McHenry latest to earn county crown
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Montgomery High School’s diving dominance continues with Shannon McHenry.
The senior made it three years in a row for the Cougars at the Somerset County/Skyland Conference Diving Championships. McHenry follows Bridget O’Brien, a Boston College freshman after graduating from MHS last year as a two-time champion.
”It’s really exciting because this is a first for me,” McHenry said. “We had Bridget and Laura (Ng) before. Bridget went to BC and Laura was right at my level. It was really exciting. I think that was my highest score ever.
”I thought I had a good shot, but you never know. I hadn’t practiced in three weeks because it had been hard for us to get a pool. But I felt really good diving.”
McHenry, who finished second last year, led a dominant MHS showing by scoring 177.35 to finish ahead of teammate Stephanie Uva’s 161.4. Emily Burke-Smith was fourth, Divya Rao was fifth and Megan Kingkiner was sixth on the girls side. For the boys, MHS’ Matt Goetze was second with 182.6 points, Alajuan Jones was third and Luke Terregrossa was fourth.
”It’s an amazing team,” McHenry said. “Everybody on the team is amazing. I knew almost everybody except one person when we started. Every person is new except three people. For being brand new, they’re really good.”
Just Uva and she returned with any experience with the Cougars. And this year, McHenry has made a big leap.
”She’s really stepped it up,” said Bob McHenry, Shannon’s father and the Cougars’ third-year coach. “She’s doing well at this point in the season. She has qualified for states already.
”She dove well. She competed extremely well. That’s extremely important — to compete well throughout. It was one of her best scores for the whole season. She’s starting to peak at the right time.”
Not just for this season, but in her career. Shannon got a taste of diving in elementary school, but didn’t start to take it seriously for a while.
”Probably this year since I’m the captain,” she said. “I want to show the others a good example.”
Winning the county crown is another example of what steady dedication can do. Her big move comes this year in part from helping to look out for others.
”I have been coaching, especially age groups,” Shannon said. “I finally started figuring out what I was doing wrong from coaching others. I got a feel for what I was doing wrong and that helps so much.”
She immerses herself further in the sport when she’s with the Montgomery team. A four-year letterwinner in gymnastics, she was part of the original Cougars diving team when it turned into an official varsity sport three years ago.
”We have eight to 10 kids at every practice,” Bob said. “They push each other, and she’s definitely the leader. When I’m not there, she takes a leadership role.”
He has seen Shannon develop the most this season. It has put her in position to dive at either Delaware or West Chester next year.
”I’ll call her a late bloomer,” Bob said. “She’s doing harder dives now. Her form is phenomenal. She’s making her dives easier. She’s positioning herself to be competitive at states. She may not win or finish in the top five, but she’s definitely going to be competitive.
”Just this year, she’s made great progress in her form and composure and ease of doing her dives.”
Shannon also qualified for the state meet last year, but this year she has a lot more going for her as she heads into her final scholastic meets, including the title of county champion.
Said Shannon: “I’m really excited, but I know it’s going to be a lot of work to get near the top of states. At states, they’re all from club (teams). Since I just do high school diving, I’m not going to be close to the top 10. Last year, I didn’t do very well in states. This year, hopefully I’ll do way better.
”It definitely makes me more confident,” she added of her county finish. “I’m getting so much better. This year is the best I’ve ever been in diving. I’m definitely getting better.”

