Allegheny College Athletics

A product of one of Allegheny’s most historically successful athletic programs, John Hreha is one of the most decorated athletes in the history of Gator swimming and diving. As a star diver from 1999-2003, Hreha not only left an indelible mark on the North Coast Athletic Conference, but also on the national level.

A native of Pittsburgh and graduate of Chartiers Valley High School, Hreha was a star from the second he stepped onto the board at the Mellon Pool.  As a freshman in 1999-2000, he was named the NCAC Diver of the Year, after sweeping both the one and three-meter boards at the conference championship.  He then went on to the NCAA Division III championship, and was the highest performing freshman, as he finished third in the one-meter dive and sixth in the three-meter to earn the first two All-America honors of his career.

His sophomore season brought much of the same, as he again won both boards at the NCAC championships, before finishing as national runner-up at the NCAA championships in both the one and three-meter dives.  He again swept both titles at the NCAC championships as a junior in 2002, and proceeded to earn two All-America laurels yet again, highlighted by a second consecutive second-place finish at the NCAA championships in the one-meter. 

Hreha wrapped up his collegiate career in style in 2003, becoming the first diver in NCAC history to win four conference titles in both dives, and set a conference record with a score of 590.35 in the one-meter.  At the 2003 NCAA championship, he turned in his third straight second-place finish in the one-meter, and then took fourth in the three-meter, to end his career as an eight-time All-America recipient.

Named the 2003 Allegheny Co-Athlete of the Year, and to the NCAC’s 20th Anniversary All-Decade Team in both boards, Hreha graduated with a degree in international business and a minor in Spanish. He currently resides in New York City, working as a senior account executive in advertising at MTV, while also remaining active in diving with Team New York Aquatics.