Lily Nibert had never dived or swum competitively until her freshman year at Pueblo County High School.
Three years later, the gymnast and state champion track and field standout is the best high school diver in Pueblo.
Nibert, a junior at Pueblo County, finished sixth in the Class 4A one-meter diving championships last season. She has set the school record in both the 11-dive and six-dive competitions.
Nibert never really thought she would have this type of success as a diver. She only picked up the sport for fun.
“All my friends did it and I just started doing it for fun,” Nibert said. “Coard (Dan) Radiff is my favorite coach ever. So, I’ve just stuck with it.”
Radiff also is Nibert’s coach for track and field. As a sophomore, Nibert won the Class 4A triple jump championship in May of last year. She also competes in the long jump.
She also placed sixth in the vault at the Class 4A state gymnastics meet in November 2025.
Nibert competed in gymnastics from the time she was small until seventh grade. She took time off between then and high school, as gymnastics had taken a toll on her body.
When she began diving, Nibert said much of what she had learned in gymnastics helped with her newfound sport.
“Air awareness is big,” she said. “Most of the skills I’m doing on the diving board, I did on the floor in gymnastics. All the twisting … that’s a very gymnastics-thing. They just go very well hand-in-hand.”
Nibert said the biggest obstacle in becoming a competitive diver was not worrying about doing the actual dive.
She said she still gets nervous, but powers through with mental focus and discipline.
“In gymnastics, if you’re scored to do something, there’s mats and the fall won’t be so bad,” she said. “It’s not the same in diving. So I just pray and push through. If I’m feeling really nervous, I’ll put long sleeves on before I dive so it cuts down on the slap (of the water).”
Nibert said that diving has taken far less of a toll on her body than gymnastics.
She also said she believes gymnastics, diving and track all help her prepare for each individual season.
“I don’t focus on one sport, I do three for each part of the year,” she said. “I feel like that actually helps me. I get time away from each sport but I’m still moving my body (between seasons). I’m still getting stronger so I feel like I’m still training.”
Nibert does not focus too much on winning championships; she largely focuses on having fun and improving as an athlete.
She said she is hopeful of earning a college scholarship for track.
Nibert has already qualified for state. She said she is now focused on mastering more difficult dives.
“I’m not too focused on scoring anymore,” Nibert said. “I just want to improve my difficulty and do some harder dives. I’ve noticed at state meets some of the girls who place higher are doing harder dives. So, I want to compete in that aspect of difficulty.”
We need you to Dig Deep
We don’t have a paywall, but that doesn’t mean we don’t need your support.
Subscribe now and receive our news by email. Our newsletters, website and print edition are free.
Make checks payable to:
Pueblo Star Journal,
301 N. Main St., Suite 101,
Pueblo CO 81003
