Two of the most decorated track and field athletes in Mascoma High history, Georgia Kondi and Barnaby Diehn, finished off their high school careers with a bang this spring and are now headed off to Division I colleges to continue plying their crafts.
The Royals’ dynamic pair, who have multiple state championships between them over the years, each took first place at the NHIAA Division III state meet in May and at the NHIAA Meet of Champions in June in shot put and discus, respectively.
In addition to those results during the outdoor season, Kondi finished first at the New England Championship in the shot put and Diehn earler this spring set the state record in discus and earned himself New Hampshire boys track and field Gatorade Player of the Year honors.
Now Kondi is set to attend the University of Connecticut and Diehn is headed to Penn State this fall — a big jump from a Division III high school outdoor track program and Division II indoor program in the Upper Valley, especially considering neither one of them threw until getting to Mascoma.
Kondi’s journey into the world of throwing partly stems from family ties, as her older sister Bella threw in high school. The keen eye of an outside observer also added fuel to the fire.
“Being the youngest, I wanted to be like my siblings so I tried it, but also another pushing factor was my throws coach (Dave Shinnlinger) was a bus driver for one of my basketball games freshman year and told me I should try throwing because I looked really strong,” she said. “I’ll have to shout out Shinn for that.”
Diehn had a similar experience.
Despite being a distance runner and jumper in middle school and continuing to jump his freshman year, Shinnlinger — along with a friend of Diehn’s, Garrett Giovagnoli, who was also a Mascoma track and field athlete — convinced him to pick up the discus.
As a freshman, Diehn acknowledged he did not put much time into the discipline, yet he made it to states.
“That was pretty cool, and that really ignited my love for it because after that I stopped the jumping and everything and started just focusing on the discus,” he said.
Despite their delayed start in throwing, Mascoma track and field head coach Rick Currier said that both picked up the sport quickly.
“Really right from the beginning, he took to disc … it didn’t take long for him to figure things out,” Currier said of Diehn. As for Kondi, “our throws coach (Shinnlinger) knew right from the start we had something special with her.”
Even with the great foundation they both had, Shinnlinger credited both athletes for the work they put in to reach the heights that they have.
“I am super impressed with the dedication both Barnaby and Georgia put in,” he said.
Shinnlinger specifically pointed to Kondi overcoming a knee injury she sustained during field hockey to learn a new technique to not only return to form but also improve. Diehn, meanwhile, had a willingness to hone his craft and be a real student of the discipline.
“Physical size and strength is a nice component to have, but you also have to have the dedication. You’ve got to want it, and they have that drive; you can’t really coach that,” Shinnlinger added.
While earning their individual accolades was great, both athletes acknowledged it was nice to have a teammate who pushed them to be the best they could be and accomplish things as a team.
“Barnaby and I have always worked hand-in-hand at, I feel like, pushing each other silently,” Kondi said. “We’ve always had each other to look in for results and having expectations of each other. I always knew he would do big things, and I always hoped that I would do big things.”
Diehn echoed that sentiment: “I think that there were times maybe when she pushed me to work hard.”
“The pleasure that I got from being in the same class with Georgia and being this whole thrower duo thing is that we could both go to meets and kind of dominate together, and then we could be that thrower duo and Mascoma could be seen as that throwing powerhouse,” Diehn added.
Interestingly, the duo is intertwined not only by their dominance in the sport but also by their shared passion for music.
Diehn plays multiple instruments, including the guitar and piano, among others, while Kondi could often be found singing the national anthem before Mascoma sporting events.
The pair has also combined their musical talents, at one point even rehearsing for a talent show together.
As summer continues, each athlete trains to ensure they’re ready when it’s time to step onto their respective college campuses. It’ll be an experience that, Currier said, would undoubtedly be different from life with the Royals.
“Right now they are very big fish in a small pond,” Currier said. “They’re not going to be little fish there — they’re going to be with everybody else, but they’re not going to be in a pond; they’re going to be in an ocean, and they’re going to need to be able to stand out once they get there, and I think they’re prepared to do that work.”
Regardless of the aforementioned change, Kondi and Diehn are both looking forward to heading off to their respective colleges.
“I’m so excited. I love UConn’s campus; I love the team. The environment around UConn is something I really cherish — I think I’ve toured there now five times — I can’t get enough of the campus; I can’t get enough of the throwing facilities,” said Kondi, who will study nutritional science.
Upon entering Penn State, Diehn said he would most likely start taking classes that gear toward a political science major, but he wants to keep his options open to find something he is truly passionate about.
“I have an awesome coach in former Olympian shot putter Darrell Hill there; I kind of have virtually unlimited resources for just about everything I would need,” he said. “I’m both very excited to get in there and really see how those different factors and components can play into my athletic ability,” he added, acknowledging there are some nerves about the change.
As for how the duo will fare at the next level, Currier and Shinnlinger have high hopes.
“That’s the great thing about both of these kids — there’s no attitude with either of them; they don’t show up to practice ever kind of like, ‘I’m not going to do this, and you need me, so what are you going to do about it?’ Otherwise, that could be a problem advancing to that kind of level,” Currier said. “They’re going to go there and be very willing to work, which is what they’re going to need to do.”
Shinnlinger, who recently retired as Mascoma’s throws coach after eight years, praised Kondi’s ability to thrive under pressure, pointing to that as a reason for confidence.
“That’s why I’m really optimistic for her at UConn because she’s going to get on a weight program, get stronger,” he said.
As for Diehn, Shinnlinger acknowledged that the transition to college throws for men is even more pronounced because the implements’ weight increases. Shinnlinger echoed the points about a collegiate strength program and cited Hill as capable of easing the transition.
Simply put, “I will not bet against Barnaby Diehn,” Shinnlinger said.
“I’ve seen his dedication; I’ve seen his work ethic, and he’s going to a place where he’s going to get nothing but the best support that anyone could hope for,” he added.
Regardless of the duo’s results at the collegiate level, their legacies at Mascoma are cemented. Currier, who started coaching at the middle school level about a decade ago, has had the pleasure of coaching some strong athletes over the years, but Kondi and Diehn stand above the rest.
“Georgia and Barnaby are above and beyond anybody that we have put through,” Currier said. “Just their dominance — just hearing when we were getting off the bus — hearing people say, ‘Oh, Georgia and Barnaby are here today,’ and you notice those kinds of things… those are special kinds of athletes when that’s taking place.
“They are the most dominant athletes that I have coached.”
