North Allegheny grad Max Gonzalez earns All-American honors

For the second consecutive season, North Allegheny graduate Max Gonzalez earned a top honor as a member of the Carnegie Mellon men’s swimming and diving team.

Gonzalez, a junior, was recently named a first-team College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America Division III Scholar All-American.

The award recognizes students who achieved a grade-point average of 3.50 or higher and were invited to compete at their respective national championship.

Gonzalez qualified for the NCAA championship in the 800-yard freestyle relay and made All-America after the meet was canceled because of the coronavirus.

“I was really pleased to see the CSCAA go out of their way to still give out the All-American awards,” said Gonzalez, a mechanical engineering major. “We all worked just (as) hard as in past years.

“I was grateful to receive the same recognition.”

Gonzalez, a 2017 PIAA Class AAA gold medalist in the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays, made honorable mention All-America in the 800 freestyle relay and 400 medley relay in 2019. He was an honorable mention Scholar All-American in 2018.

“Max has combined his immense physical talent with his hard work and training habits to reach for his goals each year,” Tartans coach Matt Kinney said. “His intelligence helps him execute his racing strategies, while building his confidence.”

North Allegheny alum and Rochester senior diver Stephen Savchik (data science) also was among Division III selections.

Former Tiger and Carnegie Mellon junior diver Maddie Mianzo (electrical and computer engineering) was an honorable mention women’s pick.

Honorable mention was for athletes who achieved a 3.50 GPA and achieved a B time standard or competed at an NCAA Regional or Zone Diving qualifier.

In Division I, North Allegheny grad and Virginia freshman Jack Wright (arts & sciences undeclared) made first team among men.

“I was very satisfied with how the season came together,” said Wright, who made All-America in the 800 freestyle relay. “I would have loved to compete at NCAAs, but even without that, I was still happy with my performances for the most part.

“There were a lot of new features to college swimming that took some getting used to, but I think this season put me in a great position to excel next year.”

Cavaliers coach Todd DeSorbo said Wright is able to digest instruction and technical changes and apply them to his training.

“It’s not just about working hard, it’s about working smart, breaking bad habits and forming good habits,” DeSorbo said. “He does this well.”

Two other North Allegheny grads, Princeton freshman John Ehling (undeclared) and Stanford sophomore Mason Gonzalez (Max’s brother) (undecided), were among Division I honorable mention selections.