BY CRAIG STEWART

Truman junior Jennifer Sailor managed to succeed against all the odds. She had no coach and just started diving last year. Now, she’s qualified for state. This is an amazing accomplishment, considering last year was her first ever diving season. The team has managed to dive an entire season without a coach who was severely injured in a car accident on Nov. 14. Luckily, she survived the accident with two broken legs, two broken arms, and a broken pelvis.

She was critically injured and couldn’t possibly coach Sailor, but with the help of fellow diver, junior Victoria Xayaphet, and the use of YouTube, the girls managed to coach themselves.

After all her hard work, and a little help from  a new coach, Truman grad, Sarah Mancini, Sailor qualified for state at the Raytown South meet when she accomplished a score of 250.50 over six dives.  The result appeared shocking to everyone, including Sailor herself.

“I was really surprised that I qualified,” Sailor said. “Both my coach and I expected I would qualify at an 11 dive meet, because that is my strength.”  Traditionally in diving it’s more difficult to qualify for state in a six-dive competition than an eleven-dive one. You have to get a 240.00 or better to qualify to state in a 6 dive which she managed to better by more than 10 points.

Sailor has about a month before the state meet and she hopes earns top 10 in the state. But first she has her sights set on breaking Truman’s school record in both the six and eleven-dive events. Everyone wish Sailor good luck at state.