Punahou’s Madanay diving into history

KIHEI » Punahou School’s Spencer Madanay has quietly destroyed his competition over the past four years. In fact, last year at the Interscholastic League of Honolulu championships, he had no competition.

The Buffanblu senior will attempt to win his fourth consecutive gold medal in boys 1-meter diving today at the finals of 2012 OC16 Swimming & Diving Championships at the Kihei Aquatic Center. Semifinal heats are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.

"I’m nervous for my hard dives," Madanay said following Friday’s first five dives. "But the ones I had today, I did pretty well. I just need to stay focused."

Five judges score each dive, with the lowest and highest scores thrown out. The other three scores are then multiplied by the degree of difficulty to find the total score for the dive.

The divers have to complete 11 dives, six on the second day.

Madanay has not been defeated in Hawaii competition in more than two years, and he traveled to the mainland three times last summer to face stiffer competition.

He currently holds the state boys diving record, set at last year’s state championships, with a score of 486.10. He best score this season is 531.70. There are only three other divers in the boys division, and the next best mark is 379.65.

Punahou head dive coach Micah Ewing said, "Typically the harder dives are saved for the second day."

While there have been other four-time state diving champions in Hawaii, none will come close to Madanay’s score or the degree of difficulty in his dives, Ewing said.

Growing up in Aina Hina, Madanay took gymnastics as a youth and moved to competitive trampoline at Hawaii Academy for three years.

"I did competitive trampoline until the 8th grade," he said. "Then I decided to try diving because there was no future in trampoline as far as college, so diving seemed the most practical sport."

The transition seemed natural, he recalled.

"Some things were easy. I knew how to flip, I knew where my body was in the air, but I had to change some of the ways that I twisted … just body awareness."

"He’s a very talented individual," said Ewing, who is in his 10th season at Punahou. "It’s always good to have someone with his work ethic."

In addition to his hard work, Ewing said the 5-foot-9, 130-pound senior is a gifted athlete with "a lot of the abilities you need to be a successful diver.

"He’s a very natural twister. He is an incredible competitor and performs well under pressure. I have seen him perform his best in the biggest meets, against the best."

Perhaps more remarkable is Madanay’s commitment and dedication to achieving his goals with little or no competition at his own school or around the state.

"There are some dives that are so tough that fear takes over and you have to push yourself to improve," said Madanay.

"It’s been a steady progression," Ewing said of Madanay’s success. "The competition here is not quite like it is on the mainland, so it has helped him to go to the mainland to see the competition, and that motivates him. A lot of the burden falls on the coach to motivate. But regardless, everybody works within themselves to push their individual potential, to get the full experience."

Madanay will dive for USC next fall, choosing the Trojans over Indiana, Texas and Utah. He also plans to pursue a double major in business and photography.

"I fit in the best at USC, not only with the coaches and the team, but when I went on my recruiting trip I felt they had the most to offer me and I feel that’s the place where I can reach my potential," Madanay said.

"I think about my future. And although there isn’t the competition I would like. I drive myself to do it now because I know that I will have to do it at USC and the coach is going to push me. So I might as well get over my fears and work with it sooner than later."