Chris Alberty article (MI)

[rainbowgirl28]

http://hometownlife.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a ... 057/NEWS13

Novi's Chris Alberty goes off the deep end

By Sam Eggleston
SPORTS WRITER

Chris Alberty fumbled with the phone for a second and then smiled when he put it up to his ear.

The voice on the other end of the line was familiar. It was his brother, Mike.

Alberty could have laughed. He could have bragged about what he just did or even made fun of his brother. Instead, the Novi senior took a deep breath and told Mike everything that had happened.

Alberty had broken his own brother's diving record.

"It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be," Alberty said. "I had wanted to do it earlier in the season, but I couldn't. I had to kick it up a notch. I was starting to get a little worried because it came down to the last few dives."

The record came in the Kensington Valley Conference meet as Alberty took first place, earning 454.55 points over 11 dives. The mark shattered his brother's eight-year-old record of 411.65.

It wasn't a new experience for Alberty, who also broke the six-dive record of his other brother, Steve.

"They supported me and stood behind me every step of the way," Alberty said. "They didn't want anyone else to break it. They wanted to keep the record in the family."

It wasn't the only goal Alberty earned this year. For a few years he's talked of finishing in the top five at the state finals. This year, he did it.

He came into the regional ranked 13th overall before climbing to seventh for the state finals. There, he put on one of his best performances of the year and finished fifth, beating out last year's champion and a diver favored to win the event.

Though it wasn't his best diving of the year, Alberty said he was happy with his results.

"I was ecstatic," he said. "I knew coming into this year I was behind because I knew other kids had dives that I didn't. I was so excited to see myself move up like that."

Alberty has constantly had the motto of just doing the best he can. It's something that has helped him through some rather rough times. An injury hampered him early in his career and it took a lot of hard work, including diving on Sundays at Eastern Michigan University, to even get back in stride with other divers.

The hard work paid off. Two records and an All-State selection aren't even the highlight of his senior year. Instead, earning All-American consideration with his dives is what he pegs as being the most exciting.

Currently he has sent in a tape of his best dive, which will be reviewed and judged again by a committee. That same committee will sort through all of the All-American consideration tapes sent in and the top 80 public school divers and the top 40 private school divers in the country will earn All-American recognition.

"It's definitely exciting to even have a chance at being an All-American," Alberty said. "If I get it, it's definitely the biggest highlight of the year."

But it's probably not the last accolade the Wildcat tanker will ever receive. He said he's considering several interested schools that would like him to come dive for their swim teams. In the coming weeks he has several recruitment trips scheduled to schools like Eastern Michigan University, Grand Valley State, Oakland University, Ohio, Clemson, Michigan and Michigan State.

He said strictly considering diving, Eastern Michigan would win out. If he strictly considered academics, then he said he'd lean toward Michigan State University. But it's a choice he hasn't made yet and one he said he'll take his time with.

Until then, Alberty has plenty to keep him busy. He's involved in several extracurricular activities, including being the senior class president. Alberty is also a member of the track and field team under the guidance of coach Robert Smith.

This spring, when track is in full swing, Alberty said he'll be eyeing the pole-vault record. It's currently set at 13-feet-4.75-inches.

Though his personal best is only 12-6, Alberty said he has plenty of motivation to help him try and break the record â€â€

[vaulter870]

alberty is a jumper at NOVI (my school) he is an amazing diver. Unfortunatly he is the #3 vaulter at our school. he is more of a hurtaler then a Polevaulter. he is a really cool kid and i hope he can jump higher than his brother. But he wont set the record this year because that is my job.

[VaultMarq26]

that's right...i like the confidence..get an article of your own then post it here