Fishers graduate, IU-Indy star goes undefeated in conference competition
By RICHIE HALL
Imagine being a college diver – easily one of the more mentally demanding sports – and going unbeaten in your conference for your entire career.
Sebastian Otero did just that. The Fishers graduate is wrapping up his senior season at Indiana University-Indianapolis. The Jaguars compete in the Horizon League and Otero finished his IU-Indy career perfect in all of his league meets.
That total includes a four-year record of perfection in the Horizon League meet, where he swept both the one-meter and three-meter competitions all four years.
“I’m incredibly grateful,” said Otero. “I never really thought of it as a goal. It was more of a one-meet-at-a-time kind of thing. There is a lot talent in the Horizon League. I feel I was blessed to control my emotions the best and be the most consistent every time. It just panned out the way it did. I still don’t even believe it, the magnitude of it.”
Otero was a three-time state medalist for the Fishers Tigers, steadily working his way up the podium. He placed seventh in his sophomore year, sixth in his junior year and third in his senior year (2022).
High school diving in Indiana consists of solely one-meter, although Otero said he also dove three-meter during his club days. He did admit to being afraid of the three-meter board but got himself out of that mindset quickly once he began college diving.
“I realized there was no way to get around it,” said Otero. “If I wanted to dive at the collegiate level, I had to overcome it.”
Otero did so with “a lot of visualization and belts,” and once he made the breakthrough, “I kept ticking off the check marks from there.”
“When I got to college, that was my main focus, to develop my weakness,” said Otero. “We took it from there and kept my foot on the gas.”
Otero accelerated his way to over 60 wins at the collegiate level. Not that he was counting. Otero tried to keep his focus at one meet at a time, saying he is someone who focuses on “living in the moment.”
“I take every day day-by-day,” said Otero. “When it comes to competition, I’m only thinking about the competition. I just try and do my dives as best as I can in the now, because that’s all I can control. It was nothing that was planned. I took it one meet at a time and it just happened to be that I never lost.”
“I would always tell myself that I was going to win, but it was more manifestation,” said Otero. “I don’t think I believed it; I spoke it into existence. I think by me verbalizing it and saying it loud to myself, I spoke it into existence. I always say that diving is 80 percent mental, 20 percent physical. I think anyone could get on a board in good health and do a front flip, but only the mentally tough will actually do it.”
In addition to his Horizon League success, Otero has made a mark on the national scene. He is a four-time NCAA national qualifier, earning his place after good results at the Zone C Championship all four years. This year’s national tournament takes place March 25 to 28 at Georgia Tech’s McAuley Aquatic Center and Otero is among the 35 competitors in the men’s event.
Otero said that Zone C is the hardest one because of the competition, which includes schools like Purdue and Ohio State. His best finish was in 2024, his sophomore year when he placed fifth in the three-meter.
Otero also competed in the 2024 Olympic Trials. He enjoyed diving in all of those big meets, because of the learning opportunities he received.
“Those were all super great learning experiences,” said Otero. “I learned a lot from the great athletes there, from talking to them and even watching them. After those meets, I feel like a sponge. I’m always open to learning something new.”
Otero majored in exercise science and plans to go to graduate school to become a chiropractor. He also is considering training for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.