CRLS math teacher Kate Sorenson recently won two World Titles in the sport of diving. This summer, she competed at the Masters World Championships in Montreal, an event that hosted nearly 10,000 athletes from over 60 countries. Sorenson competed in the 25-29 age group on the 1-meter springboard, 3-meter springboard, and platform events. “I was pretty nervous going into the meet. I tried to relax myself before each dive, but it’s hard to control your nerves.”
Her first event was the 1-meter springboard. As part of her strategy, Sorenson saved her best dive for last: an inward 1-1/2 somersaults in the pike position. “I nailed it. Although I felt good about my chances, my competitors were nailing their dives too and, at the end of the meet, there was no clear winner. We had to wait for the results.” Later, Sorenson found out she had won by a point. “I was ecstatic. How many people can call themselves a World Champion?”
To stay competitive, Sorenson practices 6 days a week with Boston Area Diving. “It can be exhausting, but nothing worth doing is ever easy.” Sorenson’s coach Joe Chirico from Boston Area Diving says, “Kate has always put in additional training hours, always going that extra mile to improve. Because of her commitment, Kate won. That single point is a slim margin but is often the difference between fame and never being heard of.
Sorenson added another World Title to her resume later that week by winning the platform event by nearly 20 points. “I honestly didn’t expect to win that one. I get to practice platform only once a week at MIT, whereas my competitors are able to train on a daily basis. That win was just icing on the cake!”
This past summer also proved productive for Sorenson as she added two National Titles to her list of accomplishments. Sorenson competed at AAU Nationals in Atlanta, Georgia in the 18+ age group. Her competition included current Division 1 divers, senior national divers, high school All-Americans, and collegiate All-Americans. “It’s nice to know that I can compete at that level and win against extremely talented high school and college-aged divers.”
Sorenson, a four-time All-American diver in college, has been coaching on the side for the past 5 years at both Lexington High School and CRLS. During her tenure, her divers have rewritten every high school diving record at their respective schools. She has also coached two state champions. Last year’s state champion Gabe Bamforth from CRLS was named a High School All-American and one of the best 100 divers in the country. Bamforth states, “Ms. Sorenson is both a great mentor and an impressive athlete. As a coach, she manages to push us to our individual capabilities. As an athlete, she is fiercely motivated, always maintaining and improving her impressive arsenal of dives.”
Although Sorenson devotes a lot of time to diving, she is just as enthusiastic about teaching. “I like to emphasize the importance of finding a passion to my students. Passions drive us to work harder and become better versions of ourselves.” Alanna Logan, an avid dancer and student in Ms. Sorenson’s honors geometry class, states, “Ms. Sorenson has allowed me to believe that I can master both athletics and academics and perform at the highest level in both.” Sorenson’s co-teacher Chris Nemitz sums it up nicely by saying, “Kate Sorenson is not only a champion diver but a champion Geometry teacher.”