OAKLEAF – Oakleaf High School diver Jesstina Farrell just got tired of being injured from the rigors of her 12 years of gymnastics and took a shot on the diving team for coach Kate Swartz for her final two years as a Knight athlete.

“I broke my elbow as a sophomore,” said Farrell, who recently inked a scholarship to continue her diving at the University of West Florida. “It was just not fun always having injuries because of gymnastics. It’s tough on the body.”

Farrell stormed into the district and region diving scene as a newby with gymnastics-level skills and posted a district runnerup finish in 2015 behind Bartram Trail’s Hannah Leahy and a sixth place at regions with Tallahassee Chiles two-time region 1-3A champion Rainey Vause the top finisher. Vause, a sophomore, was third in 3A in 2016 with a 402.30 with Farrell fifth at 355.30.

“When I first started diving, I was a little nervous being the new face, but the other divers were all very friendly and that helped,” said Farrell, who trained with Atlantic Coast High School athletes. “It made the transition easier because we all knew each other. I kind of got close with Vause from Chiles. I think the other girls liked the quick improvements I made from the first year.”

Farrell slowly figured out the scoring of diving and has steadily climbed higher with her overall scores.

“It’s very much like gymnastics in that as the judges see you at districts, then regions then states, they expect a lot better performances each time,” said Farrell, who cited the floor exercise and the flips and twists as an advantage for diving. “I posted my best score at this year’s region meet.”

Farrell liked her front double pike dive as her favorite with the region dive her best effort.

“I was not as nervous and had a bit more experience,” said Farrell. “Of course, Rainey (Vause) is in my district and she’s very good.”

West Florida has three NCAA Division II top 10 finishes for swimming and diving with a sixth place finish in 2016. UWF had six national title holders and 22 All-Americans with a diver of the year selection, senior Monica Amaral, who finished off her fourth straight national title and fourth College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Diver of Year award.

“They have a top notch program so I hope I can improve enough to have some input,” said Farrell. “They seemed very interested in my gymnastics background and quick turnaround to diving.”