Casady: Shanna Schuelein a star on the rise...

By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com

Sometimes you forget about things. Because the OSSAA no longer has diving as part of its winter championships, you forget that diving does still exist in the state. And in fact, Casady has one of the better ones.

Junior Shanna Schuelein has been diving since she was 9 years old and placed second at the Southwest Prep Conference Championships last month.

A lot of diving schools are giving her looks and one thing I know is that location won’t be the No. 1 reason on her making the choice.

Here’s a small sample of where she’s been for competitions: Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Florida, North Carolina, Wisconsin, California.

Heck, during the summer, she trains in California for 5-6 hours a day. Interesting to see how she develops here in the next couple of years or so.

Favorite movie: The Wizard of Oz
Favorite TV show: Friends
Favorite singer: Taylor Swift

And here’s the piece I wrote on Schuelein for Friday’s paper:

Casady diver got her start in gymnastics
By Robert Przybylo

When Casady junior Shanna Schuelein was 9 years old, she was headed toward a career in gymnastics.

Her mother has been a gymnastics coach for more than 20 years, and Schuelein was following in those footsteps.

Then came a chance meeting with diving legend Alik Sarkisian.

Sarkisian, a 13-time Armenian national champion who also coached the Armenian team at the 1996 Summer Olympics, saw Schuelein at a tumbling and trampoline event and asked if Schuelein had ever thought of diving.

The sports utilize a lot of the same skills, and Schuelein decided to give it a try. She hasn’t let up since, specializing in springboard diving.

“I just love how it feels flying through the air,” Schuelein said. “I wasn’t so much scared on my first dive but really excited.”