Former Cyclone Divers Win Masters Competition

AMES, Iowa- Former Iowa State divers Janet (Lahti) Schultze and Justine Anderes, finished first in their respective age groups on the 1-meter and 3-meter boards on Aug. 24-26 at the Summer Masters National Championships in Riverside, Calif.

Masters diving offers the opportunity to continue or re-institute conditioning for those over 21 years old. Masters diving encourages and promotes physical fitness as well as improving health in older individuals. This community gives people the opportunity to compete at a high intense level, or for recreational fun.

Schultze was a member of the Iowa State Swimming and Diving squad from 1984-1987 as one of the best divers in Cyclone history. She was a NCAA Zone Diving Qualifier all four seasons, as well as the Big Eight Conference Medal-of-Honor recipient in 1986-87 and Big Eight Athlete of the Year in 1985-86. After time diving in Germany and working for a dive show at Six Flags Great America, she entered her first Masters Diving event in 1994 with a successful finish.

“Then, not only the diving, but the entire physical fitness plan went by the wayside for 17 years,” Schultze said. "I went to graduate school for an MBA, got married, bought a house, had two children, and worked full time. I hate to admit I was completely out of shape last October, but it is true. I realized my life was unbalanced and it was causing some loss of inner strength and some unhappiness. I decided to make some positive changes for myself.”

Schultze finished first in her age group (45-49) with a score of 359.80 on the 1-meter board and a top score of 356.50 on the 3-meter board. She also had a third-place finish on the platform board with a final score of 143.20 in the 40-49 women's age group.

“I plan to participate in Masters more in the future,” Schultz said. “I have work and family commitments, but it's a great event to stay in shape for, and diving is a great combination of fitness, memory, believing in yourself and just plain fun. I'll make it my mission to round up more former divers to participate next summer when it's in the Midwest.”

Anders graduated from Iowa State in 2011, after a successful diving career. She earned Academic All-Big 12 first-team honors for three seasons as well as being recognized as Iowa State's Most Improved Diver as a senior. At the 2011 Big 12 Conference Swimming and Diving Championships, she earned a third place exhibition finish on the 1-meter board with a score of 230.15. Anders also competed on platform with a 19th-place finish and score of 158.80. She took 21st place in the 3-meter competition with a final score of 216.65.

Since graduation, Anders has continued to stay involved with diving by coaching a club team in the summer. Anders wanted to stay active in the sport and searched for a club that offered masters diving. She currently dives for Mesa Aquatics (Ariz.) and practices three to four days a week in the pool as well as outside lifting. She is currently the only master diver on the Mesa squad.

At the Masters National Championship meet, Anders won her age division (21-24) on both the 1-meter and 3-meter board. Her best dive was a front double pile on 1 meter, which scored sevens and eights.

“Everyone was very enthusiastic and cheered you on, even if you smacked,” Anders said. “They also encouraged you to try harder or newer dives. There were divers who competed in high school and college, and also divers who started as adults.”

On 1-meter, she finished with a score of 373.50 and put up a 374.15 on 3-meter.

“It's a lot different than diving inside during high school and college,” said Anders. “I would definitely compete at another master's meet because of the fun atmosphere and how nice everyone was. Everyone was there to enjoy it. It was motivating watching the older divers compete and do dives I have never thought about doing, like a front dive full twist or even inward dive half twist.”

The current Cyclone swimming and diving squad will kick off its season with the annual Alumni meet, Sept. 28, at 6 p.m. CDT at Beyer Pool.

Iowa State University Athletics

Former Cyclone Divers Win Masters Competition

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