Schnur a rare Golden Tornado PIAA diving qualifier

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By John Enrietto
Eagle Sports Editor

BUTLER TWP - Making the transition from gymnastics to diving has been no problem for Jessica Schnur.
She just turned herself upside down.
"The sports are practically the same," the Butler junior said. "The only difference is now I'm landing on my head."
Schnur had been involved in gymnastics since she was 8. Once she got to high school, she wanted to find a sport in which she could use those skills.
She opted for diving.
"We get a lot of gymnasts that way," Butler diving coach Ken Bedford said. "You use a lot of the same techniques."
But few have used them to the degree of success Schnur has.
Placing fifth in the WPIAL diving meet recently at Pine-Richland High School, Schnur became only the second female Butler diver in Bedford's five years as coach to reach the state meet.
Meghan Lewis qualified in 2001 but didn't place at the PIAA competition.
Schnur will be diving in the Class AAA meet March 18 at Bucknell University.
"That shows how difficult it is to reach the state competition as a diver," Bedford said. "They only take the top 24 in the state.
"This is a very difficult sport to master. There's the (diving) board itself, which you always have to worry about hitting, and there's the moves to master while in the air."
Bedford would know. A two-time WPIAL champion himself as a Butler High School student, he went on to place second in the state meet.
At Clarion University, Bedford became a three-time national champion before graduating and coaching for a year at Hillsdale (Mich.) University. He then returned to his high school alma mater.
"The key to this sport is consistency, and that's what got Jessica through," Bedford said. "Most divers try to nail every dive and that's virtually impossible."
Schnur finished 13th at the WPIAL meet her freshman year. She failed to place that high as a sophomore, but did join Butler's 200 Club by scoring 200 points in a single meet.
She is one of 11 female divers in Butler history to accomplish that feat. All 11 names are on a banner hanging on the wall in Butler's natatorium.
"I'm as proud of that as anything," Schnur said.
While Schnur placed fifth at the WPIAL meet, teammate Liz Rhodaberger placed sixth and just missed qualifying for states.
"I improved a lot this year and that came from practicing with Liz," Schnur said. "We were competitive with each other in practice. It was like having a dual meet every day."
Schnur's goals at the state meet are modest ones.
"I just want to score consistently like I did at the WPIAL," she said. "Hopefully, I can use this experience to help toward next year."
Each diver gets five dives in the first round at the state meet. The top 16 advance to the second round, which consists of three dives.
The top 12 compete in the finals, which is another three dives.
"It's an 11-dive meet," Bedford said. "If she dives as consistently as she did at the WPIAL meet, Jessica could do very well.
"It's my job as her coach to make sure she keeps her focus."
Also a volleyball player at Butler, Schnur plans to continue diving in college.
"Clarion and Allegheny are two schools I'm looking at right now," she said. "I enjoy this sport. I just want to get better."