Honors & Accomplishments
• Helped Brett Hébert qualify for the 2020 NCAA Championships in the 1-meter and 3-meter diving in 2019-20.
• A CSCAA All-American in 2019-20, Hébert became Cornell's first NCAA qualifier in a diving event since 1987.
• Has led multiple Big Red divers to appearances at the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships in back-to-back years in 2018-19 and 2019-20.
• Helped Demetra Williams and Elise Jendritz shatter school records in the 1-meter and 3-meter, respectively.
• Guided divers to four individual MAAC titles.
• Coached the MAAC Diver of the Meet and Diver of the Year in two seasons at Canisius.
• Successful club coach in Western New York while coaching at both Fredonia and Canisius.
Coaching Experience
• Head Diving Coach, Cornell University (2016-present)
• Head Diving Coach, Canisius College (2014-16)
• Volunteer Assistant Coach, SUNY Fredonia (2012-14)
• Diving Coach, Dunkirk City Schools (2011-12)
• Head Diving Coach and President, Blue Devil Divers/Buffalo Blizzards Diving Club (2010-16)
Competitive Experience
• SUNY Fredonia (2006-10)
• 2010 NCAA Division III All-American
• Conference champion on the 1-meter
• International
• Pair of bronze medals at the 2014 FINA World Master’s Championships in Montreal
Education
• B.S., Business Administration and Management, Fredonia (2010)
• Minor in Spanish
At Cornell
Christian Torres was named the third Richard W. Gilbert Diving Coach at Cornell University in July 2016 after two seasons as the head diving coach at Canisius.
In his four seasons with the Big Red, Torres has helped put Cornell diving back on the national stage, as Brett Hébert became the Big Red's first men's NCAA qualifier in a diving event since 1987 in 2019-20. Under Torres' guidance, Hébert excelled at the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships, placing fourth overall in the 3-meter to punch his ticket to the NCAA Championships. A day later, Hébert secured his spot at the NCAA Championships in the 1-meter as well, finishing 10th. With this extraordinary accomplishment, Hébert was the first men's Big Red diver to qualify for the NCAA's biggest stage since Steve Banerot did so 33 years prior. Although the NCAA Championships were cancelled due to COVID-19, Hébert was named a CSCAA All-American for his spectacular junior campaign.
With Torres' direction, Hébert now holds the second-highest point totals in both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events (in the six dive format) in Cornell school history. He also made the A Final in both events at the 2020 Ivy League Championships, placing sixth in both disciplines.
On the women's side, Torres helped Demetra Williams and Elise Jendritz to a pair of school records and appearances at the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships. In her second-straight season competing at Zones, Williams qualified for the finals of the 1-meter. This came several weeks after a school record-breaking performance in the 1-meter at the Ivy League Championships, as Williams downed a 14-year-old school-record mark to place fifth overall. Just a freshman, it was Jendritz who stole the show in the 3-meter at the conference championships, breaking the Cornell school record in prelims and going on to finish eighth in the finals.
Torres guided a pair of divers, Hébert and Williams, to the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships in 2019. Hebert placed ninth overall in the 1-meter with the second-best score in school history, while also finishing fifth in the event at the Ivy Championships. After crashing Cornell's all-time top-10 list in both diving events as a freshman in 2017-18, Hébert hasn't stopped improving under Torres' direction. Erika Lacasse represented the Big Red women well in 2017-18, placing 14th overall at the Ivy League Championships on the 1-meter and 16th in the 3-meter, with both of her scores ranking fourth all-time in Cornell history.
In his first season with the Big Red, Torres helped Carson Guendert finish in the top-10 at the Ivy League championships in the 1-meter competition (246.55). Three divers scored in the 3-meter, with junior Noah Sterling (251.00) as the high finisher in 12th place. On the women’s side, three underclassmen scored in the 1-meter and two did the same in the 3-meter.
Prior to Cornell
Torres made an immediate impact at Canisius, qualifying divers in the finals at the NCAA Zone A meet in both 2015 and 2016, a first in program history.
In his second season as head diving coach, Torres helped Travis Wright become the MAAC Diver of the Year and Canisius' Athlete of the Year as a sophomore after he placed in both the one and three-meter diving events at Zones. He also won both the one-meter and three-meter diving events at the 2016 MAAC Swimming and Diving Championships.
In Torres’ first season, four Canisius divers scored points during finals at the conference championship meet. Eddie Quarantillo was named the Outstanding Male Diver of the Meet at the MAAC championship after winning finals in both the 1-meter and the 3-meter events. Quarantillo went on to dive at the NCAA Zone meet, advancing to the finals on the 3-meter and tower. He became the first Canisius male diver to make finals in the event.
Prior to his time at Canisius, Torres spent two seasons as a volunteer assistant diving coach at his alma mater, Fredonia. He mentored league champions on both the men’s and women’s sides in the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard competitions, as well as the Diver of the Meet at both championships. Torres worked with NCAA Division III All-Americans on both the men’s and women’s teams during his tenure.
Torres also spent six years as the head diving coach and president of the Buffalo Blizzards Diving Club, working with divers aged 6 to 26. He initiated and promoted the club and was in charge of all business operations, in addition to developing training and competition plans for the program’s athletes.
Diving Career
As a student-athlete at Fredonia, Torres was a 2010 NCAA Division III All-American and won the conference’s 1-meter championship. Since graduating, he has captured a pair of bronze medals at the 2014 FINA World Master’s Championships in Montreal.
Personal
Torres graduated with a Bachelor's of Science in business administration and management with a Spanish minor from Fredonia in 2010. He currently resides in Big Flats, N.Y. with his wife, Jillian.
* Updated May 2020
