Hokie ClubMINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Virginia Tech diver Mikey McDonald (Annandale, Va.) finished 24th-overall in the senior men's 3-meter springboard at the 2008 Speedo USA Diving Spring Nationals. Only the top-12 advanced from Thursday afternoon's semifinals to Saturday's final at the University Aquatic Center on the campus of the University of Minnesota to compete for one of the eight U.S. Olympic Team Trial berths.
McDonald had automatically qualified for the event's semifinals by finishing sixth in the finals in 2007, but that year, he did not compete at the NCAA Championships prior to the Spring Nationals, a fact diving coach Ron Piemonte believes had an effect on Thursday's result.
"Today was obviously disappointing, but it doesn't take away from the great year he's had," Piemonte said. "It's been a long season with no downtime, and we just ran out of gas."
The sophomore has already proven to be the most accomplished diver in Tech history as he became the first this season to earn All-ACC honors and score points at the NCAA Championships.
On the women's side, freshman Sarah Milton (Plano, Texas) placed 25th out of 47 divers in the 3-meter and 27th out of 38 divers in the 1-meter during the preliminary round on Monday.
"Everyone of these experiences of competing at a meet of this caliber where you are diving against the best in the country is very important in their development," Piemonte said. "You always learn from it and move forward."