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Sports

Diggs a high jumper at heart

by LOURDES CASTILLO
The Daily Cougar

If you're looking to make it in college sports, it's a good idea to start young. Junior high jumper Ivan Diggs recalls Field Day as an early opportunity to show his ability to jump higher than his peers.

"The very first time I high jumped was in Wichita, Kan., in elementary school during Field Day," Diggs said. "That was the only event I was good at. I couldn't run. I always lost the running events, but high jump was the one event I could win."

Diggs has continued on that winning path, finishing in third place at the Conference USA championships, clearing 2.13 meters his sophomore season in 2006.

This season, Diggs has already jumped ahead of the competition by setting an NCAA provisional mark at 2.16 meters Friday.

"I try to improve every year, and I think I've got a lot stronger this year," Diggs said. "I guess listening to my coach more and taking in the technique better has helped me."

Diggs' high jump developed through his middle and high school years in Richardson. What had started as a fun activity later sparked a competitive fire.

"In high school I was playing mainly basketball and track was just for fun," he said. "Now track is my priority. Track is my job now, and I've got to compete."

Basketball was a big part of Diggs' life in high school mainly because of his parents' influence. Both of his parents, Ivan and Catherine, played basketball at Friends University in Wichita. 

However, when it came time for Diggs to choose his own path, he was driven to compete in high jump once again.

"I was going to play basketball for a junior college here in Texas, but I didn't take the offer," Diggs said. "I chose to do track here at the University of Houston." 

Diggs learned some important lessons about being an athlete early in his career. He suffered an injury to his hip that prevented him from performing his best at the regional level in 2005. He finished in 14th place at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships.

"I didn't stretch well enough, so my hip flex got injured," he said. "I was hard-headed that summer and didn't come to do any rehabilitation, but this fall I worked really hard and I was in rehabilitation almost every day. 

"I really didn't stretch much my freshman or sophomore year and it set me back, so now I stretch and warm up. I learned the hard way."

Diggs' goal is to compete at the highest level possible, but knows qualifying for the Olympic Games will be his toughest challenge yet.

"If I'm still competitive in track (after college), I hope to go to the Olympics or something," Diggs said. "Everyone hopes to do that, but then reality sets in."

In case reality sets in, Diggs hopes his bachelor's degrees in management information systems and marketing will help him get a job in programming or sales.

The Wichita, Kan., native has learned to become disciplined and learn about time management the past couple of years. In addition to focusing on his athletic career, Diggs has taken on an 18-hour-per-semester load of school work and a job at the YMCA as flag football referee.

"It's really hard to manage school, a job and doing track all at the same time," Diggs said.

Although Diggs looks forward to competing for at least one more season, he already knows what kind of impact he hopes to have on future generations.

"I want to be in the record books here, but I also want people to remember that I was a humble guy, a hard worker and a student first," Diggs said.

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