FEDERAL WAY - After falling short of finals at the state swim and dive meet last year, Moses Lake sophomore Heather Carbon was able to advance this season and place 15th.

Carbon has qualified for state two years in a row and this year her goal was to advance past the prelims into the finals.

"I was really excited, honestly," she said. "I've been working really hard these past couple years and it feels great."

Going into the meet, Carbon was ranked 13/14 after she scored 305 points at the district swim meet. Nerves crept into her as she sat on the bubble before she eventually was able to advance to the second day of competition.

"It was really exciting," she said. "Especially since I had barely made the cut off it was really nail biting that I made it and then I ended up moving up a spot from 16th to 15th in the finals so it was really cool that I was able to pull through."

Carbon was able to improve her scores this season after adding to the degree of difficulty in her dives. The score from her more advanced dives were able to automatically qualify her for state,

"It's a little scary learning new stuff, but in the end it pays off," she said.

With the goal of advancing to finals in her rear-view, Carbon now sets her sights on the podium, which would put her in the top eight.

Carbon is also an outstanding student, as well as diver. She maintains a 4.0 grade point average and academics are a large part of her life.

"I love doing (diving), but I also have to keep up with school," she said.

Carbon seems to have little trouble finding balance in the classroom as well as on the diving board.