Kalibat is fast study on diving board

Princeton resident is Top 15 in East

By: Bob Nuse
   Natalie Kalibat has certainly come a long way in a short period of time.
   It wasn’t all that long ago that Kalibat, a sixth grader at John Witherspoon School, was a swimmer admiring the divers from afar as they went through practice.
   Now, Kalibat is not only one of those divers, she’s one of the best.
   At the recent Junior Olympic East Nationals, which were held in Georgia, Kalibat finished 11th in the 11-and-under age group on the 1-meter board and was 15th on the 3-meter board. Those results would be good for any diver, especially one who is just getting started in the sport.
   "This is my first year in Junior Olympics where I have been diving all year-round," Kalibat said. "Before I had only been diving in the summer on the 1-meter board. I had just been doing the basics.
   "I was a swimmer before but that got boring. When I would be at practice, I would see the divers and that looked like a lot of fun to me and I thought it was pretty cool."
   Now, Kalibat is among the elite divers in the country in her age group. The trip to Georgia came on the heels of having qualified by finishing in the top five at a regional meet in Boston.
   "It was a cool experience," said Kalibat, a member of the Blue Dolphins team that trains out of The College of New Jersey. "I felt like I was up there with the other divers. I was happy with how I did on the 1-meter. On the 3-meter, I felt like I could have done better. I messed up on one or two dives."
   Being relatively new to the sport, Kalibat figures to keep getting better. She is certainly prepared to put in the time. She practices three hours a day, Monday through Thursday, and then for two more hours on Friday.
   With the East National meet over, she still has a few other big meets on the horizon.
   "We still have a couple of meets left," Kalibat said. "We have summer regionals and zones. It takes up a lot of time, so I have to do my schoolwork at night. But I really enjoy it.
   "I love it with the Blue Dolphins. We have good coaches and I like the kids on the team."
   And a diver in Kalibat who keeps getting better and better. And no longer has to watch from a distance while the divers have their fun.