, Morello finished fifth, a high ranking that he’s happy about, but he said he knows there’s room for improvement for next year.
“I would say I was subpar because when you make it to state you want to do the best you can, but I feel like I could’ve done it better,” Morello said. “I did place 5th and that’s nothing to scoff at, so I’m happy about that.”
Morello has a background in gymnastics and after talking with Coach Jenson, learned his gymnastics skills could also work on the diving board, so diving became Morello’s new sport.
“I had Miss Schieffer for English 9 and she is really close with Mr. Jenson,” Morello said. “She wanted to introduce us and once we started talking, I chose to join the swim team.”
Morello said the transition from gymnastics to diving wasn’t too difficult.
“It was fun because it was something that made sense, but it was something new,” Morello said. “The air awareness, the power, the flipping, the elegance and beauty of the sports were very similar.”
The grace of his diving was evident at the Metro Conference championship swimming and diving meet, where Morello finished his 11 dives in first place as conference champion.
“I was really happy because it’s a fun feeling to win,” Morello said. “Especially when you do well.”
Morello said his favorite dive is the reverse two and a half, or dive number 305C.
“This is like doing a backflip but moving forward,” Morello said. “So you reach up and pull into a hollow, kick your legs up and forward, put your arms backwards and squeeze into a tight ball and dive into the water.”
It’s important for Morello to keep a good mindset when practicing his dives so he remembers his goals.
“I would say the mental part of diving is the hardest part of it,” Morello said. “My coach always says that there’s 90% of it that you can control, so why would I get upset about the other 10%? I just try to do my best whether I’m having a good or bad day.”
His success this season has made Morello excited for what he can accomplish next year as a senior.
“I aim to just do the best I can next year,” Morello said. “I’m expecting a top three finish by the end of my senior year next year.”
