Courtesy: USA Diving
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee – Jessica Parratto and Delaney Schnell won women’s synchronized 10-meter, and Andrew Capobianco and Quinn Henninger won men’s synchronized 3-meter as the USA Diving Winter National Championships continued Thursday at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center.
Their wins also qualified the two teams for the 2024 World Aquatics Championships, set for February in Doha, Qatar.
Capobianco and Henninger secured their first national title together with 828.63 points over two lists of dives. Tyler Downs and Greg Duncan were second at 794.25, and Jake Welsh and Zach Welsh were third with 697.08 points.
The top two teams were nearly tied with just two rounds remaining, with Capobianco and Henninger leading by just .33 points. Capobianco and Henninger had their two most difficult dives still to come and held more than a one-point advantage in difficulty over Downs and Duncan.
They responded with 88.92 points on a front 2 ½ with three twists and finished with 93.48 points on a front 4 ½ tuck to claim the victory.
“We just give it everything we’ve got. We put those two dives last for a reason. We know we can count on those two,” Capobianco said. “This is Quinn’s first national title, and I’m really excited to share that with him.”
Schnell and Parratto won their second national title together with 597.18 points on their two lists of dives. Emilie Moore and Kaylee Bishop finished second with 472.08 points.
The Olympic silver medalists turned in a consistent performance on Thursday with solid lists in both the prelims and the final to win the national title. They capped off their day with 69.12 points on an inward 3 ½ tuck and 71.04 points on a back 2 ½ with 1 ½ twists.
“Jess and I have put in a lot of work with our timing and changing a lot of starts and comeouts. We’re really just trying to spend some time on those details,” Schnell said. “I think it was really encouraging that although we weren’t spectacular today, we were really steady. I think the timing of the synchro was right where we want it.”
The USA Diving Winter National Championships continue through December 6. Friday’s competition features women’s 3-meter and men’s 10-meter synchro preliminaries at 10 a.m. and finals at 3 p.m.
An example of perseverance, dedication and hard work and a team effort, congratulations for a spectacular performance. Best of luck for the job ahead. Quinn’s granddad