Seven Divers Punch Tickets to NCAAs on First Day of Zone B Diving Championships

NCAA Zone B Diving Championships

• March 5-8, 2023
• Allan Jones Aquatic Center – Knoxville, Tennessee
• Host: University of Tennessee, Knoxville
• Qualifiers
• Preview and Qualifying Procedure
• Results

Seven divers punched their tickets to the 2023 NCAA Championships at the Zone B Diving Championships on Sunday in Knoxville, Tennessee.

University of Tennessee junior Bryden Hattie led the way by more than 50 points in the men’s 1-meter, cruising to victory in his home pool with a total score of 780.70. He finished third on the platform at NCAAs last year.

The University of Miami duo of Mohamed Farouk and Maxwell Flory took second and third place, separated by just half a point in the standings. Flory, the defending ACC champion in the event, finished behind Farouk (728.75) with 728.25 points. Farouk also qualified for this event last year as a freshman at Alabama.

Auburn fifth-year Conner Pruitt placed fourth (720.65) to clinch his fourth NCAA invite, which will only mark his third NCAA appearance after the 2020 meet was canceled due to COVID-19.

North Carolina fifth-year Anton Down-Jenkins also booked a spot at NCAAs with a 710 in the fifth qualifying spot. The New Zealand native placed eighth at NCAAs last year in the event.

NC State freshman Renato Calderaro (703.10) and Georgia Institute of Technology’s Ruben Lechuga Gonzalez (692.60) snagged the last two qualifying spots.

Men’s 1-Meter Results

1. Bryden Hattie (TENN) – 780.70
2. Mohamed Farouk (MIAF) – 728.75
3. Maxwell Flory (MIAF) – 728.25
4. Conner Pruitt (AUB) – 720.65
5. Anton Down Jenkins (UNC) – 710
6. Renato Calderaro (NCSU) – 703.10
7. Ruben Lechuga Gonzalez (GT) – 692.60

Florida’s Leonardo Garcia finished eighth for the second year in a row, just about six points away from qualifying with a 686.45.

There are five zone meets spread across the country that allows divers to qualify for the NCAA Championships. The top five female and top four male divers from each event at their respective zone championship automatically qualify for NCAAs, and then each zone earns an additional number of qualifying spots in each event based on how that zone performed at last season’s NCAAs. For the men’s 1-meter in Zone B, there are seven qualifying spots available.

Qualified divers can also enter additional events at NCAAs if they finish in the top 12 in their zone in that given event (similar to an NCAA ‘B’ cut in swimming).

Monday’s schedule features the women’s 1-meter prelims at 11 a.m., followed by the finals at 2 p.m. The men visit the 3-meter springboard for prelims at 4 p.m. before wrapping up the second day at 6:15 p.m. with the 3-meter finals. All sessions will be streamed on SECN+.