David Bonuchi only had a 1.7-mile trip to find his new home in 2010.
That home was at MU.
Bonuchi, a junior diver for the Tigers, graduated from Hickman High School in Columbia, just a five-minute drive from the Mizzou Aquatics Center. His time as a three-peat Missouri high school state champion had passed as he prepared for the collegiate level, with only a few questions looming in his future.
“Who’s going to get me there?” Bonuchi said. “Who’s going to take me to the top? Who was going to be able to work with me individually and possibly get me to the Olympics (in) 2016?”
Missouri diving coach James Sweeney helped answer those questions. After recruiting trips to Missouri, Auburn, Miami, Michigan and Pittsburgh, Bonuchi made his decision to come to MU.
Making the step into the collegiate level with a familiar face helped. Sweeney has coached Bonuchi since 2003.
In 10 years of coaching, Sweeney has seen Bonuchi at a whole other level. Bonuchi’s accolades as a diver span from second place at last year’s NCAA championship to a national title at the 2012 USA Diving Winter National Championships.
“He’s like my little brother,” Sweeney said. “I hold him accountable, he holds me accountable. I’m going to give him everything I have as a coach, and I will not let him down, and he sees that. He’s going to get on the boards and give me everything he has. That’s why we’re good — we’re not going to let each other down.”
Transitioning from high school to college also brought another trend: injury.
“Like this year and years past, I’ve always been injured,” said Bonuchi. “Throughout my diving career, I’ve hit my head on the board for 176 stitches, broke my leg, torn a calf muscle, broke my arm, broke my hand three times, fingers multiple times, shin splints, back injuries, and it just continues. All my accidents haven’t been from me properly training — it’s just accidents. There’s no way around accidents.”
Bonuchi was forced away from competition after his most recent episode with injury during practice in September.
Bonuchi was learning a new dive from 10 meters, Sweeney said. In the dive, Bonuchi flips four and a half times before hitting the water.
“He landed it pretty well,” Sweeney said. “He came up and was pretty excited. A couple minutes later, he came over and said his hand wasn’t feeling so good.”
After an X-ray, Bonuchi learned he had suffered a hairline fracture in his left hand.
The hometown diver was forced to train and went to rehab for more than four weeks without launching headfirst into the diving well. Doctors gave the green light for Bonuchi to resume diving headfirst Wednesday because a matchup with Missouri State loomed Saturday.
Only two days of preparation were needed. A black wrap heavily protecting his left hand did not stop Bonuchi. He twisted, flipped and turned his way to sweep both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events Saturday afternoon at the Mizzou Aquatics Center, showing no lingering effects of injury en route to his team’s victory. A 435.75 in the 3-meter is one of the top scores in the nation two weeks into the season, Sweeney said.
That score is even more impressive considering Bonuchi’s recent injuries, Sweeney said.
“He’s got more in the tank though,” he said. “We’re going to go big this year. … Seems like yesterday he was just a little kid. All of the sudden, I blink my eyes and he’s a man. He’s doing things the right way.”
