BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Five divers added another event to their schedules for this summer’s FINA World Championships, while two more divers punched their tickets to Russia by qualifying for their first events as the USA Diving World Championship Trials came to a close Sunday at Indiana University’s Councilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center. In all, 16 divers will represent the United States at the World Championships.
David Boudia (Noblesville, Ind./West Lafayette, Ind.), Amy Cozad (Indianapolis, Ind./Bloomington, Ind.), Michael Hixon (Amherst, Mass./Bloomington, Ind.), Jessica Parratto (Dover, N.H./Bloomington, Ind.) and Laura Ryan (Elk River, Minn./Athens, Ga.) had already qualified for worlds and will now do a second event in Kazan. David Dinsmore (New Albany, Ohio/Coral Gables, Fla.) and Darian Schmidt (Bloomington, Ind.) added their names to the World Championships roster after qualifying for their first events.
Boudia and Cozad won the individual 10-meter events, while Hixon and Ryan were first in the individual 3-meter events. Parratto and Dinsmore were second on 10-meter, while Schmidt was second on 3-meter.
Scores were cumulative over three lists of dives, and Hixon and Schmidt entered Sunday’s 3-meter final in second and third place before moving into first and second late in the finals.
Hixon won with 1352.30 points, while Schmidt was second at 1304.34. Hixon took the lead after round three of the finals when he scored 91 points on a reverse 1 ½ with 3 ½ twists. He followed with 94.50 points on a reverse 3 ½ tuck in round four and then added 102.60 points a reverse 4 ½ tuck in round five before closing out his list with a 76.50-point inward 3 ½ tuck. Hixon will also dive 1-meter at worlds.
“We never gave up. I was in a really big hole after prelims, and you can’t give up. This was an 18-dive contest,” Hixon said.
As for the front 4 ½, which all but secured his victory, Hixon said he knew it would score high but admitted he almost scrapped it for the easier front 3 ½ pike.
“I knew it was going to be up there, hopefully about 100. We almost weren’t going to use the dive about a week and a half ago, but coach (Drew Johansen) said you’ve got to believe in this,” Hixon said.
Schmidt was in third place and just 2.1 points behind Kristian Ipsen (Clayton, Calif./Stanford, Calif.) with two rounds to go. Schmidt came through with 91.20 points on his fifth-round front 4 ½ tuck while Ipsen missed his reverse 3 ½ tuck for 47.25 points in that same round, allowing Schmidt to move to second. Ipsen ultimately finished fourth with 1262.60 points, whileTroy Dumais (Ventura, Calif./Austin, Texas) was third at 1269.60.
Boudia dominated the men’s 10-meter contest, scoring 1544.05 points to win by nearly 200 points. Boudia earned two 10s on his last dive, a back 2 ½ with 2 ½ twists that scored 102.60 points, and the Olympic champion scored more than 90 points on two other dives in the final. The 17-year-old Dinsmore qualified for his first World Championships after finishing second with 1353.55 points, edging out Steele Johnson (Carmel, Ind./West Lafayette, Ind.), who was third with 1341.30 points. Boudia and Johnson had previously qualified in synchronized 10-meter.
Cozad scored 1017.05 points over three lists of dives to win the women’s 10-meter, while Parratto was second with 1009.25 points. They were first and second heading into the finals and stayed consistent throughout to maintain their positions. Cozad’s best dive in the finals was her armstand double back with 1 ½ twists, which earned 75.20 points, while Parratto scored more than 70 points on three of her dives in the final. They will also compete 10-meter synchro for Team USA at worlds.
“I was extremely consistent, which has always been a challenge for me. I’ve hit really well in the past, but I’ve also missed poorly in the past. Other than my back 3 ½ in finals, I think I was around 7s on every dive this week, which is great. Consistency is the name of the game,” Cozad said.
Ryan, who previously qualified in 3-meter synchro, won the women’s 3-meter event after finishing with 891.25 points on her three lists. Although her preliminary and semifinal lists scored higher, she was steady and maintained her lead to qualify for worlds individually after already making the team in synchronized 3-meter. She started off the finals with 67.50 points on her back 2 ½ pike for her best marks of the day.
“I just wanted to come in and be steady and focus on the exact same things I had been focusing on all weekend. I was definitely a little rocky (in finals), but I’m thrilled about the outcome and excited to get back to work to get ready for Russia,” Ryan said.
Deidre Freeman (Grinnell, Iowa/Iowa City, Iowa) finished second with 853.30 points, but did not make the qualifying score of 870 points needed to be selected to the team.
The World Championships are July 24-August 2 in Kazan, Russia, and will be the first major opportunity for countries to qualify spots for the 2016 Olympic Games.
