Kyle Goodwin is seeking to become the first four-time boys diving champion. (Courtesy of Cliff Lawson)
Kyle Goodwin has always known how to keep his eye on the prize. After all, the three-time defending champion in boys diving from Regis Jesuit has known that high school state championships were just his starting act for a long time now.
“The point of Mile High Diving club,” which he’s been a member of since he was nine or ten, Goodwin said, “has always been about getting kids college scholarships. So I kind of knew early on that that goal was out there.”
That ambition was finally realized in October, when Goodwin selected Missouri to continue his diving career over four other power programs at California, Auburn, Texas, and Ohio State. The latter school was the eventual landing spot of Sean Moore, the last Regis diver to win the state championship (2007) until the start of Goodwin’s run of dominance as a freshman. Moore has since gone on to capture a national title with the Buckeyes.
Goodwin remembers that freshman season as the beginning of an amazing quest.
“I remember my first meet (freshman year), my coach asked me what I wanted to do while I was here,” Kyle said. “I remember telling him that a four-peat would just be so cool.
“After we won the first one, I think that was when I realized that there was a possibility.”
But now, with the boys swimming season set to start up March 5, Goodwin makes sure his sights aren’t too far ahead.
Anyone trying to get in touch with Goodwin will get the picture of an athlete making the most of his senior year. He practices with coaches and teammates, attends banquets for school, and makes sure he makes time for friends without having to worry about the extra attention that comes from chasing the first ever four-peat in Colorado boys diving history.
Goodwin insists he can make it all work though, even with a grueling training schedule that started way back when he was just 12 years old. At that time, a growth spurt of five inches forced an already nationally ranked Kyle to go back to fundamentals and completely re-learn how to dive.
Kyle Goodwin. (Ray Chen/MaxPreps.com)
His struggles were profiled by our own Ryan Casey back in 2011, but Goodwin believes that age has given him a better perspective on those frustrating times.
“Now that I’m older I’ve seen some other kids go through the same thing, and it’s honestly cool to see them do it,” Goodwin said. “But for me it helped me to go back and re-learn the basics, which helped me long term. So even though it was not a pleasant experience at the time, it was a good experience.”
Kyle returns to a Regis team that brings back four of the seven returning all state swimmers at the Class 5A level; the others being Christopher Morales (senior, relays), William Pieseski (senior, relays), and Quinlan Stuart (senior, relays/100 breast). The other three are Kyle Colley (senior, relays), Eric Fuqua (senior, relays), and Hunter Fuqua (sophomore, relays), all of Cherry Creek.
Whether it’s talking about the state championships on May 15 and 16 or the direction his diving career could take at Mizzou though, Goodwin prefers to take it one day at a time.
“I have great coaches here that I can always still learn from,” Goodwin said. “And when I get to Missouri I’m sure I’ll sit down with (head diving coach Jamie Sweeney) and see what kind of direction he has for me.”
Big things are in store for Kyle Goodwin. And we’ll certainly see him at the state championships too.
Boys swimming preview
Class 5A
Season begins: March 5
State meet: May 15-16, Air Force Academy
Returning all-state athletes: Kyle Colley, senior, Cherry Creek, relays; Eric Fuqua, senior, Cherry Creek, relays; Hunter Fuqua, sophomore, Cherry Creek, relays; Kyle Goodwin, senior, Regis Jesuit, diving; Christopher Morales, senior, Regis Jesuit, relays; William Pieseski, senior, Regis Jesuit, relays; Quinlan Stuart, senior, Regis Jesuit, relays, 100 breast.
Class 4A
Season begins: March 5
State meet: May 15-16, VMAC (Thornton)
Returning all-state athletes: Tommy Baker, junior, Air Academy, relays; Jack Dangremond, senior, Air Academy, relays; Hunter Doerr, senior, Air Academy, relays; Daniel Graber, senior, D’Evelyn, relays/200 IM/100 breast; Caleb Hicks, junior, Air Academy, relays; Tyler Lis, senior, Silver Creek, 200 free; Michael Loyd, senior, Air Academy, relays; Alexander Moreland, senior, D’Evelyn, relays; Jack Thome, senior, Thompson Valley, 100 butterfly/100 back.