Earlier this week, the North Carolina diving team sent its divers to compete at the Virginia Tech Diving Invitational at the Christianburg Aquatic Center in Christianburg, Virginia. The team did exceptionally well over the two days of competition, taking first place in a plethora of races and setting some individual and school records.
What happened?
On Tuesday, the first day of the invitational, North Carolina dominated, taking first in every event, whether men’s or women’s. First-year diver Aranza Vazquez ran the table on the first day, taking first in both the women’s 1-meter and 3-meter events. In the 3-meter, junior Emily Grund took second and sophomore Paige Burrell took third, giving the Tar Heels a podium sweep.
The first-place finishes in the men’s category were split among junior Anton-Down Jenkins, who won the 1-meter, and sophomore Alex Hart, who won the 3-meter. Hart also took third in the 1-meter, while Down-Jenkins finished runner-up to Hart in the 3-meter.
Wedensday, the second day of the invitational, saw with the platform diving trials take place, where first-year Connor Watling won second place in the men’s event with a score of 276.38. The more impressive showing, however, came in the women’s platform event, where the Tar Heels swept the podium yet again.
Vazquez continued her brilliant run of form, coming in first with a score of 277.95. Grund followed her in second with a score of 252.23, while senior Taylor Hockenberry finished third with a score of 231.45 — a personal record for her and a great way to cap off a successful invitational.
Who stood out?
Vazquez won both of the first-place prizes for the women’s events on the first day, with her 1-meter score of 331.13 being the second-best in the program’s history and her 3-meter score of 357.68 the third-best in Tar Heel history.
She then continued on the second day to win first in the platform event as well, finishing an impressive sweep of the whole invitational.
