Whiz Kid: Natalie Szopo

Last winter, Natalie Szopo had her left hand in a cast after breaking it on a diving board.

This year, Szopo’s hand was healed enough to hold a silver medal dangling from her neck at the state championships.

Szopo is a junior diver at Upper Moreland. She recovered from her injury in time last season to capture her second straight fourth-place finish at the states.

This year, Szopo was even more impressive, as she took second in the PIAA Class AA girls' diving championships at Bucknell University in Lewisburg.

“It was awesome,” said Szopo. “I didn’t expect anything less, but I didn’t expect anything more. It was a great competition. It was great being on the podium holding the silver.”

Finishing fourth two years in a row is an impressive accomplishment considering the wide variety of talent across the state. Another fourth-place finish by Szopo this season would have still been an impressive feat, but Szopo knew going into the event she had the potential to finish higher.

“I didn’t want fourth this year,” Szopo said. “The way I was seeded, I was expecting to do better than I did my freshman and sophomore year, so I was happy with what I did.”

The performance at the state championships capped off an impressive season for Szopo.  She also captured the District One title and set a school record for six dive competitions. It was a record that had stood for 39 years.

“I was so happy,” said Szopo. “I went to the first meet my freshman year and saw what the record was, and I thought I would never make it to that record. This year, my scores just kept going up. When it finally happened, everyone was happy, and my teammates all congratulated me. I couldn’t believe what happened that day.”

Diving requires pinpoint precision from its most successful performers. It is a sport that often leaves little margin for error. Szopo credits her head coach, Bob Israel, for getting her mentally focused for each dive. 

“My coach gives us a pep talk before every dive,” Szopo said. “He tells us what we should do and how we should think about it. Before every dive, I think about the dive in my head and how I should approach it.”

Another factor which made the 2010-11 season so enjoyable for Szopo was getting to dive with one talented Upper Moreland freshman. Szopo’s sister, Sydney, began diving for the Bears this winter.

“I love it,” said Szopo. “We’re best friends during the season, and we’re best friends with diving.  We do everything together.  It’s just great.  I love having her around.  We help each other through the season when we go through hard times.”

Szopo has already put together an impressive three-year run at the state competition. She is hoping to take the next step next year, but understands it will be a difficult challenge.

“I’m definitely looking for first place next year,” Szopo said.  “I’m going to be working on harder dives. The girl who got first place this year is also working on harder dives, and she’s only a sophomore. She has amazing talent.”

While Szopo still has another year remaining with the Bears, she is already looking ahead to life after Upper Moreland.  Szopo intends to keep diving when she moves on to college.

“I want to dive so badly when I go to college,” said Szopo. “It’s been my dream since I started diving. I fell in love with diving, and it’s something I love to do. I definitely want to dive in college.”