Greenwalds give Coronado region’s top diving tandem

Coronado diver T.C. Greenwald worked all through the summer and into the season, hoping to move up a spot from his second-place finish at the Class 4A state meet last year.

But to do so the junior will have to fend off a familiar adversary: his younger brother.

Brayden Greenwald, a sophomore at Coronado, placed fourth at state last year. More than sibling rivals, however, the Greenwalds are the top prep diving duo in Southern Nevada.

“We get along with each other really well, so it’s not too bad,” said T.C., who scored 341.45 points at last year’s state meet in Reno. “We more push each other than argue over who’s going to win. We just tell each other what to do, give each other a boost and help each other out all the time. It’s a good thing, actually.”

As a freshman last year, Brayden scored 323.60 at state, following up on an impressive 339.30 to place second at the Sunrise Region meet — nearly 16 points ahead of his older brother.

This season, T.C. had a winning score of 238.05 in a March 26 meet against Foothill — but Brayden posted a 237.25 the following week to win against Boulder City and Green Valley.

Even as the siblings constantly jockey for the top spot in each competition, Brayden said there is no animosity in the family.

“We’re more like best friends,” said Brayden, who took several classes with T.C. during the former’s freshman year. “We eat lunch together and have most of the same friends.”

In fact, T.C. has played a key role in his brother’s development as a diver, helping his sibling as he adjusted to the high school ranks.

“Go through the dive in your head, and don’t think about messing up,” T.C. remembers telling Brayden before he dived for the Cougars for the first time. “Just focus on doing what you know how to do. You’ve done it a bunch of times, so don’t worry about the judges or the meet. Just think of it as another practice.”

The brothers’ strong work ethic helps them, as well.

When Sunrise Region diving coach John Chir arrives at practice, he often finds the Greenwalds already have been in the pool for two hours.

“They get as much diving in as they can,” said Chir, a former UNLV diver. “You couldn’t ask for better kids; they take directions, they don’t doubt you. They’re two of the best divers in the state.”

The connection spreads to the rest of Coronado’s swim team, which regularly attends each dive meet the day before a swim meet. Most of the divers at Clark County School District schools practice together, leaving less time for divers to practice with swimmers.

It doesn’t seem that way at Coronado.

“They’re great teammates,” Chir said. “They show up to all the swim meets, and they’re there to root on their team. They embrace swimming, and their swimmers cheer them on. (Coronado swim coach) Dave Stump really supports his divers well, too.”

While hoping his team also performs well at the end of the year, T.C. Greenwald has a singular focus in his junior season.

“I’m hoping to win state,” he said. “That’s been a big goal all year, and it kept me training all summer long.”

Not to be outdone, Brayden interjected with a similar goal.

“I want to place 1-2 with my brother. Or at least, we want to stand on the podium together; he’ll be one level lower, of course,” the younger sibling said jokingly. “But we’ll still be next to each other.”