Before Thompson Valley junior Marabelle Balliet became one of the best divers in the state in Class 3A, her journey began with gymnastics.
The sports often go hand-in-hand, requiring many of the same elements and techniques. Balliet started with gymnastics and even competed on the Loveland team for two seasons before deciding to focus solely on diving this year.
The result this season was a fourth-place finish at the state meet and a personal best score of 442.72. She was a first-team all-state honoree and is this year’s Reporter-Herald girls diver of the year.
Diving came second for Balliet. Gymnastics was first. But it was taking a toll on her body, eventually resulting in a couple of stress fractures in her back. She was told she probably couldn’t do gymnastics anymore. But diving, which she was just beginning to get into, was OK.
She took up diving in the sixth grade when an aunt convinced her that diving was similar to gymnastics in many ways. In seventh grade, she joined the dive team at Walt Clark Middle School. She began to get better and joined a club team and went to club meets. It was when she was in eighth grade, that the stress fractures occurred.
The next six months of recovery were rough, she said, but it was then she met the Thompson Valley dive team, which she would eventually become a part of. She helped manage the squad and just wanted to be around them and near the pool while she was out of action.
At an eighth-grade night at Thompson Valley, she met the Loveland gymnastics team and coaches as well as the Thompson Valley swim and dive coaches. She discussed her situation, and for her first two seasons of high school she competed in both before setting on only diving this year.
She enjoys the mental challenge both sports present, which just like some of the techniques, are similar.
“Both of them are really big mental sports,” she said. “They’re both mental and physical, but I would say the majority of it is mental because you’re literally throwing your body up and doing flips in midair and honestly, you don’t know where you’re going to land. So, that was easier for me to comprehend from gymnastics to diving.”
As an Eagle, her scores and her state placing went up each season. She has been able to inspire not only competitors and teammates, but also her coaches.
“Being able to watch Belle since middle school has been so much fun,” Thompson Valley swim coach Kelsie Brumley said. “Getting the opportunity to be such a big part of her journey as her head coach this past season has truly been a blessing. She is the heart and soul of our team and supports everyone — swimmers and divers alike. She’s always there to capture the best photo or cheer on her teammates when they need it most.”
Both Brumley and diving coach Randy Huff have confidence in what Balliet can do and are excited to see what she does her senior year for the Eagles next winter.
Both have made every attempt to help her be successful.
“Watching her push past boundaries and even surpass some of her own goals this season has been incredible,” Brumley said. “At the start of the season, I met with Belle and her family to talk about what the year might look like. I made one promise: I’ll get her to any meet I can to help her be successful. That mindset is something I carry for all of my athletes, and watching Belle take advantage of those opportunities and run with them this season was amazing.”
Balliet is looking forward for her senior season as well.
After the improvement she made this year, she believes she is capable of not only finishing higher on the state podium next season but has her sights set on the Thompson Valley school record.
“I really want to hit 500,” she said. “I really want to take the (school) record, and I think it’s like 530, so I’m hoping for 540, which is not that bad. It’s only 100 points above and I gained 100 points this season. So, I think I can gain another 100 points. I went back to club practice, and I’ve been working pretty hard. I already have a couple of new dives, so I think I’ll put them into my new routine for diving next year.”
Best of the Rest
Madeline Clark, Mountain View: The Mountain Lions senior finished 10th at the Class 4A state meet in Thornton for the second time in three seasons with an 11-dive score of 432.25. That was just off her season-best score of 433.50 she received at the Longs Peak League meet.
Brileigh Hale, Thompson Valley: The Eagles junior finished sixth at the Class 4A state meet after finishing 17th as a sophomore last season with a score of 405.45. Her season-best score was a 432.15 she received at the Longs Peak League meet.
