Punahou graduate sets sights on medical career

By Dennis Anderson
Advertiser Staff Writer

After she graduates summa cum laude from Saint Louis University in May — and before she enters medical school — Kristi Cottral has committed to a year working in free medical clinics in some of the poorest neighborhoods of America, "giving back."

Kristi Cottral, doing an inward 1 1/2, is hoping to study medicine at the John A. Burns Medical School at the University of Hawai'i. Saint Louis University Media Relations

Cottral, a 1999 Punahou School graduate from Wai'alae Iki, has been one of the conference's brightest stars this season with 13 dual meet victories, including five sweeps of both high- and low-board events, and two Conference USA Diver of the Week awards.

Unfortunately, that is not likely to translate into a gold medal at the championship meet. The favorite is the University of Houston's Yulia Pakhalina, who won gold in synchronized diving for Russia in the 2000 Olympics. Pakhalina "blows everybody away," Saint Louis diving coach Gene Kohler said,

"Kristi is going in with a great attitude," Kohler said. "She wants to have a lot of fun." Cottral finished eighth last year.

"She has to have a rock-solid meet" to contend, Kohler said. "On the 1-meter board there are six optional dives and you can't miss any. It's a big mind game."

Cottral's best dive is an inward 1 1/2 on the 1-meter board in which she scored 6.5 to 7.5 at every meet. She also does a black flip with a 1 1/2 twist.

"She knows how to put it forward during competition, and that's kind of an art," Kohler said. "She has put it together at every meet this year."

Kohler said Cottral has learned new dives even this year and "her dives are so much better now. She's got a lot more power, a lot more grace.

"She's putting them in (the water) clean. No matter how precise your moves are, you've got to put in a good entry to get the 'ohs' and the 'whoohs,' Kohler said.

Cottral's grade point average is 3.8, with a major in theology and minor in biology. She is a Verizon-CoSIDA Academic All-American.

Last fall she earned an EMT (emergency medical technician) certificate and volunteers "running around in ambulances," with the St. Louis fire department. "It just added eight hours of extra classes to my 18 hours," she said, "just an extra thing to do for fun."

Besides, she said, the certificate will come in handy to help with her medical school finances.

She hopes that will be at the John A. Burns Medical School at University of Hawai'i.

"I'm ready to get out of the snow," Cottral said. "It snowed 15 times this year."

After medical school, Cottral said she wants to give back to a community through medicine.

"I want to do service with medicine for the rest of my life. I spent a month in Nicaragua last summer, and I learned how much need there is to service the marginalized and the poor," she said. "Given the opportunities I've had growing up, I feel it's my responsibility."

As for her nine years of diving, winning a medal or not at the Conference USA championships, "it's ending on a good note," Cottral said.