(Story courtesy of Trinity University and Colorado College)
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Trinity University's Katie Sheldon joined Tiger teammates Ashley Heline and Ruth Hahn in qualifying for the NCAA Championships at Saturday's NCAA Region 2 Championships, as the trio swept the top three spots in the 1-meter competition.
Hahn won yesterday's 3-meter event to qualify for the NCAA Championships for the third straight season, while Heline finished second to reach nationals in her first season. Hahn is the defending NCAA Division III Champion on the 3-meter board.
In today's action, Hahn was again victorious with her score of 503.55, but it was Sheldon who nabbed runner-up honors. Sheldon finished sixth on the 3-meter board on Friday, so she needed a huge improvement in her placement to qualify.
The Region 2 Championships were set to qualify four women and two men for the NCAA Championships. The fourth qualifier was Sarah Greene of Emory University, who finished fourth on both days, but it was her fourth-place finish today that punched her ticket to nationals.
Sheldon scored 447.05 on 1-meter today, edging Heline's score of 439.80. Sheldon, a junior diver for the Tigers, just missed qualifying last season.
The three Tiger divers will compete at the NCAA Championships
March 20-23 in Shenandoah, Texas. Trinity will be bidding for
its fourth individual national title in diving. In addition
to Hahn winning last year, Hayley Emerick (3-meter) and Lindsay
Martin (1-meter) also won NCAA Division III Championships in
2010.
Colorado College's Nicole Fazio turned in a solid performance in
her final collegiate competition at the NCAA Region 2 Diving
Championships.
Fazio finished fifth in Friday's 3-meter competition with 398.45
points, just .40 behind Emory University's Sarah Greene.
On Saturday, the Littleton, Colo., native took sixth with a score
of 399.80, which was only 2.95 points fewer than Carmen Lundell
from Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges.
