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USA DIVING NEWS |  |
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August 7, 2007 Speedo Junior National Championships: Ipsen wins his ninth junior title; Cabassol, Ishimatsu, Jones also victorious Michelle Cabassol (Montgomery, Texas), Victoria Ishimatsu (Seal Beach, Calif.) and Harrison Jones (Spring, Texas) also won junior national titles on the opening day of the five-day championships. Ipsen scored 433.75 points in the platform competition, easily outdistancing the field on an event he trains only about once a week. Of his eight previous junior national titles, only once had come on platform (2005). “It’s hard because I don’t get to train much on platform,” Ipsen said. “There are a lot of good tower divers here, and I’m used to diving springboard, so it’s really exciting.” David Bonuchi (Columbia, Mo.) was second at 385.05, and Christian Holstein (Columbus, Ohio) picked up the bronze with 359.70 points. Connor Kuremsky (Wexford, Pa.) was fourth with 331.40 points, and Phillip Truong (College Point, N.Y.) took fifth at 327.15. Jones scored 523.00 points to pick up a gold in the boys 16-18 1-meter competition a week after winning silver on the event at senior nationals. “I felt great. I’ve been in a zone on 1-meter lately. I just relax, and it just kind of comes to me,” said Jones, who won his first springboard title after winning a junior title on platform in 2005. “”I’ve been trying a little harder lately to show everyone that I can do springboard too.” Ryan Helms (Moultrie, Ga.) won silver with 493.70 points, and Drew Livingston (The Woodlands, Texas) took bronze with 488.350. Sam Decker (Pearland, Texas) scored 457.35 points for fourth, and Caleb Percevecz (Scottsdale, Ariz.) finished fifth with 427.55 points. In the closest contest of the day, Ishimatsu came out on the winning end in a girls 16-18 3-meter contest in which less than five points separated first and third. Ishimatsu finished with 425.200 points, just ahead of silver medalist Bianca Alvarez (Miami, Fla.), who scored 421.70. Abby Johnston (Columbus, Ohio) won bronze with 420.450 points. Alyssa Robinson (Menlo Park, Calif.) was fourth at 392.100, and Kelsey Goodman (Moultrie, Ga.) took fifth at 385.85. “It’s been a stressful day. I didn’t perform my best, but it was good enough for a win,” Ishimatsu said. “This is my last year and I wanted to go out with a bang.” Cabassol picked up her first junior national title by winning the girls 14-15 platform contest with 343.00 points. Although she missed her first dive in the finals, she was still able to secure the lead because of her strong performance in the preliminary rounds. “It’s taken me about four years to start getting better and now it’s happening. I love it,” Cabassol said. “I dove great in the prelims, but I missed a dive in the finals. Having that head start from prelims helped a lot.” Kaylea Arnett (Spring, Texas), who won titles on all three events as a 13-under diver a year ago, was second at 317.30. Cosima Lenz (Altadena, Calif.) won the bronze with 301.90 points, followed by Callan Buck (Keller, Texas) at 294.90 and Kali Lents (San Antonio, Texas) at 294.85. The Speedo Junior National Championships continue through August 11. |
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