Maggie Gregory was a swimmer her freshman year at Columbus East when she couldn’t help but notice another interesting event associated with the sport.
A former gymnast and cheerleader, Gregory was fascinated with the divers. She began diving the following year.
“I watched the divers, and doing flips and all that growing up, I was really interested in that,” Gregory said. “So my sophomore year, I decided to try it out.”
Now, two years later, Gregory has landed a diving scholarship to Division I Wagner College in Staten Island, New York.
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Gregory was looking at Division I and Division II colleges on the east coast. She reached out to Wagner, received an email back, sent videos and scheduled a campus visit.
Over fall break, Gregory, who wants to go into a physician’s assistant or nursing program, went on a recruiting trip. She really liked that the campus was in a quiet area, yet could travel 20 minutes and be in the heart of New York City.
“I thought it was nice how I had that small environment that’s not really busy, but when I want to, I can get a larger environment with a lot to do,” Gregory said.
Gregory finished fifth in the Columbus North Sectional as a sophomore — one spot away from qualifying for the diving regional — but then missed all of last season. She underwent shoulder surgery after tearing her labrum and bicep.
In June, Gregory started diving again with Indiana International School of Diving club coach David McKown at University of Indianapolis. She said being exposed to the higher level of diving has really opened her eyes to how many different components there are to diving.
Gregory is undefeated this high school season. She posted a career-best 209.5 for six dives in the season-opener against Bloomington North. She also won the diving competition in a dual meet at Shelbyville and will try for another victory tonight at home against Columbus North.
“She’s come back really strong and more confident and trying new stuff,” East coach Jill Arnholt said. “She trains year-round and has put a lot of effort into it. It’s really paid off.”
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What: Columbus North at Columbus East boys and girls swimming and diving
When: 5:30 p.m. today
Where: Columbus East High School
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