The University of Idaho can be found in Moscow, which is in the North Central part of the state.
In the Pacific Time Zone, Moscow has a population of 25,000 and is about 2,297 miles from Pittsburgh. It borders Washington, Montana, and British Columbia.
The Idaho Vandals are the school's team for NCAA Division I Big Sky Conference.
Quaker Valley senior Katie Blackmer will continue her successful diving career at Idaho, where she will study marketing with a full scholarship.
Blackmer said, “I talked to coaches from many programs, but I really liked the coaches and team at the University of Idaho. At a time when many schools are cutting swim and dive programs, Idaho is doing the opposite and investing in its athletic programs.
Going to the University of Idaho allows me to study and keep diving in a beautiful part of the country. I'm excited to dive for a D1 program in the Western Athletic Conference and compete against divers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Washington, and Utah.
Blackmer considered other college options before choosing Idaho, which has more than 12,000 students on campus and the largest campus in the state at 1,585 acres. The university is located in the rolling hills of the Palouse region.
She said, “I was open to going to a university closer to home, but I really liked the idea of going away for college. Both of my siblings are out west. My brother Nathan studies at Gonzaga in Spokane, Washington, and my sister Lauren is at Colorado in Boulder. I was also looking at schools in North Carolina, Colorado, and Ohio.
The Idaho diving team goes to Vancouver, British Columbia for two weeks of training each year. I'm looking forward to contributing to the women’s diving team at Idaho. I will spend a lot of time this summer training with my club coach on my 1-, 3- and 5-meter lists to prepare for my first season at Idaho.
Quaker Valley diving coach Vernon Yenick said Blackmer received a significant package from Idaho.
“Katie chose the University of Idaho because it is near her siblings on the West Coast and they offered her a full ride,” he said, “so it was a very good deal for tuition. All she has to pay for is room and board.”
The 5-foot-6, 120-pound Blackmer was a three-time WPIAL and PIAA finalist for the Quakers.
Over the last three seasons, Blackmer and juniors Ruby Olliffe and Ruby Krotine were the main focus of the QV diving program, along with another junior, Gia Kuyler, who joined the girls diving program this year.
After Olliffe, Blackmer and Krotine placed second, third, and fifth in the WPIAL Class 2A diving finals on Feb. 23 at North Allegheny, they landed in fourth, sixth, and 10th at the PIAA championships on March 16 at Bucknell.
Krotine said, “Katie, Ruby, and I have been diving together since fourth grade. With Katie graduating, this was our last year all competing together, so it was really exciting to see the three of us represent Quaker Valley in the top 10. (Head coach Merci McCarthy and diving coach Vernon Yenick) have been a crucial part of our success, and we are fortunate to have such great coaches at QV.”
Blackmer said she was happy with how she did at the PIAA meet.
“This year was definitely my favorite at states,” she said. “I was very excited going into states and felt good with my dive list. Unfortunately, I had some difficulty with my last dive. I was able to do well enough in the final round to place sixth. I was happy with how I did overall.”
Blackmer finished fifth in the WPIAL the past two seasons before advancing to the PIAA championships. She improved her score at this year’s WPIAL event by three points over last year’s 401.95.
“I was excited to place third at WPIALs this year,” Blackmer said. “It was great having the chance to stand on the podium again with my teammates.
“I have been doing a lot of training year-round with my club diving program, American Flyers, with diving coach Ron Navarra. So, with the guidance of coach Navarra and my high school coach, Vernon Yenick, I (was) well-prepared.”
According to Yenick, Blackmer will be training in college with one of the top coaches in the country, Jim Southerland, who has been at Idaho for nine years.
“Southerland has had many national champions under his tenure,” Yenick said, “and also has trained many kids to be junior Olympians. Katie’s such a great athlete to coach. She listens and makes corrections quickly. She smiles at every practice even if she’s not feeling it. She is friendly, kind, extremely bubbly and really funny.
“I think Katie’s definitely going to be one of the top divers there because she is extremely talented, and she’s just begun to do her best. So, to see her in college, I think it’s going to be something that will no doubt impress many people because she’s coming on strong and will keep coming on stronger every year.”
The Quaker Valley swimmers and divers practice and compete at the Sewickley Valley YMCA. But it was the away meets that were most memorable for Blackmer.
“My fondest moments were of away high school dive meets,” Blackmer said. “The divers … would hang out in the locker room, get ready, and have the most random conversations before going back out to watch the swimmers. I also had a great time at states, hanging out with my swim and dive teammates at our hotel playing poker. I will really miss diving with Ruby, Ruby and Gia.
“I’ve been really lucky to dive with a program that has consistently been one of the most successful 2A programs in western Pennsylvania. I really appreciate all of the support from QVSD, including our athletic director, Mike Mastroianni, our head coach, Merci McCarthy, and our diving coach, Vernon Yenick.”
QV’s veteran diving coach was proud of the Quakers performance in 2023-24.
“I’m thrilled with the QV girls dive team,” Yenick said. “This is the first time in the school’s history that there have been three QV divers qualifying for the PIAA championships at the same time. And this is the third year in a row for all three of them. They are extremely talented and motivated and have worked hard for this.
“I’ve enjoyed coaching these kids. They are not only elite divers, but close friends and really very funny. It makes practices more fun than stressful, and I definitely laugh often. I am certainly a very proud coach.”
Blackmer, 18, has worked as a diving specialist for almost ten years.
“I began as a swimmer at the Edgeworth Club at 7, but switched to diving the summer I turned 9,” she explained. “I got into diving because coach McCarthy, who was the director at Edgeworth, recommended that I try diving and compete with the club team. So, it was a lot of fun to have coach McCarthy at the pool for my last year.”
Blackmer has a perfect 4.0 GPA and mentioned that her favorite classes have been her English courses along with statistics.
“I also really liked my College in High School course, mass communication and society, this year,” she mentioned.
Blackmer was a four-year letter winner as a QV diver.
“I started diving at Quaker Valley as a freshman in 2020-2021,” she shared. ”I’ve continued to improve and develop my skills each year since my freshman year. I was particularly satisfied with my diving at the Beaver Bobcats Invitational in January. There were 23 divers from 14 schools in 2A and 3A. I scored 421.9.”
Blackmer acted as captain of the QV dive team this year.
