Judging by her swift and steady climb up the WPIAL diving ranks, you would think Diana Rocco has had many years to hone her skills.

But looks can be deceiving.

Rocco, a junior at Seneca Valley High School, set the program's diving record last Thursday with a score of 249.35 in a

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home win over Shaler.The effort made Rocco WPIAL Class AAA's top-ranked diver in just her third year in the sport."I didn't know much about diving a couple of years ago, said Rocco. "But my parents urged me to give it a try."SV's previous record was held by Lisa Enders, who managed a score of 247.00 in 2002."I know how to do all the dives," said Rocco, who resides in Cranberry Township. "But I usually end up messing one or two of them up at the meets. But (last Thursday), I ended up diving very well."Rocco made the WPIAL championships as a freshman in 2005, finishing 25th.She improved on that performance last year, placing second at districts with a score of 430.45, fewer than four points behind Upper St. Clair's Amanda Lohman for the WPIAL title.She capped a strong sophomore campaign by taking 10th at the PIAA meet last March.Still, Rocco had room for improvement in the mental aspect of the sport."Last year, I was scared of doing a lot of the dives," Rocco said. "But I've become a lot more confident."Before taking up diving, Rocco was a gymnast for 10 years. That prepared her for her new sport."She was a very good level 7 gymnast," said Rocco's coach, Maria Misenhelter. "Her gymnastics experience has definitely benefitted her.""I'm not a gymnast anymore," said Rocco. "But it has helped me a lot. With diving, there's a lot of the same motions and movements as gymnastics."Rocco trains twice every week at the University of Pittsburgh, along with some of the other top divers in the area.Another factor in her improvement has been her natural growth."When she started a couple of years ago, she was so small," said Misenhelter. "Her physical maturity has helped her and she's not done growing."With Seneca Valley's girls diving record in her back pocket, Rocco is hoping the rest of the season has even more milestones to offer."My goal is to beat my score at WPIALs from last year and get back to states," she said.