By Cooper Chadwick
With his main goal this season being to break the school record, junior Tatum Johnson is excited for his first year as an upperclassman.
Johnson, who is a dual-sport athlete, dives and plays baseball for the Derby Panthers.
During the offseason, he does have to split his time but when he’s not doing one he’s doing the other.
“I have been practicing at home and at dive clinics. When I’m not diving, I play baseball. I play for the school as well as on a travel team,” Johnson said.
One thing Johnson wants to improve is his entries.
“Having smoother entries will help me get higher scores,” Johnson said, “I focused on keeping my body together and ending my flips earlier. By doing that, I have more time to prepare for entering the water.”
Even though the Panthers have a smaller team, Johnson still tries to be a leader on the team and hopes to lead the Panthers to their eighth league title in a row as well as accomplish his other goals.
“Some goals that I have are qualifying for state within the first few competitions this year and placing in the Top 8 at the state competition. I also want to break the school record,” Johnson said.
Johnson’s motivation for this season is due to his first two years of diving.
“I qualified for state as a freshman but became really sick and was unable to go. That gave me the drive to work hard and earn a spot in the competition last year. I competed at state in Kansas City last year and placed 15th overall with a score of 321.05. I am determined to put in the effort to place in the top 8 this year,” Johnson said.
