French author Victor Hugo once said, “Perseverance, the secret of all triumphs.” When it comes to senior diver, Adam Booher, these words best describe his triumph at the NCAA Swimming and Diving National Championships March 24-26 in Minneapolis, Minn.
After falling short the past three seasons, All-American honoree Booher captured three top-25 finishes during the meet.
“It meant so much,” Booher said of his performance. “That’s been my goal for a long time, to compete at that level.”
On the first day of action, after a 15th place finish in the preliminary round of the 1-meter board, he rocketed to 10th place with a score of 375.85, earning him All-American honors.
Booher followed up that performance with a 14th place finish from the 3-meter boards, with a combined score of 359.95 on six dives, again earning him All-American honors.
Upon conclusion of the spring-board events, he was the second-ranked diver from the Southeastern Conference behind Michael Wright from the University of Tennessee.
The final day of the championships saw Booher take home his third All-American honor in as many days, as he placed 21st on the platform with 270.80 points.
Although Booher can bask in his accomplishments, the past three years have been filled with hard work, perseverance and heartbreak.
Last season Booher was on the cusp of competing in the national championship, but fell just short as he was named a reserve for the squad as a junior.
“With Adam, it’s been something that’s been four years in the making,” Head Coach Eric McIlquham said. “He came in here pretty raw, very talented, but pretty raw. He just missed out on qualifying for the NCAAs as a junior. So his senior year he had a mission and a purpose to qualify for the NCAAs, and once you’re there it’s all about scoring.”
Although possessing the ability, the past three seasons have been tragic for Booher, as they ended with him missing out on accomplishing his goal due to the stiff competition they face on a regular basis.
“It’s kind of been a heartbreak the previous three years,” he said. “I was hoping to be there, I knew I was good enough, but the politics of diving is such that it’s really difficult to make it out of our zone.”
However, he didn’t let those failures affect him. Booher set out this season with the same focus as previous seasons, to compete and perform at the national championship.
“I knew I belonged, I knew if I keep training like I did with my commitment that I’d be there,” Booher said. “[Diving Coach Pat Greenwell] believed that, too, and that’s the standpoint we were training with the whole season, to peak at NCAAs.”
After coming so close, the change in Booher’s attitude was evident heading into his senior season as the heartbreak of years past fuel his drive to be one the best divers in the region and nationally.
“You go through different experiences and you really get some tunnel vision in certain areas,” McIlquham said. “It’s like horse blinders, you take those horse blinders off and there’s a lot more out there. [Booher] got a brief taste of that last year. He realized those guys that are scoring in NCAAs and those guys that are competing in NCAAs, he’s better and can compete with them.”
For a career that has been a culmination of hard work and perseverance, it was fitting that he ended his career with the Crimson Tide on top and performing at the highest level.
“I’ve been struggling the past three years to just get out of [the region] and get into the NCAA Championship, and it finally happened.” Booher said. “I knew once I got there, I had to at least try to make a statement and I’m happy I did.”
