Jackson Carpenter started going to the Shields Park Pool last summer with Devin Ramsey and practiced on the diving board a few times.
From there, a short career commenced.
“I did competitive cheerleading for a while (starting at age 12 in Columbus), and having a background in gymnastics, (head coach Dave) Boggs said I should think about diving,” Carpenter said.
At first, he said he was apprehensive, but he decided to go out for the Seymour High School team this winter.
The senior said it was one of the best decisions he has made.
He placed third in diving in the Hoosier Hills Conference meet at Seymour on Jan. 26, and two weeks later, he placed third in the Floyd Central Sectional to earn a spot in the Bloomington North Regional.
There, he finished 11th out of 20 divers with a score of 317.40. He scored 360 at the sectional, an improvement of 18 points over his score at the HHC.
During the season, Carpenter felt comfortable doing six dives in the dual meets. He scored 220 in a dual meet late in the season.
“All season, you try to build the best list you can,” he said. “You wanted to have a higher degree of difficulty. That way, if you happen to mess up, you have that lead on somebody. Throughout the season, you’re building up your 11-dive list. You just take your best six out of that at the meets.”
Carpenter said the diving boards are different at each pool the Owls go to during the season, and the divers practice on them before the meet to get a feel for them.
“Every board is different. Some of them wobble, some of them are sturdy and some of them are stiff, so you’re just basically learning how they work,” he said. “You feel the grip because you can slide easily.”
He said he enjoyed diving at home because he got used to those boards.
“They’re the best I’ve been on other than IUPUI (the site of the state meet),” Carpenter said. “They’re actually nice boards. We keep them clean. We keep the wheel greased. They’re well taken care of.”
He said his favorite dives are front dives.
“I like inwards a lot, and the 1½ is my favorite one to do,” Carpenter said. “My hardest would half to be a front 2½ pike. I do reverse doubles, back doubles and front 1½.”
He attributes his improvement to diving coach Tara Sutherland and to Ramsey, who finished runner-up at the state meet Saturday.
“Devin has been a lot of help,” Carpenter said. “A lot of my improvement has been because of Devin because of his firsthand know how to do everything, and he can walk me through it.”
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Name: Jackson Carpenter
High school: Seymour
Parents: Tammy Jackson and Mark Daniel
Siblings: Brinlee, Carter, Madison, Jaylen, Olivia, Lincoln, Harlen and Kameron
Sports: Diving, one year; baseball, one year
Athletic highlights: Placing third in diving at sectional to qualify for regional, placing third in diving at the Hoosier Hills Conference meet
Plans after high school: Attend college and study animal science
Favorite food: Hot wings
Favorite TV show: "Riverdale"
Favorite musician: Luke Combs
Favorite movie: "Good Kids"
Favorite athlete: Trey Canard (motocross rider)
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