Macomb native, WSU diver named GLIAC Diver of the Year

DETROIT/SHELBY TOWNSHIP — Battling injuries, coaching changes and Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference competition, Wayne State University junior diver Mikaela Senkus’ resilience paid off this year at the GLIAC Championships.

On Feb. 15 at the Holland Aquatic Center, Senkus captured the women’s 1-meter diving championship and followed it up with a first-place finish in the women’s 3-meter diving championships Feb. 17.

Senkus, who battled concussion and shoulder injuries this season, said it was the moment she’s been waiting for in her college career.

If the two diving titles weren’t enough recognition, Senkus was named GLIAC Diver of the Year after her performance, leading Wayne State to a second-place finish at the GLIAC Championships.

“It was very validating and rewarding because I put through so much work this offseason and went through a lot of setbacks, so to be named that was very rewarding,” Senkus said.

Senkus also earned GLIAC Diver of the Week six times this season, earning a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II National Championship berth.

The NCAA finals, which are taking place March 7-11 in Indianapolis, are familiar territory for Senkus, who earned first-team All-American honors last season after a third-place finish in the 1-meter diving finals.

Wayne State first-year diving coach Jason Trout said Senkus’ determination has been her strongest attribute.

“She’s definitely spoiled me, especially as a first-year coach,” Trout said. “She’s extremely motivated.”

Motivated in and outside the pool, Senkus, a civil engineering major, was named College Sports Communications All-District.

Senkus also received Athletic Director’s Honor Roll honors, which requires a 3.5 GPA or higher each term, every semester of her collegiate career.

A four-year diving letterwinner for Utica Eisenhower High School, Senkus, who graduated from Utica Academy for International Studies, was a senior team captain before joining Wayne State.

Senkus had little experience in the 3-meter dive, as she excelled in the 1-meter dive already in high school, earning a first-place finish at the Macomb County Swimming and Diving Championships in 2019.

Entering her collegiate career, Senkus said it was something she had to face head-on.

“I just had to take that initial jump off with a flip and hope for the best,” Senkus said.

Fast-forward to this year, to add to an already impressive list of accolades, Senkus broke the Wayne State pool record for the 3-meter dive in a meet against Saginaw Valley State University.

Senkus said the 3-meter dive record was one of the most memorable moments of her collegiate career.

“That was mentally the hardest one this year, just learning new dives, so that was really rewarding to me to get that record,” Senkus said.

Senkus was looking to continue her hot streak in Indiana.

While her success as a competitor this season has been impactful for Wayne State, her leadership for the underclassmen is something Senkus said she takes a lot of pride in. Senkus said 2021 Wayne State senior diver Amanda Hurchalla, a 2021 graduate, is someone she tries to emulate as a leader.

“She was someone I really looked up to coming in as a freshman, and that’s who I want to be for the freshmen as an upperclassman,” Senkus said.