EVERGREEN, Colo. — It’s diving season in Colorado. And in case you didn't know, Jefferson County divers are among the best.
“Jeffco League is right now one of the top leagues in the state and as you know, Colorado brings it every year,” Evergreen High School dive coach Brett Brinkoff said.
Of the athletes bringing it this year is Evergreen’s Carson Harrington. The junior diver set a new Jeffco league championship Saturday record by 109 points.
“I feel like it started off with my first dive, I went up and did a great back dive," Harrington explained. "And it was kind of just like, I'm excited to be here today, the energy is high, let's go break a record!”
Harrington hasn’t always been a diver, it’s just his third year competing.
“I was a gymnast for around nine to 10 years and then I had some back issues," Harrington said. "And one of my really good friends started diving her junior year and was like 'You'd be absolutely amazing at it.'”
Harrington competes for Evergreen High School and his club team, Dive 5280, and the transition from gymnastics to diving was nearly seamless.
“As such a competitor at the level he was in gymnastics, it made an easier transition. I just had to get him to go in on his head instead of on his feet,” Brinkoff said.
In his second season, he’d won the 4A diving state title. Now in his third, he’s looking to back it up with the community’s full support.
“Just looking out there and seeing how well supported I am just makes me feel more confident in myself being like I know what I'm doing,” Harrington said.
With one more year of high school to go, Harrington wants to continue the sport on a collegiate diving team.
“I got this from Brett, my high school coach, to Jeff, my club coach and my aunt — they all say that they still keep in touch with their college teammates and they're still some of their favorite people out there,” Harrington said.
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