This past weekend, Jan. 13-15, the University of Utah diving team took a road trip to not-so-sunny Southern California to compete in the UCLA Diving Invitational at Spieker Aquatic Center. Even the worst of weather couldn’t stop the Utes from putting together several strong finishes throughout the weekend.

The competition began on Friday with the men’s 1m championship and the women’s 3m championship. Freshman Elias Petersen led the Utah pack, competing in the men’s 1m and 3m and finishing sixth with a total score of 636.10. Petersen was followed by diver Luke McDivitt, who placed 12th with a final score of 574.45 points. Sophomore Ben Smyth and senior Jenner Pennock placed 13th and 16th respectively. 

In the women’s 3m championship, sophomore Holly Waxman put together a string of strong dives to finish ninth place overall. The England native put up her team’s highest score in the prelims (288.95) en route to her top-10 finish. In the overall standings for the women’s 3m, Waxman was followed by teammate Lexi Mills who finished 11th place, and Lizzy DeCecco who placed 16th. 

On day two of the competition, the men’s team continued their strong showing and garnered two top-10 finishes in the men’s 3m championship. Petersen continued his dominance from the day prior, finishing seventh with a point total of 701.10. His 356.10 point prelim is the 10th-best all-time by a Ute diver. Additionally, McDivitt placed 10th with a final score of 650.10. 

Day two of the competition continued the trend of poor weather affecting meet results. The men’s diving team event originally planned for Saturday was subsequently canceled due to the harsh weather conditions. 

“Today was probably the worst diving conditions in any meet I’ve experienced during my 13 seasons at Utah,” said diving coach Richard Marschner. “It was cold and it was pretty miserable, but I’m proud of the team and the effort they put forth. It would have been very easy to fall into a trap of self-pity and give up, but no one did that and we even had some strong performances. This has been a gut check meet for us and we’re proving to ourselves that we have it within us to push through and do great things.”

On Sunday, the third and final day of the meet, the Utes were at their best and managed to capture a top-five finish on both the men’s and women’s side of the competition. The day was highlighted by performances from Waxman in the women’s 1m final, and McDivitt in the men’s platform. 

Waxman had a tremendous start to the day with a prelim score of 293.40 points to put her in second place. Teammate Kathryn Grant also had a strong score of 266.95 to put her in 11th place following the prelims. Both scores surpassed the NCAA Championship qualifying mark for the event. In the end, Waxman’s 284.70 final managed to complete the podium finish and cement her place at third overall.

On the men’s side of the day three competition, McDivitt scored 355.15 point final, improving his prelim score by over 40 points. With this tremendous final dive, McDivitt managed to claim fourth in the overall men’s platform standings with a final score of 669.40.

“We had a few people finish in positions that would advance to NCAAs if they finish this way at zones, so it was encouraging to see that,” said Marschner after his team’s performance at the UCLA Invitational. “Thankfully, we have a week off from competing and traveling, so we will use that time to fine tune some things and get ready for Pac-12’s and zones.”

The Utes are back on Jan. 20 with a home meet where the women’s swimming and diving team will compete against Washington State.

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