Press Release courtesy of USA Diving
Olympians Michael Hixon (Amherst, Mass./Indiana University), Jessica Parratto (Dover, N.H./Indiana University) and Katrina Young (Shoreline, Wash./Florida State University Diving Team) will all be in attendance at the 2017 USA Diving Winter National Championships, set to take place in Greensboro, N.C., December 13-19. The meet will also feature 12 members of the 2017 FINA World Championships team, all six senior 2017 national champions, four North Carolina Tar Heels, one Duke Blue Devil, and seven divers who once called North Carolina home.
All three Olympians made their Olympic debuts at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, with Hixon’s silver-medal performance in the men’s synchronized 3-meter event highlighting the accolades. Hixon also notched a tenth-place finish in the men’s 3-meter contest, the same event he will be doing in Greensboro. Parratto and Young competed in the women’s 10-meter in Rio, with Parratto coming in 10th and Young taking 13th. Parratto added another top-10 finish by placing seventh in the women’s synchronized 10-meter. Both Parratto and Young will be competing in their Olympic events in Greensboro as well as additional events.
North Carolina will be well-represented with four North Carolina Tar Heels and one Duke Blue Devil ready to hit the water, plus seven athletes with North Carolina roots. 2017 USA Diving men’s 3-meter national champion, and North Carolina freshman, Greg Duncan (Oakton, Va./North Carolina Diving) will have a busy schedule as he will partake in the men’s 1-meter, 3-meter and synchronized 3-meter contests. Duncan will be joined by fellow Tar Heels Sean Burston (Stamford, Conn./North Carolina Diving), Elissa Dawson (Durham, N.C./North Carolina Diving) and Maria Lohman (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Carolina Diving). Burston will be in the men’s 1-meter, while Dawson and Lohman will be in the women’s 1-meter and 3-meter fields. Nathaniel Hernandez (Southlake, Texas/Duke University) is the lone Blue Devil and he will be in the men’s 1-meter.
Athletes with ties to North Carolina include Nikki Canale (Waxhaw, N.C./Club Wolverine Diving), Andrew Capobianco (Holly Springs, N.C./Indiana University), Christy Cutshaw (Durham, N.C./Club Wolverine Diving), Dawson, Andrew Gawin-Parigini (Cary, N.C./YCF Diving Team), Ryan Hawkins (Charlotte, N.C./Fort Lauderdale Diving Team) and Jordan Windle (Morrisville, N.C./University of Texas).
Capobianco and Windle both competed for the red, white and blue this summer at the 2017 FINA World Championships, Capobianco in the mixed synchronized 10-meter and Windle diving in the men’s 10-meter event. Capobianco finished 10th in the world with synchronized partner Tarrin Gilliland. Windle came in 26th on 10-meter.
The 2017 USA Diving Winter National Championships kick off on Wednesday, December 13 at the Greensboro Aquatic Center, a site that is no stranger to USA Diving events. The GAC is hosting a USA Diving national championship for the third time in five years, with the last meet coming in 2015 at the first USA Diving Synchronized National Championships. Three years prior, the GAC hosted USA Diving’s National Championships, Age Group National Championships and Junior National Championships, marking the first time since 2006 that the junior nationals and senior nationals had been held at the same venue.
For all meet information, including competition schedule, click here.