KNOXVILLE, Tennessee – Six more junior national champions were crowned as the USA Diving Junior National Championships continued Saturday, the fifth day of competition.
Tyler Downs (RipFest) won the 16-18 boys’ 3-meter title, while Joshua Sollenberger (Indiana International School of Diving) won that same event in the 12-13 boys’ age group. Denny Gulia Janovski (Miami Diving) was first in 14-15 boys’ platform.
Three girls’ 1-meter titles also were determined Saturday. Hailey Hernandez (GC Diving) took first in the 16-18 age group; Lily Witte (Legacy Diving) won the 14-15 title; and Avery Giese (Mission Viejo Nadadores) was first in the 12-13 age group.
Hernandez picked up her eighth career individual junior national title and second on 1-meter when she finished first with 448.30 points in the 16-18 girls’ 1-meter contest. Anne Fowler (Alexandria Dive Club) was second at 439.75, and Margo O’Meara (RipFest) won bronze with 433.40 points.
Downs won his fourth career individual junior national title with 647.00 points in the 16-18 boys’ 3-meter event. Quinn Henninger (Mile High Dive Club) won silver with 624.05 points, and Maxwell Weinrich (Montgomery Dive Club) finished with 619.95 points for bronze.
Gulia Janovski finished the 14-15 platform contest with 407.45 points to win his third career junior national platform title. Luca Fassi (Rose Bowl Aquatics) scored 375.70 points for silver, with Carson Tyler (Moss Farms Diving) finishing a close third at 375.00.
Sollenberger scored 390.65 points to win the 12-13 boys’ 3-meter title by 33.85 points. Bennett Greene (Tennessee Aquatics Diving), who won platform on Friday, finished second with 356.80 points. Joshua Hedberg (Indiana International School of Diving), the platform silver medalist, was four points behind Greene to pick up the 3-meter bronze.
In the closest contest of the day, Giese won the 12-13 1-meter title by a tenth of a point. She scored 322.50 points to narrowly edge Avery Worobel (Duke Diving), who won 3-meter on Friday. Ciera Center (Rose Bowl Aquatics) came away with bronze after scoring 308.85.
Witte also came away with a close win in the 14-15 girls’ 1-meter contest after finishing with 354.05 points, enough to edge Kamryn Wong (GC Diving) by just a half a point for the gold. The win marked Witte’s fifth career junior national title and third on 1-meter. Hannah Stumpf (Atlanta Diving Association) was third at 347.40.
The USA Diving Junior National Championships continue through August 6. National champions will be awarded in 14-15 boys’ 1-meter, 14-15 girls’ 3-meter, 12-13 girls’ platform, 16-18 girls’ platform, 16-18 boys’ 1-meter, and 12-13 boys’ 1-meter on Sunday.
