Courtesy: USA Diving
MORGANTOWN, West Virginia – Sarah Bacon and Max Flory finished atop the women’s 3-meter and men’s 10-meter semifinal standings on Monday to lead the divers qualifying for Wednesday’s finals at the 2023 USA Diving National Championships.
The top 12 divers in each event advance to the finals. Scores from semifinals will carry over into the final, and the top two finishers will qualify for this summer’s World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
Bacon scored 322.75 points in the semifinal, including 70.50 points on her front 2 ½ with one twist in the last round. She’ll carry an 8.75-point lead over second into the finals, and the margin between second and third is even closer. 2020 Olympian Hailey Hernandez scored 314.00 points to qualify second, just .75 points ahead of 2020 Olympic bronze medalist Krysta Palmer, who finished third in the semifinals.
Flory finished the semifinal with 455.80 points, with 83.60 points on his final dive – a front 2 ½ with three twists. He holds a 5.05-point lead over Joshua Hedberg heading into the finals as Hedberg scored 450.75. Brandon Loschiavo recovered from a miss that put him in 14th place after round one to finish third with 446.35 points. Loschiavo scored 81.60 points on three of his last four dives, including 91.80 points on a back 2 ½ with 2 ½ twists.
The 2023 USA Diving National Championships continue through Wednesday, May 24. Tuesday’s competition features finals for men’s 3-meter and women’s 10-meter.