Moss Farms a pipeline to SEC diving
Published 5:48 pm Wednesday, November 14, 2007
MOULTRIE — It was a morning in the Colquitt County High School library that was reminiscent of one there more than eight years earlier.
On Wednesday, Colquitt County High and Moss Farms divers Anna Aguero, Owen Blank and Ryan Helms gathered family and coaches as they posed for photographs while signing letters of intent to continue their careers at the collegiate level.
And all three are headed to the Southeastern Conference, generally regarded the best in the nation in collegiate diving.
Aguero verbally committed last month to dive for coach Jeff Shaffer at Auburn University.
Helms contacted University of Tennessee coach Dave Parrington of his intentions to head to Knoxville the day before he headed to San Juan, Puerto Rico to compete in the Junior Pan Am Championships.
And Blank decorated the signing table on Wednesday in University of Georgia red-and-black as he signed to become the latest in a long line of Diving Tigers to become a diving Bulldogs.
The last time three Colquitt County High/Moss Farms divers signed at the same time was on May 19, 1999, when Lane Bassham signed with Alabama, Ashley Benner with North Carolina and Clayton Moss with Kentucky.
In 2001, Lauryn McCalley signed with Tennessee and Grace Cagle and Brooke Bassham signed with Georgia, but not on the same day.
Counting the three who signed on Wednesday, the Southeastern Conference will have four Colquitt County/Moss Farms divers competing next season.
Hannah Moore signed with the University of Georgia last year and is diving well for the Lady Bulldogs as a freshman.
The SEC has long attracted Moss Farms divers, including Brandy Terrell, Vanderbilt; Drew Gunnells, Brent Roberts and Lane Bassham, Alabama; Adam Terrell and Lauryn McCalley, Tennessee; Chad Sheldon and Nikki Unroe, South Carolina; Clayton Moss, Kentucky; and David Howard, Scotty Morris, Lori Mock, Jeff Moss, Todd Murphy, Trey Hart, Jud Campbell, Kyle McDuffie, Brooke Bassham, Grace Cagle and Hannah Moore, Georgia.