Rockin' and Rippin' - Diver Spotlight on Marc Carlton

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Collegiate teammates are more than just friends for four years. Sometimes they help opportunities just fall in your lap.

Jenn Cristy, a John Mellencamp band member on the 2001 Cuttin' Heads album, swam at Indiana University from 1998-2001. She teamed up with MoeZ, also a former Mellencamp and Wallflowers band member, to start her own band. They needed more musicians.

Marc Carlton landed in Bloomington, Ind. the fall of 2000. Like many of the Hoosier divers, he fell in love with the program and campus long before freshman orientation.

"I went to the IU camp my sophomore year in high school," Carlton said. "Mike Collier, Kimiko Soldati, Sara (Hildebrand) and Erin Quinn were already a part of the program.

"The nearest platform to my house was an hour and a half away, so I hadn't dove from 10-meter before camp. I learned a whole list in one week. I had just played on 5-meter and 7.5-meter before."

Carolyn Carlton always allowed her son to play. A former diver at the Rochester Institute of Technology and participant in the 1968 Olympic Trials, Carolyn never pushed her son in the sport.

"My mom started a club in Rochester (N.Y.), and she took me to the pool when I was in diapers," Marc said.

"She let me choose my path. When I was 11-years-old I started diving, and when I was 14 or 15 I decided I wanted to do well and win. I would do things, and she would teach me."

Carolyn, a former senior national team coach and current head coach of FAST Diving, also mentored Steven Segerlin and Pete Crane. Segerlin now dives at Auburn University and Crane is at Florida State University.

"Steve, Pete and I were always buddies. I pushed Pete, because he was more my age, and Steve followed along. We had lots of fun together. They're great guys," Marc said.

Carlton also calls his IU teammates great. At the 2003 Speedo National Diving Championships, the Hoosiers won the women's team and combined team awards.

Also this year, Marc paired with Brian Mariano on synchronized 3-meter and platform. The duo placed second on springboard at Nationals and second on 10-meter at the Speedo American Cup.

"Jeff (Huber) put us together when Brian got to IU," Carlton said. "We worked really hard at 3-meter. We learned two of our three optionals right before Nationals.

"Brian is awesome. He's the toughest diver I know. In three months he learned a full 10-meter list. He has no hesitation. He just does what Jeff says.

"Cassie (Cardinell) and Sara had a great year. It's good to have good divers to watch everyday. I love the training atmosphere the most."

The training atmosphere was the biggest adjustment for Carlton. He calls his freshman year slow, because he was learning to adjust to the collegiate season. His sophomore year was a lot better, but he was not ready to compete.

"It's been a slow, steady climb, but that's good," Carlton said. "When I hit a plateau it's time to take the Speedo off."

Carlton will redshirt the 2003-04 collegiate campaign to train. His focus will be on concentration and cleaning up "sloppy" form. Synchro will also get a lot of attention as Carlton learns some of Mariano's dives.

This won't be the first time Carlton learns new material.

Last summer when Cristy and MoeZ were looking for musicians, Carlton got a call. After two days of auditions, he was added to Jenn Cristy's Paradox. The Webster, N.Y. native was putting his love of music composition and playing the guitar to good use. He had to learn 50 new songs.

"This fell in my lap. They are established musicians, and they asked me. It's so neat," Carlton said.

Carlton plays the acoustic and electric guitars, and he sang backup once. It takes some juggling to attend class, practice diving and rehearse, but he's able to do the big shows.

"My mom was concerned initially, because it's a lot to take on. But, I always try to pack too much into each day," Carlton said.

"I worked out a deal with Jenn so I rehearse around diving, and Josh is another guitarist, so it's a lot easier for me."

Jenn Cristy's Paradox played at the 2003 IU Homecoming and football game. In the summer of 2004, they will open Ziggy Marley's concert in Indianapolis.

A major show and the Olympic Trials - 2004 will be a rockin' and rippin' summer for Carlton.