Bryant, who won a bronze medal on 3-meter at last week’s Pan American Games, placed first with 335.20 points in the women’s 3-meter semifinals, while Boudia topped the men’s 10-meter semifinal field with 493.70 points. The top 12 divers from the semifinals move on to the finals, which will be held Sunday, August 5.
Christina Loukas (Riverwoods, Ill.), who claimed the 1-meter national title earlier this week, was second with 316.50 points, narrowly edging out local diver Ariel Rittenhouse (Santa Cruz, Calif.), who was third at 316.40. Stanford’s Cassidy Krug (Coraopolis, Pa.) scored 299.85 for fourth.
Thomas Finchum (Indianapolis, Ind.) scored 480.70 points to take second in the 10-meter semis. JJ Kinzbach (Montgomery, Texas) was third at 413.65.
Competition continues Saturday with finals in men’s 3-meter, women’s 10-meter, synchronized men’s 3-meter and synchronized women’s 10-meter. Saturday competitors include Olympians Laura Wilkinson (Spring, Texas), Troy Dumais (Ventura, Calif.), Cassandra Cardinell (Loudonville, N.Y.) and Justin Wilcock (Smithfield, Utah), and 2006 junior world champion Kristian Ipsen (Clayton, Calif.). Six divers who won medals at last week’s Pan Am Games will be competing Saturday: Dumais, Boudia, Finchum, Haley Ishimatsu (Seal Beach, Calif.), Mary Beth Dunnichay (Elwood, Ind.) and Mitch Richeson (Greenwood, Ind.).
Diving legend Greg Louganis will sign autographs from 11 a.m.- 12 p.m., prior to the start of competition, which begins at noon. The Kaiser Permanente National Diving Championships run through Sunday, August 5. Saturday and Sunday’s finals will be webcast live on the AT&T blue room beginning at 11:30 a.m. Pacific time.
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.
