Putnam County Featured Alumni: Sam Gould, Diver, South Putnam High School

Friday, July 19, 2013

South Putnam grad excels at college

South Putnam graduate Sam Gould dived into bigger waters this year as a freshman at Division III Rose-Hulman, and noticed some big differences immediately.

The 19-year-old said it's good to meet new people, but there are more meets at the collegiate level, which means more travel time.

"Traveling is traveling," he said. "There aren't as many meets during the week, which is nice."

And Gould travels more often than most. He commutes from Greencastle to Rose-Hulman and works a full-time job.

While the traveling can be exhausting, the time spent with his teammates make up for it, Gould said.

"I really enjoy being that close to your teammates," he said.

Not only does he have the opportunity to spend time with teammates, but he can meet divers who compete in Division I and II schools -- some of them from Big 10 schools.

"You get to dive with people you watch videos of," Gould added.

Another difference between the collegiate level is everyone helps each other.

"You never expect them to help you improve, but they do," he said. "In high school, it's all about being the best diver -- and not going to share -- it's like a top-secret company. Once you get to college, everyone is there because they want to do it -- having fun and enjoying it."

Gould's end goal is to go to nationals, but he's done well as a freshman.

He is undefeated in Division III, and won a conference championship this winter. He even beat a competitor from a Division I program.

"I had a really good day, and he had a bad day," he said.

"Not very often do you get an athlete that comes in as a freshman that does good enough to win a conference championship," Keith Crawford, Rose-Hulman's head swimming and diving coach, said.

Crawford added despite the hour commute, he's never heard Gould complain about the time commitment.

"He's just happy to get the coaching that he can, I think," Crawford said.

Next year Gould plans to do more difficult dives to increase his score, which can be scarier.

"That's the point," he said. "You just don't want to smack -- smack as least as possible."

Currently, Gould's name is marked down in the school's record book as the third-highest male one-meter diver with a score of 369.08 and the second-highest male three-meter diver with a score of 386. Each record is with 11 dives.

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  • Way to go Sam! What a successful first year! The Duggan Clan is cheering for you!

    -- Posted by lduggan69 on Fri, Jul 19, 2013, at 9:01 AM
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