Phu Wins Diving Invitational
CM Senior Howard Phu finished in first place among a field of 50 divers at the Brother Raymond Hoyt Diving Invitational. HIs score qualifies him for the state championships in February.
West Roxbury, Mass.-- When senior Howard Phu boarded the bus for the first diving meet of the year, he hoped to complete six strong dives. When he boarded the bus following the meet, he returned with a score of 253 and a first-place finish.
“I was really happy. I didn’t think I was going to win actually because I messed up one of my dives,” said Howard following his victory.
“I was really happy. I didn’t think I was going to win actually because I messed up one of my dives,” said Howard following his victory.
Despite his own assessment, Howard finished first among the field of 50 divers from across the state at the Brother Raymond Hoyt Diving Invitational hosted by Xaverian Brothers High School. His score is a CM school record and is high enough to qualify him for a spot in the state championship in February.
“Howie has shown that he is already successfully performing dives with a higher degree of difficulty than those he used last year when he placed fourth in the South Sectional and eighth in the state,” said CM head swimming and diving coach Mr. Patrick Murray.
“This is a great sign of what is to come during his senior season.”
Howard’s victory is even more impressive when you consider that Howard is a relative newcomer to the world of diving. He joined the swim team as a tenth grader and started diving midway through his sophomore season on what seemed like a whim at the time.
“My mom wanted me to do swimming and I didn’t really like swimming. Mr. Murray told me there was a diving team. I tried that out and had fun and just kept going with it,” remembered Howard.
Mr. Murray encouraged Howard to pursue diving. However, the Hyde Park YMCA, which is CM’s home pool does not have a diving board. Mr. Murray reached out to Mr. James Locke, the head coach of Xaverian’s swimming and diving team to see if Howard could practice and work out alongside their divers.
Mr. Locke agreed and Howard proved to be a natural in the pool. Describing himself as a “self-taught acrobat,” he immediately began placing in tournaments for the remainder of that season before his dominant junior season and eighth place state finish.
“Howie is a model of determination and competitive spirit,”said Mr. Murray.
“[He’s] never satisfied with his performance, he craves additional practice time to hone his craft, and he’s eager for the next competition. Looking forward, Howie will dive in our first dual meet of the season against Natick, where he hopes to best one of only three divers who beat him in head-to-head competition last winter."
CM’s swimming program has seen a resurgence over the last several years.The addition of diving only strengthens the program.
Under Murray, five CM swimmers have won Catholic Conference championships, one earned Catholic Conference MVP honors, and several posted top-5 finishers at the state championships. The team finished in eleventh place at states in both 2017 and 2018.
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Catholic Memorial, the Christian Brothers School of Boston, prepares boys for college, manhood and a world full of unknown challenges, ambiguity and complex problems and the importance of relationships.
