Wildcats Earn Spots in Men’s 1-meter, Women’s 3-meter for NCAA Diving Championships
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Kentucky’s diving team has guaranteed two more events for the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships with performances on the second day of the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships. Seb Masterton earned an automatic qualifying spot after finishing fourth in the 1-meter dive while Rebecca Hamperian clinched a spot in the 3-meter dive by virtue of finishing in the top-12 after qualifying in another event.
The men had a strong showing as a group in the 1-meter dive, with all three divers advancing to the final. Masterton had the highest score of the Wildcats out of the prelims, with the fourth-highest score overall at 340.20 points. He went on to score 326.20 points in the finals for a final tally of 666.40 points, remaining in fourth. Levi Lindsey and Noah Richter were 17th and 18th in prelims with 273.65 and 273.55 points, respectively. Lindsey moved up to 10th overall with his finals score of 315.55, for a total of 589.20 points, while Richter finished 17th with 543.75 points after notching 270.20 points in the finals. Should Lindsey earn an automatic qualifying spot in tomorrow’s platform dive, which will take the top-eight competitors, he will be invited to compete in the 1-meter as well as the 3-meter due to his top-12 finish in both disciplines at the meet.
Hamperian and Courtney Clark both made the finals for the second consecutive day, vying for spots in the 3-meter dive. The event was the stingiest of the three diving disciplines, as only seven women earned automatic qualifying marks. Hamperian finished just outside the top-seven with 587.40 points, recording 307.65 in the prelims and 279.75 in the finals, but will be granted a spot in the 3-meter at the NCAA Championships due to yesterday’s automatic qualification in the 1-meter dive. Clark hit a career-best 302.55 points in the prelims for the sixth overall seed going into finals, but missed out on a top-12 spot with 540.75 points. She also earned an automatic qualifying mark in the 1-meter dive yesterday. Also competing for the women was Kailey Francetic, who placed 21st with 266.80 points.
The Zone C Diving Championships will continue tomorrow, starting at 11 a.m. ET. The divers will wrap up their three-day meet on the platform dive. Live results are available on divemeets.com.
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