CHEYENNE – Emma Reed was a petite gymnast who lacked the muscle necessary to really bend the diving board when she walked into Cheyenne Central’s natatorium as a sophomore.
She also dove like a gymnast and entered the water feet-first on most attempts.
Dedication and fearlessness helped Reed quickly become one of Class 4A’s top divers. It also earned her a preferred walk-on offer from the University of Wyoming.
Reed won’t have an athletic scholarship when she arrives in Laramie this fall, but she will be guaranteed a spot on the Cowgirls’ roster.
“I was looking at a lot of different places before Wyoming because I wanted to get out of state and experience new things,” Reed said. “I decided Wyoming has a great program, a great team and a great coach, and I’m going to really enjoy it there.”
Reed placed third at the 4A state meet this past fall, scoring 374.45 points on her attempts. She was second as a junior with 350.65 points. As a sophomore, Reed finished 15th after the semifinals and didn’t advance to the finals.
Lady Indians diving coach Talan Premer enjoyed watching Reed’s rapid ascent up the standings.
“She was so small, and her ability to press the board and really get power off that hurdle step just wasn’t there,” Premer said. “Her height, her spin and her somersaults aren’t what they are now. She has grown so much in just three years.
“She has gotten incredibly strong, and developing and toning that muscle helped her start pressing the board and taking her dives super high. With that ability, we got more rotations in, which helped our (degree of difficulty) increase.”
Premer described Reed as tenacious.
“There is nothing she won’t try or do,” Premer said. “She is one of the most coachable athletes I have ever had because she is willing to try anything to be the best.”
UW has established itself as one of the best diving programs in the Mountain West. Freshman Melissa Mirafuentes won the MW title in platform diving, and was second in the 3-meter springboard. Redshirt junior Karla Contreras was second in platform and fourth on the 3-meter board. Both women qualified for the NCAA meet and earned All-American honors.
“(The Cowgirls) have some really good girls on the team, who I could really benefit from being around,” Reed said. “That was a big factor in choosing to walk on UW over diving at other schools. Seeing their progress, and how well they are doing made me really want to be part of that team.”
Reed plans to study psychology in Laramie, and is leaning toward being a sports psychologist.
UW isn’t just getting a strong athlete in Reed, Premer said.
“Sometimes we have athletes who are just phenomenal at what they do, but they’re not as great of teammates,” the coach said. “She is willing to spend time with her teammates and the other girls she is competing against.
“She is always right there trying to help and coach her teammates. She is very competitive, but she also is a real team player.”
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