The LSU diving team finished on Saturday in Lexington, Kentucky, at the NCAA Diving Regionals. The Tigers had some amazing results and are happy to see four athletes compete in the NCAA Championships.
On Thursday, the Tigers competed for the first day of the NCAA Diving Regionals. Juan Celaya-Hernandez finished in second place on the three-meter springboard with a total score of 854.55. This allowed him to collect his fourth three-meter NCAA bid of his career. Celaya-Hernandez has clinched ten NCAA berths for his career as a diver.
Dakota Hurbis dived to a prelim score of 317.80 earning him a spot in the final. He dove a score of 312.35 in the final. In total, he scored 630.15 for the day. Hurbis finished in 12th place, just missing an NCAA berth – it only allows for the top nine qualifiers for the championships.
Montserrat Gutierrez Lavenant earned the first NCAA berth of her career and she is only a freshman. She finished seventh place for the one-meter springboard with a total score of 541.40.
Helle Tuxen and Anne Tuxen both performed for the one-meter and just missed being able to dive in the finals. Helle Tuxen finished with a score of 255.75 earning her 20th place. Anne Tuxen finished with a score of 232.75 earning her 26th place.
“I am proud of the Tigers’ performances today,” Head Diving Coach Doug Shaffer said.
On Friday, Celaya-Hernandez got his second NCAA ticket this season. This will now add up to his 11th NCAA ticket of his career. He placed second place on the platform with a score of 793.80. He started off his morning fresh with a prelim score of 439.95. He dove in the finals ending with a score of 299.85.
Gutierrez Lavenant secured her second NCAA bid of the week. The freshman dove the three-meter and finished in 10th place with a score of 629.65. Gutierrez Lavenant qualified for both the one-meter and three-meter.
Anne Tuxen punched her ticket to the NCAA Championships. She dived in the three-meter and finished in eighth place. She received a prelim score of 324.90 and a final score of 314.10. She has now secured her third NCAA bid of her whole diving career.
Helle Tuxen placed 18th in the three-meter with a total score of 566.45. She just missed out on being able to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
“It was great to see Anne punch her ticket and even better to see Juan and Montserrat add to their list of NCAA events,” Shaffer said. “I am looking forward to another day of opportunities tomorrow.”
Celaya-Hernandez won the one-meter springboard with a final score of 840.25. Hurbis finished his LSU career on the one-meter placing 11th. He just missed being able to qualify for the NCAA Championships with a final score of 317.40.
Gutierrez Lavenant qualified for the NCAA Championships on platform and scored 534.10. Helle Tuxen marked her first NCAA berth of her career. Anne Tuxen marked her second NCAA qualification for the week and scored 521.00 placing her 10th.
“I could not be prouder of this squad and their performance here this week,” Shaffer said. “On that note, I could not be happier with their persistent patience throughout a difficult year. In the end, we qualified four athletes in nine events for the NCAA Championships. We are excited to have a national championship opportunity in front of us and look forward to spending the next two weeks in Greensboro, North Carolina.”
