By: Carter Caldwell

As the winter season draws to a close and the state tournaments begin to start, senior Justin Boreman’s qualification for the 2017 Ohio High School Diving Championship is making quite the splash, in part due to Boreman’s attendance of the Ohio High School Cross Country Championship earlier this school year.  Boreman qualified individually for cross country with a time of 16:46.74, earning him 20th place and an automatic advancement to the state meet, where he finished 101st with a time of 16:33.00, a personal record.  

In diving, Boreman again qualified individually with a score of 258.8, earning him the spot of 23rd qualifier.  The diving meet took place at 2:00 pm on February 22, 2017, at C. T. Branin Natatorium in Canton.  When asked about how he felt when he first found out he would be advancing to state in cross country, Boreman said he was surprised to realize that qualifying was not as impossible as it first seemed.  He also credits cross country coach Mike Baumer as the reason he worked to get to the state meet in diving, too, as Baumer encouraged him to reach for his goals and work hard on the way.  

Despite not making it to a state meet prior to his senior year, Boreman said he was not nervous at the cross country meet, as it was very similar to other meets throughout the season.  However, he did admit that he is “a little bit more nervous” because of the other divers and the fact that there will be more people watching than usual, but he is happy that he qualified and his goal is “just to enjoy the experience.”

After the diving championships, Boreman will be a part of the track team, where he will run primarily distance events.  He says that he would train hard to go to the Ohio High School Track Championship later this year, but he feels like track will be the most difficult of his sports to qualify in.  After track is over, Boreman will be attending the University of Cincinatti, where he will study aerospace engineering.  Although he won’t be a part of any teams there, Boreman does plan on joining a running club.  

Boreman’s favorite memory from high school sports are the team dinners in dive and cross country, because he enjoys spending time with friends, “especially while eating food.”  When asked if he had any advice for underclass athletes, Boreman says the best advice he can give is to get to know your teammates, because after the excitement of the race is over, your teammates will always be there to pace you and help you to improve, which he believes is the best way to become a better athlete and enjoy being part of the team.