She admits that it's sometimes "scary" up there.
After all, she competes for the Cowgirl swimming team three stories above the water.
That's the world in which Melissa Mirafuentes lives as a Cowgirl diver.
The native of Monterrey, Mexico, a city of 1.1 million people and the capital of the northeastern state of Nuevo Leon, has been nothing short of sensational in her freshman year with the women's swimming team.
Get this: she has won the Mountain West's Diver of the Week three times, the most since her close friend and fellow country woman Karla Contreras won twice in 2017. She is the first Cowgirl to win three in a decade. This past weekend at the Air Force Invite she swept the 1-meter, 3-meter and platform events breaking school records in the 3-meter and platform.
She already is an NCAA Zone qualifier in all three dives.
She and her Cowgirl teammates, are looking forward to the Mountain West Championships beginning next week in Minneapolis.
What makes Melissa so good? Head Diving Coach Ted Everett says it's her quickness and explosiveness. "She is extremely quick which is so helpful with her spins. But I love her attitude. As talented as she is, she listens and is willing to work hard on improving from the technical side. Platform has been her best, but she has come a long way in the springboard events. The sky is the limit for her,"
While she has already shown immense talent in all three dives, Melissa's favorite is the 3-meter. "I can do more stuff," she says. "My favorite is the reverse two-and-a-half tuck."
But she has had the most experience on platform, and admits to being better there than on the other two.
Every practice, every meet is a leap of faith for her, but Melissa's biggest leap was coming to UW from her native country.
"In Mexico I couldn't go to college and continue to compete in swimming," she says. "So I was set on coming to the United States, even though I knew it would be difficult leaving my family (mom and dad and one sister). I went on recruiting visits to LSU and Tennessee and Wyoming. Karla and I had known each other before, and when I visited she was my host. She did a good job, and I really, really liked the people and the team culture. I also liked the idea of living in a small place because I'm from such a big city. I love it here because I can go anywhere in town on my bike, and I feel safe.
"But it was really hard leaving my family. My mother brought me her, and it was so hard for both of us. But everyone was happy for me because they knew I was happy."
She plans to go home this summer which officially is 1,332 miles or nearly 22 hours of windshield time from Laramie.
"I'm still not used to the cold," she says, "but other than that I think I've adjusted pretty well."
The language has been her biggest hurdle. She studied English in middle and high school, and she watched a lot of television shows and movies in English. "I'm learning it better every day, and I'm getting used to it."
Her favorite American food, Mac and Cheese, "although I can't eat much of it because I get too fat," she laughs.
Melissa has an immense love for animals, and is currently majoring in Pre-Veterinary Sciences.
"My goal in life is to have an animal shelter, which I know doesn't necessarily require being a vet. But I want to help animals. I'm sure I would need a lot of money for an animal shelter, so I'm going to have to work on that. I am really partial to small animals especially.
At home, in fact, she has four dogs, Perri, Chucho, Loretta and Gordo. Oh, she also has a rabbit, and misses them all greatly.
Melissa actually began diving when she was five years old, after starting out in gymnastics, but her sister (Daniela) was a diver and got her interested. "I was always best on the platform because I don't like to jump high off the springboards," she grins. "But I've gotten better at both the 1-meter and 3-meter. I really credit Ted for that. He has been a huge help, especially with technique and weight training. There is so much opportunity to improve here because of our coaches, the weight training and the nutrition. I think the fact that I'm small helps me too. I can spin faster and do more things."
If and when she has some free time from school and swimming, what does she enjoy doing?
"I love to paint," she says. "I love painting sunsets and cartoon characters. "I do it to relax. I've always liked it, and took lessons in middle school. But I've still got a long way to go. I'm still working on animals and faces. Sponge Bob is about the only face I can do," she laughs. She says there are paintings all over her dorm room. Maybe that's how she'll afford the animal shelter one day.
Mirafuentes and Contreras (redshirt junior) have become very good friends. "We knew about each other in Mexico, but we really didn't KNOW each other. I think we have become good friends, and I appreciate how she has helped me. I think we are very good for each other because we push each other. There are several divers in our league-- I think San Diego State and Nevada--who are from Mexico, and I think that's kind of neat. There are a lot of good divers in Mexico."
Melissa has been very appreciative of how both her men's and women's teammates have made her feel welcome. "I just love our team, we all get along with each other. I really like having both teams practice together. Practice is hard, but being together makes it more fun."
I know this, it's going to be fun watching Melissa continue to grow as an elite-class diver. I'm certainly glad she is a Cowgirl.
