Valencia Ptak '27 Recruiting Profile

My name is Valencia Ptak and I attend Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Illinois. I am desirous of becoming a D1 collegiate diver. During the summers, I dive for Butterfield Country Club, four days a week, under high school coach, Lindsae Brix. I also have been diving at FMC Natatorium in Westmont, under Coach Forest Wagner since October, 2023.  Moreover, I also coach dive at Chicago Highlands Country Club, and compete in IHSA diving. I have been diving for two years, and for both years I have dove varsity. 

I attend Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Illinois and dove for the Fenwick team last year on varsity as a freshman, under coach Jeremy Gravell, after only learning to dive a few months prior after transitioning from being a level 10 gymnast.  After 3 years of injury, I needed to pivot to another sport to avoid further injuring my leg; which needed time and rest to properly heal.  As a result of my previous 12 years as a gymnast, I am easily malleable in dive and have cultivated a solid body awareness and mental strength which makes dive a natural and easy transition for me. 

My sophomore season went exceedingly well. I beat the Fenwick Pool record, after 20 years of no one beating it! My score was a 250.2 on a six dive meet. I won sectionals with a 448.4. Lastly, I got 34th at State. I only plan on continuing on a road of successes and learning from mistakes. Dive has truly become a sport that I want to succeed in. I now go to Glenbrook Aquatics, to not only further my 1m diving skills, but also start competing in club. On top of this, it has been suggested to me, due to my gymnastics past, to start doing platform diving which I intend on doing. 

I love to dive. I enjoy being a mentor and role model to my teammates and pushing them to do better which, in turn, pushes me to do better.  I appreciate the team experience of diving and synchronized diving.   What makes me stand out is my strong work ethic and dedication to my sport and easy coach-ability, along with my personal ability to manage multiple teams, a job, and maintaining a 3.867 gpa.