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Steamboat Springs — If Genna Bradley didn't do enough to introduce herself to the diving community by finishing seventh at last year's state meet, Saturday's JeffCo meet certainly did the trick.

Competing against a large contingent of Class 4A and 5A divers, Bradley scored a career-high 366.7 points to finish second.

The score also broke the Moffat County diving record that Bradley already held. Bradley competes for Moffat County because there is no high school swim team in Steamboat.

"I'm proud of her for last weekend," coach Dave Fix said. "As a coach, there are certain things that satisfy you. : That's the most satisfaction I've gotten out of watching her dive in the last three years."

Fix said that before the meet, he could sense things with Bradley were starting to break down. The coach and diver had a long talk, and Fix said he could see that Saturday's event had the potential to be one of Bradley's best.

"When you don't have competition, it's hard to get kids to understand what their true ability is," Fix said. "I've always instilled in her that she has the ability to perform well against these 5A kids. I kept pounding into her that she has the talent. We got her motivated when she came to practice. You could just look at her face and tell she was hungry."

Bradley will attend the Jan. 31 Windsor meet and regional meet before the Feb. 13 and 14 state meet at Mountain View High School in Loveland.

Fix said the focus for the next month will be on upping the degree of difficulty in several of her dives.

"We're working on some secret weapons," Bradley said. "We're upping my (degree of difficulty) to give me an advantage over other girls."

The hope, Bradley said, is to get into the top five at state. But with her recent showings and the chance to change a few of her dives, she knows the possibilities are endless.

"I want top five for sure," she said. "I got seventh last year, and I'd like to do better than last year. Of course, winning would be awesome."

- To reach Luke Graham, call 871-4229 or e-mail lgraham@steamboatpilot.com