Milton Hershey School Diver Ranks in State Competition

Milton Hershey School senior Marc Danielson experienced a Breakthrough moment when he placed 16^th in the 2024 Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Boys 2A Swimming and Diving Championships. Marc’s accomplishment is especially impressive since he stepped out of his comfort zone this year and joined the Swimming and Diving Team for the first time.

What made you decide to try Swimming and Diving as a senior?

For my last year at MHS, I wanted to do something big. I enrolled in the school as a sophomore and never participated in anything outside of school or my student home. I knew I liked swimming, so I joined the team. Swimming is an all-inclusive cardio workout that burns a lot of calories so I knew it would also help me with my goal to get in better shape.

When I was younger, I enjoyed doing flips on a trampoline. One day, I was jumping on the diving board and a friend suggested I try out for the diving team.

It’s one thing to do flips on a trampoline, but diving takes technique. How did your coaches help you?

There are a lot of little things that go into board work and approaching the dive. You need to make sure with every dive that your toes are properly pointed. There is a lot of finesse to it, you cannot just go in and power through. It must look pretty.

I knew I had to be teachable, I just couldn’t go into it with an ego.

Coach Amanda Edwards and Coach Heather Dougherty were extremely supportive and patient. Coach Dougherty dove when she was in high school and college so she knew what the judges would look for. She shared very clear constructive criticism.

When did you start to see success?

It happened pretty quickly. I started doing basic stuff but as the season went on, my personal best scores kept getting higher and higher. I qualified for the MidPenn Swimming Championships, then the district championship, and finally states.

What advice do you have for other students?

Don’t hesitate to try new things. Milton Hershey School offers so many opportunities. I sometimes wonder how far I would have gotten with Swimming and Diving if I joined the team before my senior year.