Central Connecticut State University swimming and diving is widely considered one of the top swim and dive programs in the Northeast Conference, and sophomore diver Jewelle Maziarz has led the way.

Maziarz competes in one of the more nuanced sports offered at the Division I level, and she excelled this week. 

Winning her second NEC Diver of the Week award, Maziarz became the first Blue Devil to qualify for NCAA Zone Diving in six years. 

In a meet at the University of Rhode Island, Maziarz took home gold in the 1-meter dive, scoring 282.45, less than a point off the program record.

Despite competing in a largely solo sport, Maziarz keeps her team’s success in mind nonetheless.

“I do have goals that I set for myself every meet,” Maziarz said. “But I also think about it as the better I do, the more I contribute towards the team.”

However, Maziarz’s goals reach much higher than just meet-to-meet as she looks to outdo her 2023 NEC Diver of the Year performance.

After already reaching the top of the conference, Maziarz’s development is self-driven.

“My goal is to excel more where I know I can,” Maziarz said. “I like to take it one meet at a time and one dive at a time.”

Maziarz was very open about the expectations of being a Division I athlete and the stress that comes with it.

“I’ve had a lot of awards, and sometimes I get stressed about what the conference expects from me, what my coaches expect from me and my teammates,” Maziarz said. “I try to just be myself.”

Diving at the NCAA level was not part of Maziarz’s original plans, much less at a Division I program. Despite her numerous awards and achievements, she has only been a diver for four years. She said her gymnastics background has done a lot of heavy lifting in her development.

“I didn’t think I was going to do college athletics,” Maziarz said. “When I met the team, it was a very team-oriented group of girls. We’re all one big family.”

Maziarz spoke highly of the role the team plays in her life and the role she plays on the team.

“I love it,” she said.

Just like all student-athletes, Maziarz’s day-to-day life is a balancing act. Between classes for her biomolecular science major, practices, lifts, and anything else thrown her way, she had proved to be an asset to Blue Devils’ Swim and Dive and the entire Central community.

Maziarz will compete to defend her NEC Diving crown as the Blue Devils travel to Geneva, Ohio, for the NEC Championships at the end of February.