DIVING INTO THE SPOTLIGHT
AARON EMBREE ’19 was seven years old when his uncles dared him to jump off his grandparents’ diving board. They offered him a few dollars, and Embree certainly wasn’t going to turn down a chance to be the center of attention.
It’s still the same today for the self-proclaimed “adrenaline junkie” and this year’s North Coast Athletic Conference Diver of the Year.
“I think that’s why I’ve been interested in the sport for so long. Doing those scary dives…it’s such a rush. That feeling really doesn’t go away.”
Embree’s favorite Wabash memory is Chapel Sing. One of his favorite experiences was being in a Scarlet Masque production.
Why?
“I like the spotlight!” He smirks.
So diving is the perfect sport for him. When he’s up on the board, all eyes are on him. He loves that—even when a dive goes poorly.
“I do a really good job of coming out of the water with a big smile on my face.” He laughs. “I’ll hear the big ‘Ooooo’ come from the crowd, so I ham it up a little bit—but not too much—waving, making sure the crowd knows I’m okay.”
Embree’s diving career has ended, but the adrenaline junkie is alive and well. Granted, that drive is not as strong as it was in high school, when he got on a plane for the first time—just to jump out of it.
“I was wild in high school, but that’s not the norm here. I had to get a lot more serious, and I’ve matured a lot.
“It’s still there, but it’s waiting for the right time.” He laughs. “It’s tired.”
STILL NOT SATISFIED
The summer before his senior year of high school, after dealing with another of his multiple concussions, PRESTON WHALEY ’22 made an agreement with his mom:
He could play football his senior year, but he couldn’t play in college.
“She told me I needed to stop playing football and start focusing on track because I was good at it.”
This All-American’s mother was right.
The freshman from Fort Worth, Texas, broke the Wabash record in the triple jump at his very first college track-and-field meet.
“It was my first jump too! It was a little bit of a surprise, but when I broke the record, it wasn’t actually my personal record. So I wasn’t really satisfied with myself because I’m always competing against myself—pushing myself to be better.”
He broke his personal record—and the school record for a second time—in February at Purdue University. In March he shattered both records—this time at the 2019 NCAA DIII Indoor Track and Field Championship Meet in Boston, Massachusetts. His jump of 14.55 meters (47 ft., 8.8 in.) earned him seventh place in the nation.
Then at the Bellarmine Invitational on March 29, Whaley jumped 14.61 meters (47 ft., 11.25 in.) and was the top DIII outdoor triple-jumper in the nation.
“That lasted about 16 hours.” Whaley laughs. MIT’s Yorai Shaoul hit 15.16 (49 ft., 8.8 in.) meters at the California Collegiate Open on March 30.
“I woke up and looked at that and thought, I’m number two. To me, you’re either first or last, so I’ve got to work harder. I won’t be satisfied until I’m number one again.”
ONE FOR DAD
“HE WOULD ALWAYS ASK ME, ‘FOR MY BIRTHDAY THIS YEAR, WANNA WIN IT FOR ME?”
Growing up with three older brothers who wrestled, DARDEN SCHURG ’19 wanted to be in only one place: on the wrestling mat with them.
“I started when I was three,” Schurg says. “And that was just because my mom told my brothers I had to be out of the stroller before I could get on the mat.”
Wrestling was a lifestyle for the Crown Point, Indiana native and his family. It continued for both his younger brother, Daylan ’21, and his younger sister. Daylan, like his older brothers, wrestled competitively. Their sister just joined in on the fun.
“We grew up beating each other up, and I think we beat each other so much that we grew to really like each other.” Schurg laughs.
Their mom ended up washing about 60 pairs of underwear a week and changing meal plans whenever someone needed to cut weight.
And he wanted to win every championship match he competed in for his dad.
“My dad’s birthday is late February and mine is early March around when wrestling championships are held,” Schurg says. “He would always ask me, ‘For my birthday this year, wanna win it for me?’
“In high school, I lost in the state finals my junior and senior years. After my senior year, I cried as I told him, ‘I just couldn’t do it for you this year.’”
His dad’s message to Darden was always the same: “Win or lose, you’re still a champ in my eyes.” But four years later, the birthday wish came true.
On March 9 at the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament in Roanoke, Virginia, Schurg rallied to force overtime in his 174-pound championship bout, and then scored a takedown in overtime to win the national title.
Both of his parents were sitting matside.
“I don’t remember a lot of what happened right after the match, but just knowing they were there…” Schurg says. “There were a lot of tears.
“I think they’re able to visualize everything all in one line better than I can—the whole journey—the ones who have been there since the stroller.”