The high school diving world has been relatively stable for the last three years as senior Sam Dorman of Marcos de Niza has won three 5A-II diving titles. The state 5A-II tournament is this Friday and Saturday and he is going for his fourth title at the one meter dive.
Dorman began his diving career at age eight when he took a diving class. Due to his success, the coach told him to join the club team at ASU. After that, the trophies piled up. Dorman finished second at Nationals when he was 13; at 16 he took Nationals, and this year Dorman placed fourth, just missing out on the Pan American games. Dorman said, “I feel unstoppable when I win.”
Dorman’s success has been noticed by universities around the country. He had offers from Missouri, Miami, U of A, Kentucky, LSU, Georgia and ASU. However, he chose Miami because of their mechanical engineering school and diving program.
The goal Dorman set for himself this year is to win Nationals and qualify for Junior Worlds. He also would like to make the finals at Senior Nationals.
Marcos teammate Joey Gutos, a junior, said, “He is the best diver in the state and deserves to win four straight titles.”
At the East Valley Regional last weekend, Dorman easily won by scoring 455.45 points. The person closest to him was Trevor Ott of Desert Ridge who scored 337.55; a 117.9 difference. He is running away from the competition with difficult dives and flawless execution.
The odds are looking great at state for the three-time defending champion Sam Dorman. “I am confident that I will win four titles,” he said.