San Diego State University advanced three divers to the finals of the platform event on March 11 at the NCAA Zone E Championships, held at Northern Arizona University’s Wall Aquatic Center in Flagstaff, Arizona.
The event was significant for the Aztecs as it represented their last opportunity to qualify individual divers for the upcoming NCAA Championships. However, none of the SDSU athletes secured a spot at nationals, as only the top seven finishers in the platform event earned qualification.
Belen Cano led San Diego State’s efforts by finishing 11th out of 18 participants with a combined score of 456.55 points. Cano had placed eighth in the preliminary round with a score of 235.85 points. Alina Skrocki finished in 14th place overall with an aggregate score of 451.55 points after ranking fourth in preliminaries with 257.15 points. Keira Kuderka rounded out SDSU’s finalists, taking 18th place with a total score of 415.60 points following a preliminary round where she ranked 15th with 222.85 points.
Other Aztec competitors included Isabella Gomez, who finished preliminaries in 23rd place with a score of 212.70, and Sophia Hineline, who placed 30th after scoring 199.50 in her preliminary dives. Only the top-18 finishers from preliminaries advanced to the final round.
Looking ahead, San Diego State will still be represented at the NCAA Championships by two swimmers: Moa Bergdahl and Abby Storm will each make their first appearances at nationals from March 18-21 in Atlanta, Georgia. Bergdahl is set to compete in both breaststroke events (100 and 200 meters), while Storm will race in both backstroke events (100 and 200 meters).
The results mark another step forward for SDSU’s swimming and diving program as they continue to develop talent capable of competing on national stages.
