Schools

CV Freshman Dominates Diving

Maria Lohman hopes to one day compete in the Olympics after winning a WPIAL title and finishing second at states.

Maria Lohman began diving when she was just 10 after a cousin, a high-level diver at Upper St. Clair, invited her to a clinic on the Olympic sport.

“The first flip off the board and that was it,” said her father, John Lohman.

Now a freshman at , she recently won a WPIAL diving championship and finished in second place at the state level. One day, Maria hopes to try-out for the Olympics.

Find out what's happening in Chartiers Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

She finished 56 points ahead of the nearest competitor at the WPIAL championship, and finished second at states only to a girl two years older with more experience.

“It was really exciting,” Maria said of the competitions. “I worked really hard to get there. There was a little bit of pressure because everyone was counting on me.”

Find out what's happening in Chartiers Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The during its Tuesday night meeting recognized Maria for her outstanding athletic achievements.

Maria was interested in gymnastics growing up, so the switch from doing flips around the floor to doing them off a diving board was natural for her. She now is a member of the Pitt Aquatics Club and competes in competitions around the country.

The resident even spent a week in Colorado Springs, CO, recently as part of the United States’ pre-Olympic diving program. She hopes to use those skills she is honing now to one day compete in the Olympics.

“The Olympics would be something, but we’ll see,” she said.

Like our Facebook page or sign up for our Daily E-mail Newsletter!


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Chartiers Valley