FLAGSTAFF, Arizona – Kevin Dreesen and Matt Denkers finished in the top 10 during the 1-meter finals at the NCAA Zone E Diving Championships on Monday.
“The men did terrific today,” BYU head diving coach Tyce Routson said. “We had four of our divers make the top 16 in the prelims and finals with great performances from Kevin Dreesen, Matt Denkers and our two freshmen. All six of the men deserve to be here. We just keep performing, learning and getting better."
Dreesen placed eighth in both the prelims and finals. His preliminary score was 312.30 and he combined this score with his final to seal a total of 626.25 points on the first day of the championships.
Denkers moved from 12th place during the prelims to 10th in the finals. He started with a score of 295.15 and ended the day with 621.45 points.
Freshmen Ryan Evans and Eric Muir also placed in the top 20 of the 1-meter championships, with Evans placing 14th (569.65) and Muir following in 16th (561.75).
Trayton Speth and Jordan Tuckfield placed 21st and 22nd in the preliminaries, respectively. Speth earned 253.95 points and Tuckfield ended with a score of 251.20.
“Morgan had some tight competition, but she did really well for herself in the prelims," Rouston said. "This was her first time in a big meet situation and she stayed consistent all the way through. Her consistency will help her to perform well in the next two days of diving.”
Attending the NCAA Diving Championships for her first time, freshman Morgan Mellow competed in the women’s 3-meter event and placed 47th with a score of 229.90.
Events will continue tomorrow with the women’s 1-meter preliminary event beginning at 11 a.m. MST and the men’s 3-meter prelims starting at 5:35 p.m. MST. Live stats can be found at DiveMeets.com and daily results can be found on the BYU swim and dive homepage.