Results
Women’s Platform (Final)
Amy Cozad (TriSynerG Diving Academy), 1017.05;2. Jessica Parratto (TriSynerG Diving Academy), 1009.25;3. Samantha Bromberg (Unattached), 936.20;4. Mya Kraeger (Team A and M Diving), 848.95;5. Lisa Faulkner (YCF Diving Team), 828.90;6. Katrina Young (Florida State University Diving Team), 818.45;7. Cheyenne Cousineau (Unattached), 812.40;8. Camryn Hidalgo (Mission Viejo), 806.25;9. Sarah McCrady (RipFest), 691.40;10. Kahley Rowell (Unattached), 593.45;
Men’s 3-meter (Final)
Michael Hixon (TriSynerG Diving Academy), 1352.30;2. Darian Schmidt (TriSynerG Diving Academy), 1304.45;3. Troy Dumais (Longhorn Aquatics), 1269.60;4. Kristian Ipsen (Stanford Diving), 1262.60;5. Aaron Fleshner (Unattached), 1203.35;6. Zachary Nees (Unattached), 1172.10;7. Jack Nyquist (North Carolina Diving), 1153.75;8. Briadam Herrera (Unattached), 1141.25;9. Will Chandler (Longhorn Aquatics), 1070.75;10. Dominic Giordano (Unattached), 1017.30;11. Connor Kuremsky (Unattached), 1010.00;12. Bryce Klein (Unattached), 1003.20;
Women’s 3-meter (Final)
Laura Ryan (Unattached), 891.25;2. Deidre Freeman (Unattached), 853.30;3. Samantha Pickens (Tucson Diving Team), 824.10;4. Maren Taylor (Longhorn Aquatics), 803.20;5. Amanda Burke (Unattached), 788.30;6. Michole Timm (North Carolina Diving), 781.10;7. Lauren Reedy (Mizzou Diving), 770.75;8. Wallace Layland (Unattached), 758.95;9. Cheyenne Cousineau (Unattached), 756.95;10. Brooke Schultz (RipFest), 739.60;11. Mackenzie Willborn (GC Diving), 726.70;12. Kara McCormack (Unattached), 694.35;
Men’s 10-meter (Final)
David Boudia (Boiler Diving Academy), 1544.05;2. David Dinsmore (Unattached), 1353.55;3. Steele Johnson (Purdue University), 1341.30;4. Zachary Cooper (RipFest), 1210.35;5. Addison Boschult (Unattached), 885.20.
USA Diving roster for 2015 FINA World Championships
Men’s 1-meter
Kristian Ipsen (Clayton, Calif./Stanford, Calif.)
Michael Hixon (Amherst, Mass./Bloomington, Ind.)
Men’s 3-meter
Michael Hixon (Amherst, Mass./Bloomington, Ind.)
Darian Schmidt (Bloomington, Ind.)
Men’s 10-meter
David Boudia (Noblesville, Ind./West Lafayette, Ind.)
David Dinsmore (New Albany, Ohio/Coral Gables, Fla.)
Women’s 1-meter
Samantha Pickens (Murrysville, Pa./Tucson, Ariz.)
Ariel Rittenhouse (Santa Cruz, Calif./Stanford, Calif.)
Women’s 3-meter
Laura Ryan (Elk River, Minn./Athens, Ga.)
Women’s 10-meter
Amy Cozad (Indianapolis, Ind./Bloomington, Ind.)
Jessica Parratto (Dover, N.H./Bloomington, Ind.)
Men’s synchronized 3-meter
Kristian Ipsen (Clayton, Calif./Stanford, Calif.) and Sam Dorman (Tempe, Ariz./Coral Gables, Fla.)
Women’s synchronized 3-meter
Abby Johnston (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Durham, N.C.) and Laura Ryan (Elk River, Minn./Athens, Ga.)
Men’s synchronized 10-meter
David Boudia (Noblesville, Ind./West Lafayette, Ind.) and Steele Johnson (Carmel, Ind./West Lafayette, Ind.)
Women’s synchronized 10-meter
Amy Cozad (Indianapolis, Ind./Bloomington, Ind.) and Jessica Parratto (Dover, N.H./Bloomington, Ind.)
Mixed synchronized 3-meter
Abby Johnston (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Durham, N.C.) and Jordan Windle (Morrisville, N.C./Durham, N.C.)
Mixed synchronized 10-meter
Samantha “Murphy” Bromberg (Bexley, Ohio/Austin, Texas) and Mark Anderson (Lake Forest, Calif./Austin, Texas)
Swimming news courtesy of USA Diving.