Hokie ClubLOS ANGELES, Calif. – After competing in the USA Diving National Preliminaries, sophomore Ryan Hawkins and junior Logan Shinholser qualified for the AT&T National Diving Championships that will take place on Aug. 9-14 at the UCLA Spieker Aquatics Center.
“Both Logan and Ryan have been training very well this summer and it has been paying off,” commented head diving coach Ron Piemonte. “Their improvement this summer will make a huge difference this upcoming collegiate season and I am very hopeful they will earn their Olympic trial bids on Tuesday.”
The AT&T National Diving Championships is one of USA Diving’s most prestigious events. Competitions will be held in the men’s and women’s 1-meter springboard, 3-meter springboard, 10-meter platform, synchronized 3-meter springboard and synchronized 10-meter platform.
At the Zone A preliminaries that was hosted by Virginia Tech in July, Shinholser placed first in every event except for a fourth place finish in the 1-meter board. He recorded a new personal-best on the 3-meter board with score of 416.65. Hawkins finished with two first place showings, scoring a 329.73 on the synchronized 3-meter board and a 363.45 on the synchronized platform, while placing second in the platform (366.85).
The Burtonsville, Md. native, Shinholser, had a tremendous sophomore season for the H20kies and is one of Tech’s most decorated divers in school history. He became Tech’s first ever diver to earn All-America honors and win a ACC Diving Championship, placing fourth in the prelims and eighth in the finals of the platform event at the NCAA Championships. He also set a school-record 449.15 on the platform at the ACC’s.
Hawkins, who is from Charlotte, N.C., had an outstanding season as a freshman, shining at the ACC’s and Zone A Championships, while earning a spot at the NCAA Championships. He earned 44 points for the H2Okies at the ACC Championships, finishing fourth on the 1-meter and 3-meter boards and fifth on the platform. Also led the first ever H2Okie sweep of the 1-meter board at the Zone A Championships, and finished second behind Shinholser on the 3-meter and the platform.
The event will be broadcasted live by NBC Sports and Universal Sports networks with approximately 125 of the nation’s best divers that will compete for 10 national titles and will also serve as the Pan American Games Trials for diving.