FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — BYU diver Alexia Jackson Hansen used a season best 3-meter score of 325.45 on Monday at NCAA Zone E Diving Championships to punch her ticket to the national title meet.
In her third career trip to zones, Jackson Hansen opened the three-day meet with a splash. The junior from Mesa, Arizona averaged 54.24 points over the six rounds of the 3-meter preliminary on her way to finishing first among the zone’s 51 divers at 325.45. Jackson Hansen’s preliminary victory came nearly 12 points ahead of USC’s Kate Miller and advanced her to the final. There, Jackson Hansen tallied 298.45 points and finished second over divers from Cal, Arizona and Utah.
“Alexia started off on the attack and kept getting better,” said BYU head dive coach Tyce Routson. “I’m so proud of her efforts and hard work over the years to get here and claim that spot in style.”
Following Monday’s 3-meter performance, Jackson Hansen will return to Federal Way’s Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatics Center for the third time this month and compete at the NCAA Women’s Swim and Dive Championships March 19-22.
Jackson Hansen becomes BYU’s first diver to reach nationals since Kennedy Cribbs in 2022 and the first to qualify on 3-meter since Tawni Jones in 2010.
BYU men Chase Hindmarsh and Marti Llop both competed in Monday’s 1-meter event. The Cougar pair took 14th and 18th, respectively – each advancing to the final. Hindmarsh took 16th in the final at 252.90 while Llop finished 18th with 251.
NCAA Zone E Diving Championships continues March 11-12 as events resume with Jackson Hansen in the women’s platform prelim Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. PDT.