Lewis, Tyler and White sign to dive collegiately

Published 4:36 pm Thursday, November 12, 2020

MOULTRIE – Moss Farms Diving coach John Fox is a strong believer in the “Pyramid of Success,” the 15-building block program created by Hall of Fame college basketball coach John Wooden, who led UCLA to 10 national championships.

Among the standards that the program espouses are industriousness, enthusiasm, intentness, team spirit, poise and confidence, all traits embodied by the three Moss Farms divers who signed this week to continue their athletic careers at the college level.

At a ceremony held Monday at the Moose Moss Aquatic Center’s dryland facility, Nolan Lewis, Carson Tyler and Abigale White took advantage of the early signing date to secure scholarships.

Lewis will stay in state and dive at the University of Georgia. Tyler is heading to Indiana University. White will go to Harrisonburg, Va., where she will compete for James Madison University.

“All three of these divers have that intentness, that poise, that commitment,” Fox said. “If they didn’t have that, there is no way they would be where they are today.

“Think of the many years, the tons of hours grinding away, of the many things they were forced to give up. This is just a real testament to who they are as people.”

Fox said all three have set realistic goals.

“They have all picked the right place for them,” he said. “They’ll all be successful if they continue to do what they have already done.

“I’m proud to be their coach and look forward to seeing what they will become.”

Lewis was a multisport athlete in Thomasville before he committed to diving in 2015.

Since then, he has driven to Moultrie twice a day to train with Fox and his staff.

“He set goals and has been real intent on achieving them,” Fox said. “He really has come on strong the last few years and had a lot of recent success prior to covid.”

At Junior Nationals in Knoxville, Tenn., he was a finalist on platform and was close to making the semifinals on both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboards.

“He is a well-rounded diver,” Fox said. “He’ll score on all three apparatus at Georgia. Chris Colwill is excited at having him. I don’t know if they realize what a good one they’ve got.”

Fox said he expects Lewis to perform well at both the Senior National and college level.

Nolan’s brother Walker also was a Diving Tiger.

Tyler committed last November to Indiana, which traditionally has one of the nation’s top college diving programs.

He will be just the second Moss Farms diver to go to Indiana and the first since Peggy Moss Benner, daughter of Moss Farms founder Robert “Moose” Moss, competed there in the early 1970s.

Tyler is a four-time Junior Nationals medalist and Georgia High School Association champion.

He also was a member of the 2019 Junior Pan American Championships team that competed in Santiago, Chile, where he finished sixth on 1-meter, sixth on 3-meter and fifth on platform.

Tyler has competed in Junior National Championship events since 2014 and in the Junior World Championship Trials in 2018.

The USA Diving High Performance Level 3 Squad member will dive at Indiana for coach Drew Johansen, the 2012 Olympics coach and 2015 World Championships coach.

“He will be training there with Olympians,” Fox said. “I think he will be able to accomplish his lofty goals.”

White began her springboard diving career at the age of 5½. Her older sister was diving and she also wanted to try it.

She started novice diving lessons with Moss Farms under Coach Ed Goodman in 2008. She competed in her first meet in 2009 in the 7-under age group and won first place.

Since then, she has never taken a break from diving and has competed in more than 80 USA Diving and AAU sanctioned meets in 1-meter, 3-meter and platform events.

Some highlights of her diving career include qualifying and competing at USA Nationals from 2012 through 2018.

In August 2013, at the USA Diving Age Group National Championships in Minneapolis, she took first place out of 24 divers on 1-meter in the 11-Under division. She also finished sixth on 3-meter.

In August 2014, at the USA Age Group National Championships in Knoxville, Tenn., she won gold medals on platform and 3-meter in the 11-under division.

The 2016 AT&T USA Diving National Championships were held at Moss Farms and White competed against 39 divers on 1-meter in the girls 12-13 age group and finished third in prelims and fifth in the nation in finals.

“She has really earned this,” Fox said of White’s decision to dive at James Madison. “She has been very, very intent for a long time in this sport.

“She’s had to endure some coaching changes over the years, but she has been patient through all of that.”

Fox called her Junior National finalist performance on 1-meter in 2016 in Moultrie “a huge achievement.”

Two other Diving Tigers – Mauri Leroux and Timothy Fagan – are expected to sign later to dive collegiately.

Seven Moss Farms divers are currently competing at the college level: Chase Lane at Kentucky; Parker Hardigree and Johanna Holloway, SMU; Maggie Merriman, Purdue; Kelliann Howell, Georgia; Hunter Kebler, Auburn; and Isabella Grayson, Davidson.