KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – David Boudia (Noblesville, Ind./West Lafayette, Ind.) earned six 10s on his final dive to come away with the gold medal in the men’s 10-meter competition, and Kelci Bryant (Chatham, Ill./Minneapolis, Minn.) and Abby Johnston (Columbus, Ohio/Durham, N.C.) won the women’s synchronized 3-meter title to close out the USA Diving Winter National Championships. All three, along with Thomas Finchum (Indianapolis, Ind.), also qualified for the FINA World Cup.
Boudia, a 2008 Olympian, put together a three-list total of 1599.90 points on 10-meter to win his 16th career national title, while Finchum, also a 2008 Olympian, finished second with 1576.50 points.
Boudia led Finchum by nine points with two dives remaining. He came up with 100.80 points on his back 3 ½ pike in round five and followed up with six 10s and a 9.5 for 108 points on his back 2 ½ with 2 ½ twists in the last round to clinch the victory.
“It was great to have Thomas back diving how he was before his surgery. He really put the pressure on me and made me step it up,” Boudia said. “There are a few things I need to tweak, and I’ll keep working to get ready for World Cup.”
Finchum, who had shoulder surgery in June, 2010, earned a few 10s of his own. He received one 10 on his front 3 ½ pike in round two of the finals, and earned four 10s on his reverse 3 ½ tuck in round four en route to a personal best 551.85 on his final list.
“Coming here, it was the first time in a while that I was really able to fully train like I had before (the surgery). I could be myself and didn’t have to baby anything,” Finchum said. “I felt ready and felt at my best. It was a great competition.”
Matt Cooper (Bethesda, Md./Austin, Texas) edged Toby Stanley (Conway, Ark./Indianapolis, Ind.) for third, 1316.45-1311.65.
Bryant and Johnston scored 651.60 on two lists to beat out Christina Loukas (Riverwoods, Ill./The Woodlands, Texas) and Kassidy Cook (The Woodlands, Texas) for the national title and World Cup berth in women’s synchronized 3-meter. Bryant and Johnston were six points back after list one, but came back with 70-plus points on all three optional dives in the finals to finish ahead of Loukas and Cook, who took second at 638.82.
Bryant and Johnston’s victory came a day after a disappointing finish in the individual 3-meter event. Bryant led after the semifinals but finished third in the final standings, and Johnston placed ninth.
“I kind of bottled up yesterday, and today was a new day. I really feel like Kelci and I bring out the best in each other, and I was really excited we had another chance to show what kind of dives we can do,” Johnston said.