As senior Austin Howlett climbs the three-meter diving board, he takes several deep breaths and visualizes how he will dive, the techniques he will use, and how it will look. He steps to the edge of the board. Silence fills the room as Howlett springs off the board and his athletic instincts take over.
Howlett competed in the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships that took place March 18-21 in Shenandoah, Texas. Howlett ended up taking 19th place off the 1-meter board, and 8th place off the 3-meter board. The competition consisted of 11 different dives: five voluntary dives, which are simple and detail-oriented, and then six optional dives, which are more complex.
Howlett’s favorite dive from the meet was his ‘reverse 2.5 twisting 1.5’.“It’s a little hard to describe, but a reverse is doing a backflip going forward off the board, so its one and a half somersaults with two and a half twists,” Howlett said. “I’m pretty big on any twisting dives, so that was enjoyable for me.”
Although Howlett’s results from the national competition are incredibly impressive, this meet was very challenging because he punctured his eardrum during warm-ups.
The athletic trainers told him that competing was dependent on how well he felt, and so Howlett decided to stick with it and finish out his season as strong as he could. It made his final meet more difficult, but he said it was a lesson to be learned.
This was Howlett’s final collegiate diving competition and he claims he was in denial of his season ending up until his final dive. Howlett got involved with diving his sophomore year of high school. Since he was first a gymnast, his acrobatic skills translated over to diving, making the sport easy to learn. Howlett claims he wasn’t initially excited by the thought of wearing a speedo, but quickly learned to love the sport.
His diving coach, Ellen Walker, who just finished her 20th year coaching at Colorado College, makes a strong effort to duplicate a meet setting during the practices before competitions. “I announce dives as they would at a meet,” Walker said. “We make only minor modifications, adjusting body lines and hand positions.”
Walker also notes that Howlett looks forward to being in the pool everyday. “He likes a challenge and he likes to display his talents on the diving board,” Walker said. “He strives to perfect his dives and he’s eager for feedback. Coaching him is a thrill every day.”
Howlett’s favorite part about diving is the moment he jumps off the board. “At that moment your instincts start to take over and all the very complicated details in your head float away,” Howlett said. “It’s a moment of excitement and not knowing what’s going to happen but fully committing to whatever dive you’re doing in that moment.”
Walker was pleased with Howlett’s performance at Nationals. “Austin is a competitor and he always steps up when the pressure is on. He did not disappoint at the NCAA National Meet; he was confident, poised and graceful on every dive.”
Howlett received three consecutive All-American honors in diving, two regional titles off the three-meter board, and three SCAC titles. “Austin has had an amazing career succeeding in a sport that he loves,’’ Walker said.
Though his diving career has come to an end, Howlett believes that all of the work he put into his sport will translate to whatever he decides to do after college. “Diving in college has been a process of setting goals and trying to meet those goals,” Howlett said. “It’s definitely given me a lot of confidence physically, emotionally, and mentally to know that when I set my mind to certain things I can accomplish them.”