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Karnes battles through fear of diving to become All-American: North grad overcame mental struggles to win Big Ten title, finish seventh at NCAA meet
May 12, 2009 (Herald-Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Fear gripped Ashley Karnes when she stood on the diving board.
It didn't make any sense and she knew it -- she'd done some of these dives hundreds of times. She also knew she had to overcome it. For herself, more importantly, for her Purdue teammates.
As amazing as the results the Bloomington North graduate produced at the end of the year are, they become even more so when the mental toughness she had to exhibit comes to light.
Karnes, a junior, earned her first two All-America honors after placing fourth in the 1-meter diving competition and seventh on the 3-meter board at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships recently at Texas A&M.
Karnes, who one month earlier won her first Big Ten title in the 1-meter, scored 315.40 points in the final round. Karnes put 354.30 points on the board during her final 3-meter list this season.
"Ashley put herself in a small group of the elites to make All-American on both boards," Purdue head diving coach Adam Soldati said in a school press release. "She has earned it. Her focus today was on the team and not herself, and that is even more rewarding for me."
"The season overall was hard for me," Karnes said in a later phone interview. "I've had some mental struggles I'd say. But overall, especially the end, it was very rewarding. It was an honor to represent Purdue and dive well for the team.
"The Big Tens went really, really well; better than expected. The NCAAs, I had hoped to do a little better on the 3-meter, but had some struggles. I'm not sure that my hopes for doing better than seventh were realistic. I probably performed to the best of my ability with the training I've had. I think I can do my dives better than I did at the meet, but I haven't practiced enough to be consistent enough to do it."
But muscle memory wasn't the problem that made each meet at the end of the season a battle in her mind. She would stand on the board and drown in doubt that she could make her body do the twists, turns and flips required of dives at the highest collegiate level.
"It's hard to explain," said Karnes, whose sophomore year was sabotaged by back pain that took surgery to fix. "I know other divers who have gone through it. I basically just became afraid of the sport. I had a hard time doing any dive. Diving and doing a dive. A lot of practices we were not getting done what I needed to do for me. I never been afraid, but that's what happened."
She has no idea where such an irrational fear came from. But she faced it head on.
"I was not even able to warm up at the end of the season," Karnes said. "But I know it's not just about me. It's about the team and what I can do to contribute the points my team needs."
She steeled herself enough to finish third in the 1-meter and fifth on the 3-meter at the NCAA Zone C championships.
Earlier, Karnes was named Big Ten co-Diver of the Year with Indiana senior and Beijing Olympian Christina Loukas after topping Loukas for the 1-meter title with 341.55 points. They switched finishes on the 3-meter, with Karnes scoring a 385.35.
"My goal at the Big Ten's honestly was to do my best," Karnes said. "To do a full list. To win and come in second was a complete surprise. It was an amazing experience. I put in a lot of mental work."
Both scores set Purdue school records.
"Ashley has battled through some of the hardest obstacles this sport can throw at you this year," Soldati said. "This honor she has achieved is well-deserved and hard-fought for. We are extremely proud of her."
And doing so well at the highest levels of NCAA competition has been a big boost in confidence.
"I think it definitely helped," Karnes said. "I saw that I was capable of competing with the best. I knew there were only a couple more weeks left and it easied my anxiety."
With only her senior year remaing, the movement and sports science major is starting to think about diving after college is over. She finished fifth recently in the Speedo USA Diving Spring National Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
"In the back of my mind, I wanted to to be at that level I'm at now," Karnes said. "I've improved a tremendous amount and a lot has to do with Adam (Soldati) and my teammates. I've put in a lot of hard work, and Adam works just as hard back, and our success wouldn't be possible with a coach not willing to do that.
"I hope next year to add a couple more dives and get over the mental block. I'm coming out of it now. With all things considered, I not only got through it, I made improvements and that's definitely a plus."
And can she improve enough to make a run at the 2010 Olympics?
"Those are my hopes and my dreams and this season was very helpful," Karnes said. "I realized it is posssible. I have a lot of more to improve upon, add some more difficulty in my dives on the 3-meter and get some experience in international meets. It's the beginning of the quad so a lot can happen in four years.
"I've not made up my mind if I want to dive past college. Adam and I have talked about it. I think if things go well, it's a definite possibility."
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http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/. Copyright (c) 2009, Herald-Times,
Bloomington, Ind. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For
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