Posted: Mar 27, 2015
Westfield State University's Katie Sterpka capped an outstanding career by earning honorable mention All-America honors last weekend by virtue of 13th and 14th place finishes in the diving events at the NCAA Division III Championships.
Sterpka holds the records for three different diving events at Westfield State University. The senior diving star has been somersaulting through the air since she was nine years old. In her final season competing for the Owls she had one major goal.
"This senior season I ultimately wanted to make it to nationals" said Sterpka in an interview before the championships.
Sterpka met her goal and traveled to Shenandoah, Texas, to compete in the NCAA's. Being in such a large facility, filled with 24 of the top divers in the country, Katie got a little nervous about how the competition would play out.
"Well, this is what it is all about, this is what people shoot for," said Westfield State head coach Dave Laing. He wanted her to realize, "You are one of the 24 that made this meet, so you are one of the best, and I think that finally settled in to her."
"I think she realized that these people were pretty good, and I told her just repeat what you've done before," said Laing. "You don't try to go there to do better; you just try and do what got you there. So she settled down and did well"
A native of Barkhamsted, Conn., Katie placed 14th in the nation on the 3-meter board with a score of 402.85 in the preliminaries and 403.45 in the consolation final and came back two days later to finish in a tie for 13th on the 1-meter board with scores of 368.70 and 370.20.
Sterpka has had a very successful career at Westfield State. As a freshman, she was the team's number 2 diver, behind another All-American, Kim Schmidt. The past few years, Sterpka has been the lone diver on the Owls' squad, a role that can be challenging.
"With Katie it has just been building each year," said Laing. "She would get better and better and better. If there were a couple of more divers who were also doing things, it can be easier because you have people pushing you, and although she didn't have that she kept going."
Sterpka won every diving event she competed in during the season, both dual and championship, until the NCAA regional qualifier, where she placed third in the 1-meter and sixth in the 3-meter competition.
Along the way, Katie won the Little East Conference and New England Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Association (NEISDA) championships.
Although breaking records is something she is used to, improving her own numbers is her biggest thrill. She saw a lot of success at the NEISDA Championships at the University of Rhode Island in mid-February where she broke two school records
"I was very excited, also because the records I broke were mine too."
Sterkpa thought NEISDA championships were stressful but she performed well under the pressure and broke the meet record on the three-meter preliminaries.
"I'm used to 400's, 430, 440, something like that but 500 was way out of what I thought was my league, so that was probably the most exciting moment when they announced my score for three- meters," said Sterpka.
"I never had a meet like that. Usually you have a couple dives that aren't so good then you get some good ones to bring your score back up, but I had my head in the game. Once I started diving, everything started happening and I was on a roll."
Sterpka was honored at the end of the season by being named the Little East Conference diver of the year.
A lot of her success she attributes to her coach, Dave Laing.
"If I had a different coach I don't think my career would have been the same and I give him a lot of credit" said Sterpka.
Katie was familiar with his coaching style because she previously dove for a coach whom had been taught by Laing.
"He was probably the first reason why I came to Westfield," she added.
Although her coach has been a significant factor in becoming one of Westfield's finest, Sterpka has put a lot of effort into being a well-rounded student-athlete who has been nominated for Academic All-America honors.
"It is tough at first but once you have a good schedule and a good rhythm it kind of falls into place,' she said.
The psychology major plans to use that degree and her art minor to start a career in art therapy and possibly teaching.
"I'm not really sure yet but I do want to find a job, make some money and move out of my parents' house."
When reflecting on how she wishes to be remembered at Westfield State University she said, "I want people to look at my diving career and say 'Wow! I wish I could be like that.'"