November 3, 2007

U.S. adds four gold, five silver medals to Junior Pan Am totals 

SAN JUAN , Puerto Rico – The United States continued its success at the Junior Pan American Diving Championships, winning four gold and five silver medals Saturday. With one day of competition still remaining, the U.S. has won 25 medals – 12 of which have been gold.

Kaylea Arnett (Spring, Texas), Sarah Bacon (Indianapolis, Ind.), Kristian Ipsen (Clayton, Calif.) and Drew Livingston (The Woodlands, Texas) each won their second golds this week, and Lilly Hinrichs (Lincoln, Neb.) also was victorious Saturday.

Arnett, who won gold on platform earlier in the week, scored 347.35 points to win the girls’ 14-15 1-meter title. Loren Figueroa (Kingwood, Texas) added a silver with a total of 341.55 points.

The U.S. girls went 1-2 on two other events as well. In the 12-13 platform contest, Hinrichs scored 275.00 points for gold, with teammate Annika Lenz (Altadena, Calif.) taking silver at 258.75. Bacon, already a gold medalist on 1-meter, totaled 266.15 on 3-meter for her second gold in the girls’ 11-under age group. Wallace Layland (Orlando, Fla.) finished second with 257.15 points.

Having already won individual golds on 3-meter in their age groups earlier this week, Livingston (16-18) and Ipsen (14-15) paired up for 330.21 points to win the synchronized 3-meter gold. Connor Kuremsky (Wexford, Pa.) and David Bonuchi (Columbia, Mo.) were fourth at 253.38.

Ipsen also picked up a silver on Saturday, scoring 414.85 on 1-meter. Mexico’s Alejandro Arroyo won the gold with 429.10 points. Kuremsky was fifth at 362.95.

Victoria Ishimatsu (Seal Beach, Calif.) won the girls’ 16-18 3-meter silver, missing out on gold by less than two points. Ishimatsu scored 476.70, with the gold going to Canada’s Jennifer Abel at 478.45. USA’s Abby Johnston (Durham, N.C.) was fourth at 408.80.

Colombia ’s Miguel Reyes Abadia scored 379.30 for a win in the boys’ 12-13 3-meter contest. Andrew Cramer (Indianapolis, Ind.) led the U.S. with a fifth-place 329.50, and Bradley Christensen (Southlake, Texas) scored 324.70 points for seventh.

The Junior Pan American Championships conclude Sunday with platform events for 16-18 boys and 11-under girls, 1-meter for 12-13 boys, and 3-meter for 14-15 girls and 11-under boys. A 3-meter synchro girls’ event is also on Sunday’s schedule.

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