Goodman, Wells win silver medals
Published 11:26 pm Friday, July 11, 2008
MOULTRIE — As they did at Regionals last month, Team Orlando Diving’s Thea Vock and Moss Farms Diving’s Kelsey Goodman finished first and second respectively in the 16-18 girls 3-meter competition in USA Diving’s Zone B Championships at the Moose Moss Aquatic Center.
The finish reversed their finishes in Thursday’s 1-meter competition.
Those finishes also were the same as those they had on the 1-meter board at Regionals.
Vock’s 439.65 was a personal best in the 3-meter event.
Goodman’s 411.10 was her second-best score on 3-meter.
“Anytime you’re over 400, I think that’s a really good score,” said Moss Farms Diving Coach Ed Goodman.
With their top-six finishes, Goodman and Vock have qualified on both springboards for next month’s Junior National Championships in The Woodlands, Texas.
Ann Perry Blank, Goodman’s Moss Farms teammate, also will be going to Nationals after a fourth-place finish that impressed her coach.
“I was really thrilled for her,” Ed Goodman said of Blank, who scored a 383.60. “She did her best back 2 1/2.
“She’s really gotten a lot better.”
Goodman said Blank has concentrated more on her springboard work, “and it’s paid off. It has really made her better.”
Blank just missed qualifying for Junior Nationals on the 1-meter board, finishing ninth in that event on Thursday.
Tristan Wells also qualified for Junior Nationals on Friday, finishing second in the 11-and-under boys 3-meter event.
“And he can still dive better,” Ed Goodman said.
“He’s still getting is feet wet in this sport and is learning to deal with adversity.”
Wells scored a 164.50. Simon Adriano of Florida’s 3D Diving was first with a 181.65.
Owen Blank, who qualified for Junior Nationals on Thursday on the 3-meter springboard, just missed earning a spot on the 1-meter board. Blank, diving in the 16-18 boys division, finished seventh on Friday after writing the wrong dive down on his list.
The dive he was forced to perform had a smaller degree of difficulty, which ultimately cost him on his final score, Ed Goodman said.
Blank finished with a 393.40, six points behind sixth-place finisher Hayden Jones of the Woodlands (Texas) Diving Academy, who claimed the final Junior Nationals berth.
Sam Decker of the Cougar Diving Club was first with a 470.60.
The Zone D Championships will continue today with competition beginning at 9 a.m. with the 11-and-under girls and 11-and-under boys platform event.
At 10:15 this morning, Moss Farms Diving’s Elizabeth Ann Kirkland will compete for the first time in Championships when she dives in the 12-13 girls 3-meter event.
“We have high hopes for her,” Ed Goodman said of Kirkland.