Ishimatsu (Seal Beach, Calif.) scored 369.00 points to claim her first individual senior national championship. Two-time Olympian Laura Wilkinson (Spring, Texas) took silver with 365.20 point, and 2004 Olympian Cassandra Cardinell (Loudonville, N.Y.) was third at 344..75. Ishimatsu also won the gold in 10-meter synchro with Mary Beth Dunnichay (Elwood, Ind.) earlier this week.
“It means a lot. I’m really happy, because I had a chance last year, but couldn’t quite do it,” said Ishimatsu, who took second on 10-meter at both the 2006 Speedo U.S. Open and Kaiser Permanente National Championships.
Before Ishimatsu won her second championships, Dumais (Austin, Texas) won his 22nd senior national title. He scored 497.55 points in the 3-meter contest to finish ahead of Chris Colwill (Brandon, Fla.), who beat Dumais at last year’s summer nationals. Colwill had already won two golds this week – taking titles on 1-meter and 3-meter synchro with Jevon Tarantino (Boca Raton, Fla.) – but had to settle for the silver in 3-meter after posting 454.05 points. Tarantino was third at the 449.20.
The crowd favorite, though, was Mikey McDonald of nearby Annandale, Va., and a freshman at Virginia Tech. McDonald finished sixth in the finals with 372.55 points after placing 12th with 338.70 points in the semifinals earlier this week.
This week’s tragic events at Virginia Tech inspired McDonald at nationals. “Before, you want to do it for yourself. Now, I wanted to do it for them,” McDonald said. The Speedo USA Diving Spring National Championships conclude Sunday with women’s 3-meter and men’s 10-meter finals. The event starts at 1 p.m.
Men’s 3-meter Final
1. Troy Dumais, Longhorn Aquatics, 497.55; 2. Chris Colwill, Unattached, 454.05; 3. Jevon Tarantino, Ft. Lauderdale Diving Team, 449.20; 4. Jesse Rappaport, Indiana Diving, 392.10; 5. Brandon Watson, Unattached, 389.30; 6. Michael McDonald, Virginia Tech Diving, 372.55; 7. Kristian Ipsen, Diablo Divers, 368.50; 8. Matthew Cooper, Montgomery Dive Club, 367.20; 9. Zachary Schultz, Boilermaker Diving Academy, 366.65; 10. Thomas Finchum, Unattached, 363.50; 11. Aaron Fleshner, Unattached, 346.30; 12. Mitch Richeson, U.S. Elite Diving Academy, 343.40.
Women’s Platform Final
1. Haley Ishimatsu, National Training Center, 369.00; 2. Laura Wilkinson, The Woodlands Diving Academy, 365.20; 3. Cassandra Cardinell, Indiana University, 344.75; 4. Jessica Livingston, University of Texas, 336.75; 5. Chen Ni, Unattached, 334.80; 6. Heather Bounds, University of Miami, 296.40; 7. Vennie Dantin, The Woodlands Diving Academy, 288.80; 8. Mary Dunnichay, Unattached, 287.95; 9. Tess Schofield, UCLA Diving, 263.45; 10. Aleia Monden, Florida State University, 242.95; 11. Kimberly Popp, Unattached, 232.10; 12. Christine Petrilli, Mission Viejo Nadadores, 221.10; 13. Courtney McClow, Tomahawk Diving Club, 218.20.
About USA Diving: Featuring America’s best divers, USA Diving is the national governing body for the sport of diving. Headquartered in Indianapolis, USA Diving offers diversified programs geared toward the broadest number of diving enthusiasts, from the novice to the world champion. USA Diving conducts approximately 40 regional and national events annually and is responsible for training and selecting teams that represent the United States at international events such as the Olympic Games, World Championships and World Cup. For additional information please visit www.usadiving.org.
