Isaiah Clerkley, member of the Seneca Valley diving team, has received multiples D1 offers after a comeback from a back injury.

Senior, Isaiah Clerkley, is preparing for his last diving season at Seneca Valley. He trains at Westminster during his offseason, practicing five days a week with his teammates. Clerkley says, “My teammates are motivators who push me to work hard but also lift me up when I am having a bad day. The same goes for me. That is how I would like to treat my teammates because that is how I want them to treat me.”

In tenth grade, Clerkley suffered a major back injury that set him back six months. He had a herniated disc in his lower back that restrained Clerkley from practicing and participating in any sporting activity. Clerkley said, “I was very motivated to come back, and I had to work extra hard to make up for all that lost time.”

Clerkley says seven colleges have reached out to him which he responded, “my hard work paid off.” Clerkley’s top three schools of interest are Penn State University, University of Pittsburgh, and George Washington University. When thinking about his options, Clerkley says, “Diving has opened up a wide range of possibilities and really expanded my future greatly.”

Clerkley has not always been a diver; most of his life he was a gymnast. In ninth grade, he tried out for the diving team for the first time after some persuasion from a neighbor. Clerkley quickly grew to love the sport, so in tenth grade he stopped competing in gymnastics to focus on diving. Clerkley refers to his diving team as a family and says, “We have pushed each other and promoted standards of excellence amongst ourselves.”

Clerkley is looking forward to committing to his top choice and completing a successful senior season.