{"id":18585,"date":"2015-05-14T15:46:56","date_gmt":"2015-05-14T20:46:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/?p=18585"},"modified":"2015-11-12T08:18:59","modified_gmt":"2015-11-12T14:18:59","slug":"champion-divers-make-a-splash-in-the-pool-and-the-classroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/champion-divers-make-a-splash-in-the-pool-and-the-classroom\/","title":{"rendered":"Champion divers make a splash in the pool and the classroom"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"diving_j1\"<\/a>
Graduating senior K.J. Heger earned multiple Horizon League “diver of the week” honors and was named “diver of the meet” at the league’s 2015 swimming and diving championship event.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Horizon League awarded \u201cdiver of the week\u201d honors a combined 25 times to UWM athletes Rachel Margis and K.J. Heger this season.<\/p>\n

The pair also dove to great finishes at the 2015 Horizon League Swimming and Diving Championships, where Heger was named diver of the meet.<\/p>\n

\"diviing_heger\"<\/a>
K.J. Heger<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Heger came to UWM from Rockford, Illinois, with minimal diving experience and ended up becoming one of the most accomplished divers to ever come through program, says UWM Diving Coach Todd Hill.<\/p>\n

Heger, who was involved in competitive trampolining as a younger athlete, said his ability to recognize visual cues that alert him to his position during flips and general body awareness helped him successfully adapt his trampolining skills for diving competition.<\/p>\n

Like Heger, Margis began her diving career in high school. Both divers noted that qualifying for the state tournament as high schoolers \u2013 Guilford High School for Heger and Racine\u2019s Washington Park High School for Margis \u2013 was a catalytic moment that launched their collegiate careers.<\/p>\n

This season, Margis set the school record for the one-meter dive, and was also named the women\u2019s swimming and diving team\u2019s diver of the year.<\/p>\n

\"diving_margis\"<\/a>
Rachel Margis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Margis was previously a gymnast, but says that diving has been a much more rewarding sport for her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely enjoy diving more,\u201d says Margis. \u201cDiving is like half my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

Though he will graduate from UWM on May 17 and his time as a Milwaukee Panthers athlete is behind him, Heger says diving will remain a part of his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like it will just keep drawing me back in, whether it\u2019s coaching or something else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Margis and Heger credited coach Todd Hill as a key factor behind their success.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s part of the reason I came here,\u201d says Heger.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understood what each of us was doing before we did it,\u201d adds Hill<\/p>\n

The strong bond shared by swimmers and divers on both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s teams also helped.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone gets along really well,\u201d says Margis.<\/p>\n

The current team of divers is a very close-knit group, pushing each other in practice to do better, Hill adds.<\/p>\n

Every inch of encouragement helps, says Margis, who says that the sport is easily misunderstood.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really more than just jumping off the diving board,\u201d Hargis says. \u201cIt\u2019s mentally and physically challenging. It\u2019s very detail oriented.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sport\u2019s challenges spill outside of the pool. Heger says it was tough to balance the sport and schoolwork. The team\u2019s commute to practice at the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center in Brown Deer is over an hour round trip, and the time spent traveling to meets is demanding.<\/p>\n

Not that either champion diver says \u201cno\u201d to a good challenge \u2013 in the pool or the classroom. Heger is days away from earning a bachelor\u2019s degree in kinesiology and plans to attend gradate school for physical therapy. Margis, a junior, will receive a chemistry degree next year and plans to attend dental school.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Horizon League awarded \u201cdiver of the week\u201d honors a combined 25 times to UWM athletes Rachel Margis and K.J. Heger this season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":834,"featured_media":18588,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[174],"tags":[],"section":[],"display_categories":[],"related-coverage":[],"uwmnews-feed":[],"class_list":["post-18585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nChampion divers make a splash in the pool and the classroom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Horizon League awarded \u201cdiver of the week\u201d honors a combined 25 times to UWM athletes Rachel Margis and K.J. 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