When freshman Mariah Javier was at the state meet on Saturday, she only had another diver senior Emma Campbell with her. Her coach and the rest of her team weren’t with her. It’s her first year going to state, being on the team, and attending high school.

While the team wasn’t there physically, they were being kept updated by Campbell, according to senior and team captain, Carli Buchanan.

“She’s the only one that made it to state, and I couldn’t go to watch but our other diver Emma was there. [She] sent us photos and videos of what was happening,” Buchanan said.

Campbell has seen Javier improve throughout the season, but was blown away by her performance at state.

“In my eyes she did so well at state under the pressure and all the nerves, and she made me cry at GAC’s. I have never seen her dive so well,” Campbell said.

While Campbell was impressed, Mariah shared her opinion on her performance at the meet.

“I don’t think I did my best, I think I could have done better. I think it was because my coach wasn’t there and I didn’t have a great practice,” Javier said. “I slept kind of late that night and I could have gotten more sleep and I could have eaten a better breakfast, and practiced more, but there’s always next year, and I can qualify for state next year if I work hard.”

Javier, though critical of herself, was proud of the team as a whole.

“Overall, we also did pretty well as a team in GAC’s so even though I didn’t do as well as I wanted, our team did great and that’s amazing,” said Javier.

While both feel pride, Javier is awaiting the seasons to come and she has many to look forward to.

“This year was a good year, it was my first year on the team, and I can’t wait for more time to make memories with the team,” said Javier.

Buchanan who is in the opposite spot of Javier, has just finished her last season of swimming for FHC and is sad to leave it behind.

“Overall I’m going to miss it because I’ve been on the team since I was a freshman but I was just really happy how this season went, and how we came together as a team. Whether we lost meets or won, everyone had a positive attitude and got along. It just felt like we were a family and it was one of the best years,” said Buchanan.