Dawson Dives Into New Sport, Quickly Rises in Ranks Among State's Best Off Diving Board
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
February 24, 2026
PORTAGE – Little did Von Dawson know that getting in trouble for doing backflips in the hallway as a freshman would lead him down a path he never imagined.
“After he got in trouble a couple of times for that, I said, ‘Hey, do you want to try diving?’” said Portage Central dive coach Madeline Woods.
That was a sport the current junior never considered.
It wasn’t until school principal Eric Alburtus noticed Dawson doing backflips on the field after a football game that diving was mentioned again.
"I remember exactly that night,” Alburtus said. “Von did this beautiful flip, and I hustled to him and said, ‘I don’t know who you are yet, but you’ve got to become a diver.’
“I can’t take credit for the amazing athlete and diver Von is but I’m very, very happy that I played a teeny, tiny piece of him doing amazing work around here. He’s such a great kid.’
Dawson knew nothing about diving.
“In middle school, I really didn’t know that diving was a thing,” he said. “I knew they had a swimming program, but where I was, it wasn’t really posted as much.”
He decided to try it – and saying he took to it like the cliché “duck to water” is an understatement.
“Von had never stepped foot on a diving board before, then made it to the state meet his freshman year,” Woods said. “It was a pretty fun turnaround. He’s an incredibly athletic kid.”
His freshman year Dawson finished 29th at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 Swimming & Diving Finals.
“Just being there as a freshman who had never dove before was impressive,” Woods said.
He took another step last winter as a sophomore, finishing eighth at the Finals. This season, his top reported 6-dive score ranks eighth statewide and sixth among Division 2 athletes, and his top 11-dive score is 14th statewide and seventh in his division.
Starting from scratch
Dawson was full of confidence from the first day of practice.
“The first week I got a list of dives, and I learned fairly quickly,” he said. “(Woods) explained a dive to me and I was like. ‘I can do that. I want to try it.’ She’d either let me or I’d bother her enough until she let me do it.”
Woods said Dawson is always trying to push the limits.
“With Von, we hit the ground running.” she said. “The first two seasons was me telling him ‘No’ a lot.
“Can I try this? No, not yet, Can I try that? No, not yet. Then he would wear me down and he’d do the (dive) and it would usually be one excellent one and he’d bomb the next one.”
Dawson said he was even more fearless back then but when it came to Regionals, the nerves started to show.
“Regionals are so much more stressful than state meet because you have to qualify,” he said. "States is you’re already there, you’re ready. It’s two days you’re with your friends on the swim team, you’re hanging out at a hotel. It’s pretty awesome.”
During his sophomore season, Dawson honed his skills and earned all-state status.
“From freshman year to sophomore year, I did a really good job on my kickouts especially,” he said. “I think that’s what got me to eighth. I was a little more polished.”
This season, Woods said she banished the word “No.”
“We’re going to do all the big dives, anything you want to try, we’re up for it,” she said. “Now he has the base, now he has the skills, we’re going to do it and it’s been really, really fun.”
Dawson has done some of the biggest dives Woods has ever coached: “He has the highest degree of difficulty of any diver I’ve ever coached and he’s only a junior, which is pretty awesome.”
Continuing to climb
Besides being an elite athlete, Woods said Dawson is an incredibly personable person.
“Other coaches will come up to me to say how much they enjoy chatting with him,” she said. “At some of the bigger meets, there are divers who remember him from previous years. He’s really, really, friendly, a great sport and highly competitive.”
But to get where he is today, Dawson overcame some obstacles early in life.
“I was in foster care for eight years of my life,” he said. “I kinda hopped around different places. Group homes, this place, that place.”
He was adopted at age 13.
“They had two of my siblings and I went to live with them for two years before they adopted me,” he said. “They come to watch me all the time. I have about eight foster siblings and they’re my biggest fans, always cheering for me.”
Dawson has expanded his water skills by playing water polo in the fall.
