Saline High School diver Alice English signs with the University of New Mexico

The hard work has paid off for Saline student-athlete Alice English as she looks forward to attending and competing at the University of New Mexico.

English, a senior at Saline High School and standout diver on the swim and dive team, recently signed with New Mexico. The Sun Times News (STN) followed up with her about this great news.

“I’m really excited about signing,” English told STN. “While I know that I have achieved things, signing feels as if it solidifies these achievements and justifies all the hard work that I’ve put into my athletic career. I’m so happy that I’m able to take the next step in my career and keep diving while also studying something that I’m passionate about at a division one college.”

She said she chose “New Mexico because I wanted to go out of state and I just loved the team environment, they were all so welcoming and they created a very positive space that I felt I could thrive within, both athletically and academically.”

An added bonus for her is New Mexico has her major, emergency medical services, which she said is not a very common major among colleges.

English has had a successful diving career at SHS where she has competed in the three events that are available in diving: one meter, three meter, and platform. STN asked her what she loves about this sport.

“I think what attracted me to diving is the fact that there is no such thing as perfection,” she said. “There is always something to be working towards and there is always something to improve upon.”

STN asked her about her time competing as a Hornet and what were some of the highlights.

“The first thing that comes to mind is winning the state meet this year, but not for the reason you might think,” she said. “My freshman year I was so nervous for our conference meet that I was unable to compete. I couldn’t get myself to perform any of my dives and had the worst mental block. While this was definitely a low in my diving career I think it makes me appreciate winning more. It makes me look back and see that maybe I didn’t perform exactly how I wanted at states, but seeing how far I’ve come should always make me proud.”

In getting to this point, English said she’s had some important support and help.

“Definitely my biggest support system has been my parents,” she said. “They emigrated from England shortly before I was born, so they have very little knowledge on American colleges, especially the recruiting process. Yet they still encouraged me every step of the way and made it possible for me to keep diving. Besides my parents, my coaches have also been incredible and have always been there me throughout my 10 years of diving.”

In ending the interview, STN asked English, what do you want the community to know that we haven’t asked about?

“I would much rather be known as a hard worker than someone who wins,” she said. “Nothing in diving has come easily to me; it had taken 10 years of training and dedication to get where I am. I didn’t see the pay off of my hard work for a very long time; it made me question why I was pushing forward with diving when I could be doing other things. However, the results that I saw were amazing. I was able to do dives I never thought possible and achieve things that I only could have dreamed of. It makes me very proud to know that my hard work has paid off.”