On Feb. 27 and 28, IHSA held the boys swimming and diving state finals where Nicholas Belony placed 14th with a high score of 417.55 and qualified for all-state.
“Before I dive, I focus on my breathing and I’ll find a point at the end of the board to focus on until all other distractions are cut off and all that I am aware of is me, the board and the water. That’s when I know I’m ready to go,” Belony said.
Belony has been diving since he was seven years old and has been a part of the DGS team for all four years of his high school career. His training and preparation has helped bring him success and growth.
“If there is music playing, I won’t hear the music. If there are people talking I won’t hear it. It’ll just be me and the dive that is about to be done,” Belony said.
Qualifying for state was just a step in Belony’s journey for his final season. Belony’s coach, Elizabeth Lukes shares how the purpose of state has evolved over Belony’s years in high school.
“Nicky has been preparing for the state finals all season; he qualified his sophomore and junior year for the state meet, so we knew that he would qualify as a senior. Nicky had set a goal to make finals, medal and become an all-state athlete; to accomplish this goal, we started preparing him in November – Nicky has a lot of incredible dives, but we knew that we wanted to add to his dive list this year, so in order for that to happen, we had to start early. When he started truly preparing for the state meet, we were able to just focus on what he had already learned, and make them the best he could do,” Lukes said.
While being the only one on the board, Belony expresses the importance of his support system and his training regime.
“My typical training consists of two parts: learning new dives and perfecting the form of what I already can do. Earlier in the season I learned new dives, and in January and February I spent time perfecting everything. It is a lot of repetition of doing the same dive over and over again with incremental changes until it’s cleaned up,” Belony said.
Belony touches on the help of his coaches during his journey.
“My coach has definitely helped me along this process. I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without her as she pushes me every single day and makes sure that I am my best,” Belony said.
With this being Belony’s final season with DGS he is leaving his records and results to mark his legacy for the DGS program and statewide.
“Nicky has power and finesse. In previous years, he was all power, and didn’t always have the grace of a diver. It’s hard to find divers that have both power and finesse. When I take Nicky to competitions, coaches and other athletes stop and watch him dive. He is unlike any other diver that is currently diving in Illinois,” Lukes said.
“I have worked with Nicky all four years at DGS. He has grown into an incredible athlete and young man. I am so proud of his accomplishments during his time at South. He has broken so many records, including a record held by my high school coach, and former DGS teacher, Dr. Mark Antonoff,” Lukes said.
Belony leaves his high school diving career with numerous accomplishments and as a role model for many future athletes to come.
“I would say make the most of your time, it is going to pass faster than you could ever believe. Go after every opportunity, don’t hold back and try your best, but make sure to have fun in the process because this sport is for fun,” Belony said.
