During the week, the Utah men’s and women’s diving team headed to Flagstaff, Ariz. to compete in the NCAA Zone E Championships, in hopes of a chance to qualify for the NCAA Division-I Championships in the following weeks.
“I was extremely excited with the meet as a whole,” said diving head coach Richard Marschner. “It was probably our best overall meet as a team. We had a good Pac-12 meet, but this zone meet was great. It was a lot of fun to be a part of it and have everyone perform so well.”
On the first day of competition, both senior Jacob Crayne and junior Josiah Purss qualified for the NCAA Championships in the three-meter event during finals. Crayne took first, scoring a total of 821.25 points with Purss coming in second with 804.75 points. Though he did not qualify for finals, freshman Connor Cain also competed in this event, finishing 17th with a score of 634.75.
For the women, junior Amanda Casillas finished 20th in the one-meter event in prelims with a score of 258.55, while sophomore teammate Lauren Hall followed in 36th with 244.60 points.
On the second day, Crayne and Purss qualified in another event, earning their cuts in the one-meter event. This time, the roles reversed, as Purss managed to finish second with a score of 732.90, while Crayne finished ninth (647.05). Cain made it into finals in this event with his teammates, finishing 15th (598.05) and moving up two spots from prelims.
For the women, both Casillas and Hall managed to make their way into finals for the three-meter event, with Casillas taking 12th (575.90) and Hall following in 17th (542.95). Along with that 12th-place finish, Casillas also qualified for the NCAA Championships in the event.
On the last night of competition, two divers got their qualifying cuts for NCAAs in the platform event — Casillas and, again, Crayne.
“Jake finished off a fantastic meet by qualifying for NCAAs on tower, so he has a full schedule of events in two weeks,” Marschner said. “Daniel had a strong performance and finaled in his only event, and he will be a strong tower diver for us for the next three years.”
For Crayne, this is his third cut of the meet, finishing 11th in the platform event with 635.10 while freshman teammate Daniel Theriault followed in 17th (573.95).
As for Casillas, this was her first qualifying mark this season, taking seventh in the platform event with a score of 519.20. Sophomore Nicole Ford followed behind her teammate, finishing 25th with a score of 209.70.
“I’m so proud of Amanda for fighting back from a very rough start in her first dive,” Marschner said. “Nicole had a great event too, and she gained some valuable experience that will help her next year.”
Up first, Casillas, along with junior Stina Colleou and freshman Genevieve Robertson, will make their way to Atlanta, Ga. to compete at the women’s NCAA Championships from March 16-19.
@emileewhiteee