Courtesy: Wyoming Athletics
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Feb. 6, 2021) – Sophomore Melissa Mirafuentes finished atop the podium for the second straight day with a win in the 1-meter on Friday at the Air Force Invite.
Mirafuentes led the way for the Cowgirls finishing first in the 1-meter preliminaries with a score of 295.90. Junior McKenna Houlihan placed sixth with a solid score of 246.75 to advance to the finals. Senior Abigail Zoromski was just out of the top eight in 12th place with a score of 222.95. In the consolation finals, she completed her day with a season-best score of 238.80 for the fourth place spot. Sophomore Makena Sanger wrapped up her six dives with a score of 186.50, while competing for the first time this season redshirt freshman Anna Augustin finished with a total 103.10.
In the finals, Mirafuentes continued her strong performance with a first place finish with a six dive total score 295.85. Houlihan remained in sixth place with a total of 247.65.
“Once again, the team is trending in the right direction,” head diving coach Ted Everett said. “Melissa (Mirafuentes) continued her winning ways with a super solid performance and led from wire to wire. McKenna Houlihan was steady as can be, that earned her yet another trip to the finals and a sixth place finish. Abigail (Zoromski) had a misstep in the prelims, but still set a new season-high in the consolation finals. Makena (Sanger) had some nice moments and seems to be learning how to compete. Anna (Augustin) competed in her first collegiate competition and showed real poise even if her scores didn’t indicate that.
In the 3-meter event for the men, freshman Juan Gonzalez reached the finals with a six dive score of 290.95. He was impressive in the finals moving up two spots to fifth and recording a career-best time of 317.65. Junior Brendan Byrnes placed tenth with a score of 264.35. Senior Elijah Chan completed his dives with a score of 255.10 to place 12th followed by sophomore Payton Lee who tallied a score of 251.20 to finish 13th. In the consolation final, Byrnes bettered his score by over 20 points with a season-best 284.80. Chan finished the day with a nice score of 284.20 while Lee recorded a season-best mark of 261.80.
“In the 3-meter, the men showed focus and resilience coming back in the consolation finals. Each of them significantly improved their scores and consistency. Juan (Gonzalez) was solid and qualified for another final. He did a great job moving up a couple of spots to finish in fifth. This was a great learning experience for him.”
Both squads will close out the weekend tomorrow in the platform. The meet is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. MT at the Cadet Natatorium in Colorado Springs. Results can be followed on www.divemeets.com.
Courtesy: Utah Athletics
Colorado Springs, Colo. – Led by Tony Chen’s victory on the 3-meter diving event, the Utah diving program took three spots on the podium between the men’s and women’s competition on day two of the Air Force Diving Invitational.
The men competed on the 3m at the Cadet Natatorium where Chen came out on top, placing first with a score of 393.85. Luke McDivitt came in fourth with a score of 322.00 and Chase Hindmarsh finished in eighth with a score of 295.35 to round out the men’s finals.
The women competed on the 1m on Friday, with the Ute women once again finished two-three-four in the finals. Lizzy DeCecco led the way and placed second with a score of 282.30. Emma Ruchala finished behind DeCecco in third place with a score of 278.30, while Lexi Mills took fourth to complete the Utes in the finals. Mills scored 276.80.
The last day of the Air Force Diving Invitational will see both men and women competing on the platform. The meet will be live streamed on the Air Force Falcons’ Youtube channel.
Courtesy: Colorado State Athletics
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – At the biggest competition of the season, Katie Leonard is posting her best results. That’s a good sign, since it’s happening at the venue where her results will matter most in less than two weeks.
On the second day of the Air Force Academy Diving Invitational, Leonard placed eighth in the preliminary round of the 1-meter springboard Friday, sticking with that standing in the final round.
Leonard, who placed eighth Thursday on the 3-meter, scored a 230.70 in the qualifying round, coming back with a 226.30 in the championship finals. It has been an impressive showing heading into the Mountain West Championships on Feb. 18 – which will be held at the Air Force Academy Natatorium.
“Overall, I’m pretty happy with my performance on springboard,” Leonard said. “I was very excited that I had the opportunity to represent CSU in the finals for 3-meter and 1-meter. It finally feels like everything is coming together after this unique season.”
Senior Rachel Holland and freshmen Braeden Shaffer and Jozie Meitz also placed in the event, finishing ninth, 15th and 16th, respectively. Shaffer and Meitz both scored better in the preliminary session (222.45 and 221.30), but Holland saved her best for last, moving up two spots in the consolation finals by scoring a 257.00 32.7-point improvement.
“Rachel dove super well in the consolation finals,” CSU diving coach Chris Bergere said. “I saw some really spectacular dives from all the divers. We need to work on being more consistent overall as a team, and I’m hoping another two weeks of practice before the Mountain West Championships will make the difference.”
After two days of competition, all five divers from Colorado State have now placed. The Rams will take on the platform Saturday, the first time they’ve competed in the event this season. The preliminaries start at 10 a.m., followed immediately by the consolation round, which features placers 9-16 from the prelims. The top eight divers all advance to the championship finals at 6 p.m.
Live results can be found here, with a livestream of the event also available.