COLLEGE SWIMMING & DIVING: OWEGO’S KATCHUK SIGNS WITH BOSTON UNIVERSITY (2025-03-06)
By TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
OWEGO — Owego’s Kaelyn Katchuk has enjoyed an impressive career as a high school diver. Now, she will take her talents to the NCAA Division I level.
Katchuk signed her National Letter of Intent to attend Boston University on Thursday, fulfilling a commitment she made last year.
“I'm really excited,” she said. “This has been in the works since May. I committed last year, but it's really nice to finally have it signed on paper.”
Boston University offered Katchuk everything she was looking for.
“Boston has the whole package,” she said. “They're known for their really excellent health program. I'm majoring in Immunophysiology there. I'm really excited to be studying at Sargent College and then they have a really great training facility. They have a weight room, really state-of-the-art pool, great coaching staff, and they really have a program there that has a history of excellence, and I think they have all the components there for me, not only to dive successfully, but for me to earn a degree that will set me up for a good future.”
Katchuk became the first diver in Section IV history to win five consecutive Class B championships and was the first diver to surpass 600 points in an 11-dive competition. She holds the record in that event with 612.85 points and also hold the section’s 6-dive mark with 346.46 points.
She has set 6-dive pool records at Chenango Forks, Elmira, Owego, Susquehanna Valley, Watkins Glen, Waverly and Windsor, 11-dive marks at Elmira, Maine-Endwell, Owego and Watkins Glen and has a prefect dual meet record of 51-0 dating back to 2019. She is also a five-time state championship qualifier, medaling on four occasions with a high finish of sixth.
In addition to her scholastic accolades, Katchuk is a two-time All-American, an AAU National Championship medalist and USA Diving Junior Olympics finalist.
Her success hasn’t come by accident. She has worked diligently to attain success.
Katchuk has spent countless hours in the pool and the weight room improving and honing her skills, but her talent on the board is not all she has to offer the Terriers. She also brings leadership, a positive attitude, character and is accomplished academically.
Her father said that in her first meet, she landed “as flat as you could possibly land” while attempting a back one-and-a-half, “and I remember thinking right then, this is either going to be the end of her career or it was going to be the beginning.”
She attempted the same dive again a few minutes later and nailed it.
“From there everything kind of followed suit,” he said. “Very proud of the work she's done. She spent hours in the weight room so she can learn an incredibly hard dive list to do the things she's done.”
She attributes much of what she has learned to her time at Owego.
“I feel like at Owego I definitely learned a lot of leadership skills,” she said. “Being one of the oldest members of the team, I felt like I was in a position to help guide the newer members throughout the season. We definitely learned work ethic, working hard, supporting each other, and I think that's something that will translate to the college level.”
Katchuk has continued to develop and expand her capabilities as a diver.
“I think I have developed a competitive list that will hopefully earn the team points at dual meets and possibly at conference,” she said. “The past few years we've really worked hard, not only on one meter, but developing a three-meter list, which is something that definitely is a stage of separation for the college scene. That's what I think is the biggest thing that sets me apart is my three-meter list.”
Her coach and father, Roger, noted that her dive list is comparable to that of the top five finishers at the recent Patriot League championships.
“Those divers are bigger and stronger,” he said. “The consistency is there, but she's doing the same dives so it's just a matter of growing, getting stronger and doing the same thing. I think she's going to have a pretty promising career in the Patriot League.”
Strength conditioning will be one aspect where she will continue to work in an effort to be competitive.
“That's been the whole key because where others are doing one-and-a-half, she's doing two-and-a-halfs and that's because of the strength, Roger Katchuk said. “That's going to be a key component of it, and also the things that she doesn't like to work on, that's what we work on the most.”
Katchuk will continue to compete through the club season, where she will work on adding more dives on both boards while also gaining additional competition experience.
“The club season competition-wise is set up very similarly to college and a lot of the people you meet there, you'll be seeing in college too so I think it's a great way to prepare for the long season that's coming up,” she said.
The swimming and diving season is one of the longest in collegiate athletics, typically running from late September into mid-March. Although there is usually a 5- to 6-week break from late November through early January.
Apparently, Katchuk is also good with time management.
“That's been the key to her success,” her dad said. “She's been able to compartmentalize.”
She not only focuses on academics, but also plays violin with the Binghamton Youth Symphony while downplaying the diving aspect somewhat at home.
“She's done a great job,” Roger Katchuk said. “I'm really excited for her future. I think the last thing that all athletes that go to the college level are going to go in with is a preset network of friends and support, and she's going to get that at Boston.”
“I'm really grateful to my parents, and my family and friends for supporting me throughout my college recruitment journey, and I'm really excited to be a Terrier next season,” she said. “Thank you to (diving) coach Brad (Snodgrass) and (head) coach James (Sica) for the opportunity.”
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PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.
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