Cheyenne East High diver Erica Farris won three meets last week.For her efforts, the junior is being named Prep Athlete of the Week by WyoSports' Cheyenne staff. Jacob Byk/Wyoming Tribune Eagle
Cheyenne East High diver Erica Farris won three meets last week.For her efforts, the junior is being named Prep Athlete of the Week by WyoSports' Cheyenne staff. Jacob Byk/Wyoming Tribune Eagle
CHEYENNE – Erica Farris started talking to University of Northern Colorado diving coach Tyler Miller late in her final season at Cheyenne East.
When the communication dried up, Farris started weighing her college options. She was trying to decide between hefty academic scholarships at Wyoming and Arizona. Wanting to stay close to home – and her three sisters – had her leaning toward UW. Warm weather and new experiences pulled her toward Arizona.
Farris was struggling to make a decision when Miller reached back out and to see if she wanted a spot on the Northern Colorado diving team.
Farris took more time to mull her options and talk it over with her family before deciding to sign with the Bears.
“I love diving so much, and I’m not ready to stop doing it,” Farris said. “Toward the end of last season, I started to realize I probably would never dive again if I stopped after high school.
“That thought was super heartbreaking.”
Farris placed fourth at the Class 4A state meet with 353.7 points her senior campaign. She also placed fifth as a junior and seventh as a sophomore. She reached the state semifinals and placed 13th during her freshman season.
Farris started gymnastics in fifth grade and started competing in seventh grade. She started competing in diving as a seventh-grader because it intrigued her and seemed like a natural fit for someone with a gymnastics background.
Jon Andersen coached Farris in junior high, and was an assistant coach with East during her freshman and sophomore seasons. Andersen coached the Lady Thunderbirds’ divers during those years, and had a front row seat for Farris’ development as a diver.
“She had to overcome having a swimmer as her diving coach for the first few seasons, and that couldn’t have been easy,” said Anderson, who has been East’s head coach the past two seasons. “She had little to no knowledge about the sport when she started. She had to learn how to hurdle, learn body positioning and diving techniques.
“She got a rudimentary understanding of it when I was coaching her, but she really took it to a new level when she started working with coach (Emily) Sackett.”
Working with Sackett – who dove at UW – helped Farris progress into high-level dives East athletes haven’t attempted for a few years.
“She was doing tougher and tougher dives each year,” Andersen said.
Farris also grew as a leader during her time with the T-Birds and served as a captain the past two falls, Andersen added.
Farris is excited to compete at the NCAA Division I level at Greeley-based Northern Colorado because she thinks Miller and assistant diving coach Jacob Kisiolek can help her reach new heights.
“I know I haven’t reached my full potential in diving,” said Farris, who will study biology with the goal of going to medical school. “Ever since I started diving, I have been in love with it. I’m not ready to let go of it.”
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