“I make the joke that he collects fall sports like Pokémon cards,” Woods said. “He did cross country his first year, football his second year and water polo this year. I’ve been the lucky one that he’s kept, diving all three years. He also does track.”
Dawson has already reached one goal this season – topping his coach’s personal-best record. Woods was a four-year all-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association diver at Kalamazoo College and competed in the NCAA Division III Championships her senior year.
Woods said she challenged him this year.
“His highest score going into junior year was something in the 260s,” she said. “My personal best from my college years on 3-meter, which is easier to get a higher score on, was 282.
"So I challenged him in the first couple meets to beat my PR (personal record). I think he did it in our third meet. Our next goal was to break 300 and two weeks he got 299.9 and last week he got 306.9, a point less than the pool record at Loy Norrix.”
Using scores from his school meets, Dawson already has qualified for the AAU Nationals next summer.
His immediate goal is to qualify for the MHSAA LPD2 Finals to be competed March 13-14 at Eastern Michigan University along with fellow Mustang divers, junior Ryley Berns and sophomores Greyden Trevino and Drew Chenery.
“Diving is a hard sport and not for everyone,” Woods said of Dawson, “but when you find someone who is willing to do some crazy things and throw his body through the air and spin and flip and twist for fun, that’s usually a pretty special person.”
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Portage Central’s Von Dawson begins a dive at his home pool. (Middle) From left: Dawson, Portage Central diving coach Madeline Woods and Portage Central principal Eric Alburtus. (Below) Dawson descends into the water during a dive. (Diving photos courtesy of Madeline Woods. Dawson and Woods headshots by Pam Shebest. Alburtus headshot courtesy of Portage Central High School.)
High 5s - 3/13/12
March 13, 2012
Every Tuesday, Second Half honors 2-4 athletes and a team for its accomplishments.
Have a suggestion for a future High 5? Please offer it by e-mail to [email protected]. Candidates often will have accomplished great things on the field of play -- but also will be recognized for less obvious contributions to their teams, schools or the mission of high school athletics as a whole.
Christine Wilson
Grand Ledge senior
Gymnastics
Wilson led the Comets to a fifth-straight MHSAA team championship Friday at Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills. She returned Saturday and won the Division 1 individual championship with a score of 38.400, including a first-place 9.7 on the uneven parallel bars. She set the Division 2 all-around Finals record in winning that championship in 2011. Wilson scored perfect 10.0 scores twice this season, believed to be the first in MHSAA history.
Up next: I will either be attending the University of Michigan or Michigan State University. I like both campuses, and they both have great business programs. I am not sure if I will be competing yet; I would absolutely love to be on MSU's team next year, but I have to get some bigger skills first.
I'm not exactly sure what I want to be (after college), but I have always thought it would be cool to work in a sales management position for a sports company like Nike or Under Armour.
I learned the most about gymnastics from: When I was younger, my coach Carrie Stout from Twistars pushed me to excel and to enjoy the sport; I owe her a huge thanks for that. When I became a high school gymnast, Duane Haring really motivated me to become the best gymnast I could possibly be. He has taught me that there are no limits if you are willing to be dedicated and if you have the drive to win. He has never given up on me and has worked with me through my ups and downs. I could never have achieved as much as I have without his constant faith in me. I will never be able to thank him enough.
I look up to: In the gymnastics world, I look up to Jordyn Wieber. She's so dedicated and mentally tough, it's insane. When I am at a competition, I try to imitate her focus and determination. I also look up to my coach Duane Haring for always keeping a positive attitude when things get tough. I also look up to my relatives and close friends because I know they have my back, and I can count on them for anything.
Perfection: When I got my first 10.0 on the bars; I cannot even describe the feeling that I endured when it happened. I was nauseous and could not breathe for about 30 seconds, and I just started bawling. Bars used to be my weakest event in gymnastics until the end of last year. I have struggled so much on bars and have almost quit because of it. Knowing that I persevered through those hardships and had just achieved perfection was the most surreal feeling that I have ever experienced.
