BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — In less than a month, Bowling Green State University will host the Mid-American Conference women's swimming and diving championships.
For one Falcon it'll be the last meet of her career, but her journey to get here is inspiring.
Kylie Mosset makes dives look effortless but the senior has come a long way over her college career. She's doing dives she never thought were possible.
"I was sitting at practice on my recruit trip and I was like, 'I cannot do any of the things that these girls are doing,'" Mosset said. "I just had no vision for myself as a diver because all I was doing all my life was gymnastics. So it wasn't until these coaches throughout my recruiting process told me there was something there and, 'You can do this.'"
"When I recruited her she had almost no dives on the high board, on the three-meter board," BGSU dive coach Tricia Grant said. "She had a very beginner list on the low board, but I recruited her because she's incredibly strong and she could jump higher than any of the women here at the time. She went from, let's say, the eighth-best on the team out of eight to finaling at Mid-American Conference Championships."
That in itself is impressive but add to it at 11 years old, Mosset was diagnosed with arthritis. Then, less than a year later, she was diagnosed with scoliosis.
She met with a specialist and doctors told her there was no blueprint for a Division-I athlete with these diseases, but giving up wasn't an option for her.
"I've never defined my career by my scoliosis or my arthritis. It's just been a hiccup," Mosset said. "I think that mentality and that perspective is also mirrored by my coaches, my teammates, and my family. Having people like-minded with the same motivation, the same determination as me is the only way I could've been here."
"It's inspiring. It's what I want this team to be," Grant said. "You put a wall in front of that kid, regardless of her spine, she's going to find a way to climb it."
As she makes the final dives of her career, not only has Kylie has made a splash on this team, but she's shown that determination can take you farther than you could imagine.