She stands at the end of the diving board, all she can feel is the humid, chlorinated air. All she can see her, coach watching her every move, waiting to critique to make her better. All she can think is what will happen between the time she jumps and the time she hits the water.

Mackenzie Willborn is a diver.She can see herself being so much higher than that. She sees herself at the top of a diving board at an international, or even an olympic level. However, she wasn’t always a diver.

“I didn’t really expect myself getting this far in the sport,” Wilborn said.

Willborn just represented the school in the regional diving meet, and she is officially heading to represent at the state meet in Austin. Last year, she also made it to the state level, where she placed third.

The successful diver was originally a gymnast. However, she kept getting injured. Her parents were concerned, and decided diving would be a less dangerous option. When her friend  had gotten injured at the same time, they began diving together. She hasn’t stopped diving since.

“I practice before school and after school,” Willborn said. “Basically when I am not sleeping or at school, I am diving.”

With all of the time that she takes working with her sport, and trying to do better, the things she learns from it reflects in her everyday life.

“It’s not just physical,” Willborn said. “It teaches me discipline and hard work.”

Tedious flips and dangerous turns take a toll on her. However, the uphill battle that Willborn battles benefit her, and she sees it noticeable in the success she has held at a young age.

Her hard work paid off at the UIL state diving competition where she won second place.

“[My achievements] show that if you do work hard, it will pay off in the long run,” Willborn said.