Bria Walsh
Southgate Anderson senior
Competitive cheer
Walsh helped the Titans to the MHSAA Division 1 championship on March 2, the first cheer championship in school history. Southgate Anderson scored 816.6032 points, besting its previous top score this season by less than a tenth of a point and putting it three ahead of runner-up Hudsonville.
Up next: Walsh will attend The Art Institute of Michigan, either in Novi or Troy. She'll study media animation -- with the goal of creating animated films like those produced by Pixar (think "Finding Nemo," the "Toy Story" movies, etc.)
I learned the most about cheer from: My coach (Colette) Norscia. She taught me more than cheerleading though. It was really like she built everybody up as a person. We all matured under her. And she really knows the sport. Obviously, she's a big part of why we got here.
I'm driven by: My team. Their dedication, their hard work. That pushes me farther because I want it as much as they do. And I'm not going to be the one to hold them back.
To those claiming cheer isn't a sport: Come and watch us once and see if you can do what we can, because I highly doubt it. It takes a lot of dedication. It's not a set sport like basketball. You don't get points by how many baskets you make. You get points for how much heart you have and how much you show it. It's a lot harder than it looks.
Christian Michalick
Brighton hockey
Senior
Michalick didn't take over as the starter in net until the second half of the season, but he made the opportunity count. He had 37 saves in a 2-1 double-overtime win over Orchard Lake St. Mary in Friday's Semifinal, then had 20 more saves as the Bulldogs defeated Grosse Pointe North 4-3 on Saturday to win the MHSAA Division 1 championship.
"I've wanted to do this my entire (career), since I started playing goalie. To start in a state championship and win it, it's just incredible."
In the Semifinal: I was just in the zone. It was all my mental game. I know I have the physical skills, but I just had to make sure I was into it mentally. Having early shots set the tone for me, and from there I just got into a rhythm.
My hero is: Probably Martin Brodeur. He's one of the reasons I started playing goalie. I watched him, watched him in the Stanley Cup (playoffs) with the Devils, ... and I wanted to be like Marty.
Game time: I get a plate of pasta around 3:30. I get to the rink about 6 o'clock and start stretching. Once I get on the ice, I just close my eyes and talk to myself and try to visualize the game. From there, I just go.
I'm driven by: I don't want to lose. I'm a competitor, I always have been, and I was raised that way. My dad (Tim) is a competitor. I just hate losing.
Mackenzie MacEachern
Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice senior
Hockey
MacEachern, who has committed to play at Michigan State, led the Warriors to the Division 2 championship Saturday and finished this season with 42 goals and 48 assists. He made the all-state first team this season.
Up next: MacEachern was drafted into the North American Hockey League last spring, but chose to finish high school first. He'll play junior hockey for one year or perhaps two, but has committed to join the Spartans after that.
What drives me: I just love the game, I guess. I just love playing it. I want to keep playing it.
I look up to: My parents, Pam and Ron.
Get prepped: I shower before every game. Shower and take a nap. And I eat Subway before every game -- chicken breast and bacon, no cheese.
My best moment in hockey: Today (winning the Division 2 Final).
Saline boys swimming and diving
The Ann Arbor area has long been known for its swimming prowess. The way Saline coach Todd Brunty sees it, his program is just measuring up to that reputation.
The Hornets claimed their third-straight MHSAA Division 1 championship Saturday, and in the process broke four Finals records including two for all divisions/classes. They won seven of the 12 swim races, led by juniors Adam Whitener, David Boland and Josh Ehrman.
"We've got a huge group of men swimming year-round, and they've got big dreams and big goals. I'm just kind of a beneficiary of swimming in the area," Brunty said, but added that certain lessons come with the high school portion of that training. "(They) learn about team. Because high school swimming is a unique, precious thing. It's all about the team, all about each other, your family, your community.
"This is a really special time. That's what we talk about a lot."