Georgia Warren won her 4th regional diving title in 5 years on Feb. 6, and she looks to continue to show out at the state competition on Feb. 17. Warren’s career has been filled with success ever since she began diving in the 7th grade.
Warren started her career off as a swimmer as she swam with the Owensboro Marlins as a kid. She became a member of the Owensboro High School swim team in 7th grade, and then she made her switch to diving. Seventh grade is when kids start competing at the high school level, and they are also able to try out for the diving team, and Warren wasted no time finding out she was a natural.
Owensboro diving head coach Don Clark said that Warren wanted to dive just because it looked fun to her and the rest is history.
“She swam on the high school team and said ‘I want to dive, that looks like fun,” he said. “That year she placed I believe 17th at state. At that point she decided that she was a diver.”
While being a middle schooler competing against high schoolers, Warren won her first regional title in her first year as a diver. She went on to win regionals in 8th grade, as a freshman, placed runner up as a sophomore, and now is regional champion once again as a junior. Warren was also the Lady Red Devils soccer team’s second leading goal scorer with 6 goals.
Given her multiple regional titles, Warren is no stranger to high-pressure atmospheres. Even as a middle schooler competing against high schoolers, Warren has kept a cool head when the stakes are high. Clark said this mentality started early in her career simply because she didn’t know any better.
“Partially she didn’t know any better, and great coaching too,” he said. “I think she didn’t understand that she was supposed to be nervous. I think she might get more nervous now than she used to. As a 7th and 8th grader she just didn’t know she had to be nervous. Now,I try to talk her through it and do some silly things to get her mind off of it.”
The big stages are what Warren gets excited for the most and her goal is to make it to the sweet 16, Clark said. Despite making it to the state championships year after year, Warren has never made it to the finals. This year Warren is ranked 18th going tinto state, and it will come down to not getting trapped in her own head, Clark said.
“The goal is to improve, and she has the ability,” he said. “As a 7th grader she placed 17th, so the potential is there. It’s just keeping her mind in the right spot and getting out of her what is in her. She definitely has the ability to be top 12 in state, and it’s all up to her desire. Competing-wise it’s all on her getting her mind out of the way because diving becomes about 90% mental. The top 20 at state basically all have the same physical capabilities. They’re all good.”
